Tuesday Fulham Stuff - 12/01/21...

[WhiteJC]

Former Chelsea player thinks Fulham will fancy Blues match

Chelsea beat Morecambe fairly comfortably at the weekend, and it restored a lot of confidence to most fans.

It's easy to forget that that was very weak opposition, and the Blues may go into their next game against Fulham still in the same disjointed manner they played their last slew of Premier League games.

That's a real fear for former Chelsea player Alan Hudson, who spoke to CaughtOffside about his fears for his former team this week:

"Fulham will be looking forward to this local Derby far more than Frank," he claimed.

They've been on an increasingly impressive run recently, and they will love the chance to take down a flagging team looking shorn of confidence in recent weeks.

On the other hand, the first team have had a rare rest, and a rare full week in training. They might come out hot against their local rivals, and start a revival they sorely need.



https://www.chelsea-news.co/2021/01/former-chelsea-player-thinks-fulham-will-fancy-blues-match/

[WhiteJC]

Covid CARNAGE threatens the football season with the FA set to write to clubs to urge against any further protocol breaches amid fears of increasing public pressure for a shutdown after Government sent warning

    Growing coronavirus concerns nearly saw the football season collapse this week
    The Government and the FA are set to warn sport about lockdown breaches
    Aston Villa's trip to Spurs was called off as the Midlands club struggle with Covid
    Fulham are angry Tottenham clash set for Wednesday with Villa-Spurs game off

The football season was on the brink of collapse on Monday night as the game braced itself for a stern warning from the Government following another weekend of Covid breaches.

With Aston Villa's Premier League match at home to Tottenham postponed — and Fulham angry at being asked to play Spurs instead — it can be revealed that the FA will write to remind clubs to stay within strict protocols after the FA Cup third round was marred by several incidents of rule-breaking.

The Government are coming under pressure to address football's continuation after Labour said it was 'increasingly difficult' to make a case for elite sport to be exempt from lockdown rules.


English football nearly collapsed on Monday as the Government prepares to warn sport


Aston Villa's tie with Tottenham was scrapped due to Covid with Fulham now brought in to play

There was significant alarm at the scenes from the FA Cup with players ignoring official guidelines with their goal and dressing-room celebrations.

Hundreds of fans of non-League Marine gathered in close proximity ahead of Sunday's historic visit of Tottenham, though Merseyside Police insisted yesterday that 'the vast majority' adhered to social-distancing measures.

As it stands, the Government's desire for elite sport to continue remains unchanged. But there is an acknowledgement that rule breaches by players are making it increasingly challenging to justify the continuation of sport.

There are concerns that more breaches could result in major public pressure for a hiatus in competition like the March shutdown — a scenario all parties are desperate to avoid. Referees, it is understood, will be asked to remind players of their responsibilities.


There is growing concern for the top-flight who announced 36 positive tests on Monday

There were 36 positive tests announced in the Premier League on Monday. But football's stakeholders expect communication from Whitehall this week to re-emphasise the importance of staying within guidelines.

Speaking to Sportsmail, Labour's shadow sports minister Alison McGovern said: 'Sport in this country has taken huge measures to ensure games can go ahead and players and fans kept safe.

'But it's clear that with cases rising across the country, this is becoming increasingly difficult. We implore the Government to follow any advice SAGE issue.'

Scottish football below Championship level was suspended yesterday for three weeks due to the rise in cases and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will review exemptions for elite sport after criticising Celtic's mid-season trip to Dubai.

Defender Christopher Jullien tested positive following the trip, with 13 first-team players and manager Neil Lennon now forced to self-isolate.

With Villa's game against Spurs postponed, Fulham have been called in to play their game against Tottenham — postponed from December — tomorrow, much to the annoyance of Scott Parker's club.

The Premier League approved the re-scheduling as a result of the Covid outbreak that has ripped through Villa's squad.

They are determined to ensure the season runs with as few delays as possible to avoid the prospect of curtailment, and clubs agreed to facilitate late fixture changes ahead of this season to ensure it could be completed.

Nevertheless, Sportsmail understands Fulham are deeply frustrated by the decision to shoehorn in a game at short notice.

Their scheduled clash against Chelsea on Friday night will now kick off at 5.30pm on Saturday. The Stamford Bridge club were reluctant to agree to the change, but have given the green light for Fulham to have an extra day's recovery. Villa's clash with Everton, due to be played on Saturday at 5.30pm, will now be at noon on Sunday.

