Mye interessant i kveld fra Moscow:
Man har gitt bort maten innad i klubben til diverse foodbank-prosjekt, men;
Whilst we appreciate there are much bigger issues at stake, there was still heartbreak at the ‘criminal act’ of not being able to find a home for 45,000 pints, of what would have been, pre-match beer.
(Kinnear)
At The Athletic, Phil Hay takes a wide stroll (indoors) around what is happening with Leeds United while it's closed, starting at Thorp Arch, where:
Thorp Arch is closed to them while the coronavirus spreads (used only to treat anyone in need of hands-on rehabilitation) but various players are using the track in isolation, waved in by security and running alone before driving off again. Barry Douglas was there on Friday and Liam Cooper went jogging in the sunshine on Monday, social-distancing in familiar surroundings.
To Bielsa and his backroom:
For now, he is tucked away in his flat in Wetherby, speaking sporadically to director of football Victor Orta and filling his time with analysis. His backroom staff, all of whom are isolating the same as the players, have been given projects to work on and information to assess. They are accustomed to being busy and searching tirelessly for marginal gains. After he was first appointed, Bielsa set his coaches the challenge of thinking up training drills to either recreate or counter every goal scored at the 2018 World Cup finals. These empty weeks without any sign of a resumption of fixtures will not find his assistants idle.
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Less good at The Athletic is news that:
A number of Premier League clubs want to end the current season with immediate effect and replay it in full once it is deemed safe to do so — even if that means Liverpool being denied a first title in 30 years. One senior figure told The Athletic it is morally wrong for football to even be discussing playing behind closed doors while the coronavirus crisis is at its peak.
Chapman selv argumenterer:
The other issue is that voiding is not a neutral option. It doesn't "reset" anything. What do you do about season ticket money for games that never, officially, happened? Give it back? Who do you send to the CL for next season? The 2018/19 top four? That means Spurs not only get the money for being in Europe, they also get to attract new players in a way that Leicester - for example - wouldn't, because they'd have missed out. You're not just starting the season over.
Let's take Norwich: void the season and they get £100m they wouldn't otherwise have got. It fundamentally alters the course of their history. This is West Brom's last year of parachute payments. It fundamentally alters theirs, too. Voiding is not consequence-free. Maybe those consequences are the least worst option, but (and this is my view) that is not a call that needs to be made now.
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Til slutt, vår gamle venn Kemar sier fortsatt 'vi' om oss
Lastly, Kemar Roofe has escaped Belgium for home, home being the Jim White show on TalkSport. He has no regrets about moving to Anderlecht:
“For me, it’s always about a new challenge. You won’t always get the chance to play abroad, different club, different competitions ... I still talk to [Leeds players] and the staff. The timing for Anderlecht isn’t great but it’s not good for Leeds either.â€
Asked about Radrizzani aiming to sign Ibramhimovic, Roofe gets pulled up for an endearing verbal tic:
“That’s the ambition the owner’s got for Leeds and that’s why we’re doing so well, and have been for the past couple of years. His ambition is high and it trickles down into the players.â€
White said, “I see you’re still saying we?â€
“Yes, they’re still in my heart. I’ve got a lot of friends there, staff, I still follow them every week.â€