Coronavirus outbreak may force Cardiff City
Thu Mar 05, 2020 6:20 pm
Neil Harris has revealed the coronavirus outbreak may force Cardiff City to abandon their summer pre-season plans.
The spread of the virus across Europe has already seen a number of sporting events postponed, including Italy's Six Nations clashes with Ireland and England respectively.
Other summer events under threat include the upcoming European Championships and the Olympic Games, with the global number of cases reaching nearly 97,000.
The number of cases in the UK has hit 90 this week, with the second case in Wales being confirmed on Thursday afternoon.
Harris admits the club are having to keep a close eye on developments, particularly in regards to their pre-season plans.
Speaking ahead of his side's trip to Barnsley this weekend, Harris confirmed City had intended to travel to a complex in Portugal this summer, a country that has so far confirmed six cases of the virus.
"We'd identified going to a resort there," he said. "It's an area I know, a training complex I know but also I know that hospitality wise for travelling fans it's also very good.
"It's somewhere we were looking at, but obviously now that is going onto a backburner and we have to think about what we're going to do.
"We have to think seriously as a club, health and safety wise, but also think what's right for the players and the fans as well.
"I like to involve fans in pre-season. So if we could travel and the fans could come along for a few days then that builds everyone together.
"Obviously, different teams make different decisions at different rates. I would've liked to have had this organised by now.
"That's not possible now.
"We have to have a plan A, plan B and plan C. We will have different ideas, and that will involve playing abroad, or England, or Wales, or Scotland, to a different training complex.
"But again, we are governed a little bit by what goes on by the coming weeks."
Harris' preference in terms of summer plans is still to go abroad with his players, admitting it will help take the edge off what he warns will be a gruelling schedule.
"You want to go overseas, because you want to break up the environment and the mentality of pre-season.
"It lasts about six weeks, which isn't very long, but it is in a football period. It's monotonous being in every day and the players will be here early in the morning for some of my sessions, about 7am or something, and they will be here late at night at times and that will involve three or four sessions a day.
"They're the levels we have to get to, to be fit to get to the standards where I want to be at. If you do that day after day, after six or seven days a week for three weeks, players can get bored of my voice, bored at the sight of my staff. Bored of each other.
"So you need to do something different, which means ideally you go abroad. This year it is diffierent. We have to be prepared for the fact that there is a dangerous virus out there that could affect what we're going to do."
Meanwhile, despite hand sanitisers being freely available around the club's training ground, Harris insists he's not received any official guidance on how to deal with the outbreak.
He added: "I've not been advised by safety departments, I've not been advised by the Football League or anyone at the club.
"I think we understand the implications of the virus and we've seen at football clubs just how destructive a bit of man flu can be!
"It can disrupt matchday squads and things like that. So we have to be mindful and we have to be careful and diligent with it."
Harris says there's no specific time limit on confirming any pre-season plans, but admits any delay in organisation could have an impact later down the line.
"You can leave it as late as you want, but if you want good opposition, and to involve the fanbase and you want to have a clear structure, then you want to do it as soon as possible.
"Ideally, it would have been organised last week."
The spread of the virus across Europe has already seen a number of sporting events postponed, including Italy's Six Nations clashes with Ireland and England respectively.
Other summer events under threat include the upcoming European Championships and the Olympic Games, with the global number of cases reaching nearly 97,000.
The number of cases in the UK has hit 90 this week, with the second case in Wales being confirmed on Thursday afternoon.
Harris admits the club are having to keep a close eye on developments, particularly in regards to their pre-season plans.
Speaking ahead of his side's trip to Barnsley this weekend, Harris confirmed City had intended to travel to a complex in Portugal this summer, a country that has so far confirmed six cases of the virus.
"We'd identified going to a resort there," he said. "It's an area I know, a training complex I know but also I know that hospitality wise for travelling fans it's also very good.
"It's somewhere we were looking at, but obviously now that is going onto a backburner and we have to think about what we're going to do.
"We have to think seriously as a club, health and safety wise, but also think what's right for the players and the fans as well.
"I like to involve fans in pre-season. So if we could travel and the fans could come along for a few days then that builds everyone together.
"Obviously, different teams make different decisions at different rates. I would've liked to have had this organised by now.
"That's not possible now.
"We have to have a plan A, plan B and plan C. We will have different ideas, and that will involve playing abroad, or England, or Wales, or Scotland, to a different training complex.