Fulham beat QPR 2-0 after extra time in the FA Cup on Saturday, and sources claim Fulham boss Parker might have approached the game differently had he known they would have to face Spurs four days later.

Fulham were made aware of the possible re-arrangement on Sunday, the day after facing QPR.


Fulham are last-minute opponents for Spurs on Wednesday - leaving Scott Parker fuming

With Spurs in four competitions, and their Europa League campaign resuming next month, there was concern from the Premier League that they would face an unmanageable fixture backlog.

Villa's first-team bubble — including players and staff — were re-tested over the weekend and the situation has not improved significantly from previous tests.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder said yesterday he would not be shocked if the Premier League had to be suspended.

But Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo warned Premier League chiefs that football will never be the same again if the sport shuts down, believing it would hasten the arrival of a European Super League and push smaller clubs out of existence.

Nuno insists the game has a 'moral obligation' to continue, though fellow bosses Steve Bruce and Sam Allardyce have questioned the wisdom of playing on.

'I am afraid that if the decision is to stop, football as we know now would not be the same,' said Nuno. 'The schedule would go crazy, it would be impossible to finish the season — and think about the European Championship. So my feeling is that if we stop, everything would change and a new football would come.

'There would probably be a Super League, other competitions, and then it would be a matter of which clubs survive. It's a tough decision to make.

'Everybody has been trying hard and all of us have the moral obligation to do our best to keep going.  That doesn't mean we are insensitive to what is happening but this spirit is required in these moments.

'We were assured that no matter what happened, we would be playing, because we only needed 14 players available to play a match. Now that is not happening and we are starting to think about stopping again.'

Premier League clubs were given until last night to sign off the new restrictions, including advice to wear masks at all times in indoor areas at the training ground, use three coaches when travelling to ensure social distancing, and limit physio treatment at training to 15 minutes.

They have also been asked to restrict meetings indoors, and keep canteens closed for much of the week.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have closed their academy training centre because of a Covid outbreak, though first-team facilities have remained open.



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9136243/Football-Covid-19-carnage-Whitehall-FA-send-warning-clubs-protocol-breaches.html

[WhiteJC]

Premier League latest: Fixture changes and another high count of positive cases

The Premier League announced another record-high number of positive cases in the latest round of testing. Despite record numbers, the league will not take a break from action.

Last week an all-time high of 40 positive cases and now this week another 36. A slight drop off in numbers probably the only positive coming from this. The Premier League carried out the mass testing of players and members and a total of 36 people returned COVID positive.

The league's officials have however decided against a "circuit break" and maintain they are not in talks about the possibility of one. As per the report, 2,593 tests were performed between Friday and Monday.

As per the league's COVID regulation, all those who have tested positive must quarantine for the 10-day period.

    The Premier League can today [January 11] confirm that between Monday 4 January and Sunday 10 January, across two rounds of testing, 2,593 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19. Of these, there were 36 new positive tests," read a Premier League statement.

    Players or club staff who have tested positive will self-isolate for a period of 10 days.

Another Premier League fixture cancelled
Since the start of the season, there have been five-fixture cancellations due to COVID (six if you include Man City vs. Southampton) – the latest being Tottenham's trip to Villa Park for a clash against Aston Villa.

Newcastle, Manchester City, Fulham and others have experienced a coronavirus outbreak within their respective squads, therefore, having to request a suspension from the decision-makers in the English top flight.

In the midst of all these squad outbreaks, the Premier League has decided to swap Spurs scheduled meeting date with Aston Villa to them taking on Fulham, their other postponed game. Spurs will make the trip to Craven Cottage for the London derby on Wednesday night.

    Over the festive period, Everton vs Manchester City on December 28, Tottenham vs Fulham on December 30 and Burnley vs Fulham on January 3 were all forced to be postponed amid coronavirus outbreaks at City and Fulham.

    Tottenham will now host Fulham on Wednesday in a re-arranged clash after the Villa postponement.

    The Premier League has not discussed the possibility of a circuit break for the season despite the growing number of positive cases. (Via: Sky Sports)

Manchester United's trip to Turf Moor to take on Burnley and Wolves' entertaining Everton at the Molineux Stadium are the other two EPL encounters happening midweek between Tuesday and Wednesday.



https://thetopflight.com/2021/01/12/premier-league-latest-fixture-changes-another-high-count-positive-cases/

[filham]

Thanks Whitejc for the words about Tosh, he was such an entertaining and loveable character that our appetite for remembrances  cannot be satisfied.