"But again, we are governed a little bit by what goes on by the coming weeks."
Harris' preference in terms of summer plans is still to go abroad with his players, admitting it will help take the edge off what he warns will be a gruelling schedule.
"You want to go overseas, because you want to break up the environment and the mentality of pre-season.
"It lasts about six weeks, which isn't very long, but it is in a football period. It's monotonous being in every day and the players will be here early in the morning for some of my sessions, about 7am or something, and they will be here late at night at times and that will involve three or four sessions a day.
"They're the levels we have to get to, to be fit to get to the standards where I want to be at. If you do that day after day, after six or seven days a week for three weeks, players can get bored of my voice, bored at the sight of my staff. Bored of each other.
"So you need to do something different, which means ideally you go abroad. This year it is diffierent. We have to be prepared for the fact that there is a dangerous virus out there that could affect what we're going to do."
Meanwhile, despite hand sanitisers being freely available around the club's training ground, Harris insists he's not received any official guidance on how to deal with the outbreak.
He added: "I've not been advised by safety departments, I've not been advised by the Football League or anyone at the club.
"I think we understand the implications of the virus and we've seen at football clubs just how destructive a bit of man flu can be!
"It can disrupt matchday squads and things like that. So we have to be mindful and we have to be careful and diligent with it."
Harris says there's no specific time limit on confirming any pre-season plans, but admits any delay in organisation could have an impact later down the line.
"You can leave it as late as you want, but if you want good opposition, and to involve the fanbase and you want to have a clear structure, then you want to do it as soon as possible.
"Ideally, it would have been organised last week."
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Re: Coronavirus outbreak may force Cardiff City
Thu Mar 05, 2020 6:59 pm
I dont see why Cardiff dont have friendlies with local teams like Barry Town. I hate how the team have to go to different countries to have friendlies. Thats why i loved when we met the team at Taffs Well and places like this.
Re: Coronavirus outbreak may force Cardiff City
Thu Mar 05, 2020 7:22 pm
If pre season involves Russian sides in the freezing cold rather than a jolly boys summer holiday maybe we might toughen up somewhat?
Re: Coronavirus outbreak may force Cardiff City
Thu Mar 05, 2020 8:02 pm
Foghorn65 wrote:If pre season involves Russian sides in the freezing cold rather than a jolly boys summer holiday maybe we might toughen up somewhat?
It worked for Rocky
Re: Coronavirus outbreak may force Cardiff City
Thu Mar 05, 2020 8:15 pm
Re: Coronavirus outbreak may force Cardiff City
Fri Mar 06, 2020 5:53 am
Barry Island for the 7am training slot, the very lavish Vale resort and training centre for everything else, and open to the public, and Taffs Well and others for evening fixtures. That's fan connection, not anywhere overseas. Coronavirus or no coronavirus.
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Re: Coronavirus outbreak may force Cardiff City
Fri Mar 06, 2020 11:57 pm
Getting fed up of reading scaremongering crap from the media... they’ve already stated Coronavirus can not survive in heat, it thrives in cold weather and will likely burn out before the summer.....
More people die per year from the Flu, SARS, cancer, suicide etc etc and only 2% of all those infected with Coronavirus have died, meaning as of this moment 98% survived... and out of those 2% that have died they were elderly and people with already compromised immune systems....
More people die per year from the Flu, SARS, cancer, suicide etc etc and only 2% of all those infected with Coronavirus have died, meaning as of this moment 98% survived... and out of those 2% that have died they were elderly and people with already compromised immune systems....
Re: Coronavirus outbreak may force Cardiff City
Sat Mar 07, 2020 10:58 am
snoopystorm wrote:Getting fed up of reading scaremongering crap from the media... they’ve already stated Coronavirus can not survive in heat, it thrives in cold weather and will likely burn out before the summer.....
More people die per year from the Flu, SARS, cancer, suicide etc etc and only 2% of all those infected with Coronavirus have died, meaning as of this moment 98% survived... and out of those 2% that have died they were elderly and people with already compromised immune systems....
Exactly mate. My thoughts exactly.
I work with 2 guys who’s wives are docs and they are both fed up of the media coverage and people panicking. They have both said that there were similar panic over bird flu
Re: Coronavirus outbreak may force Cardiff City
Sun Mar 08, 2020 1:03 am
coronavirus seems to be effecting the weak, not fit young men....to be honest Harris /the club should be more concerned with players catching whatever Jazz has..