NEIL WARNOCK SAYS: " IT BEGGARS BELIEF "

'It beggars belief!' Ex-Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock gives strong view on Leeds United and West Brom promotion
The Bluebirds legend left Cardiff City Stadium earlier this season but he still has strident views when it comes to the Premier League promotion race


Thursday 23rd April 2020

By Glen Williams

Cardiff City correspondent

Neil Warnock has given his views on cancelling the season

Former Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock believes it would be "beggars belief" if Championship top two Leeds United and West Brom were unable to finish the season.

The Bluebirds, where Warnock was so successful during his three-year stint, are still right in the promotion mix despite an indifferent start to the season under the legendary coach.

Since the 71-year-old left the Welsh capital, Neil Harris has steered City to within touching distance of the play-offs, currently sitting two points outside the top six.

However, football is currently on hold owing to the coronavirus pandemic and there is seemingly no return date on the horizon.

While City are two points off the top six, they are still a mile away from Leeds United and West Brom - both sides have been far and away the best in the division overall this season - in the automatic promotion spots.

There has been doubt cast over whether this season will be finished in its entirety, despite reports suggesting the Premier League and EFL are determined to see a conclusion played out.


All non-league seasons have been voided and, while at this point it appears unlikely, that option is still on the table for the top four tiers of professional football in England and Wales.

Should that come to fruition, however, Warnock believes Leeds and West Brom would be entitled to feel extremely hard done by.

“I hope not,” Warnock told talkSPORT, when the prospect of cancelling the season was put to him. “I think even the National League, they should finish when this is all over. I can’t see why they can’t finish as and when the country can let it happen.

“I don’t agree with the cancelling thing. It’s the easy option. They should leave it until it’s impossible to play on.

“I think it’s fairer to finish the season. The likes of Leeds and West Brom... it beggars belief that their season might not finish. Even if it means finishing it in September.”

While there has been nothing concrete, it is expected we will not see live football in this country for some time yet.

But when that does happen, it is likely the remaining fixtures, or at least the bulk of them, will be played out, but behind closed doors.

For Warnock, however, the lockdown has allowed him to appreciate family time after more than 50 years in the business.



NEIL WARNOCK:


“I’m cycling a lot more,” he said, “doing 35 miles a day – but I do have an electric bike!

“It’s great to see how people are managing and getting around things; it must be difficult on your own.

“We’re all managing though, and it does bring home, family-wise, how much you give to football when you’re in it.”



And while he always strikes you as someone who would get irritable when out of work or during a lockdown such as this, the manager appears to have been keeping himself entertained by taking up a new hobby or two, including baking.

“We had two birthdays and I’ve been doing my scones,” he said. “I did 12 scones and we had clotted cream and jam.

“Depending on if you live in Devon or Cornwall, one puts the cream on first and one puts the jam on first… but we won’t go into politics on this show.

“But, for me, they taste nice whichever way you do it!

“We made 12 and you can’t help but have a few more than you should do.”

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Play it behind closed doors

Play it behind closed doors

read this earlier by Gary Neville.. its not so much his opinion.. but how different people {authorities } are talking about different things...points out how difficult its going to be to get any sort of football being played while social distancing exists...

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsbirm ... spartandhp

Play it behind closed doors

read this earlier by Gary Neville.. its not so much his opinion.. but how different people {authorities } are talking about different things...points out how difficult its going to be to get any sort of football being played while social distancing exists...

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsbirm ... spartandhp

Could be over ,liverpool fans will be gutted

Play it behind closed doors

read this earlier by Gary Neville.. its not so much his opinion.. but how different people {authorities } are talking about different things...points out how difficult its going to be to get any sort of football being played while social distancing exists...

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsbirm ... spartandhp

Could be over ,liverpool fans will be gutted

interesting take from someone involved in 2 different businesses.. and it doesn't make any sense that two blokes can be jostling and man handling each other for 90 mins and then have to sit 2 meters apart for an after game meal...

without players having treatment, physio, scans and everything else that goes with football within a social distancing measure and not to mention the army of people involved in televising each and every game .They need to move on the seasons over and start to worry how they are going to start the next one.

Football season has to be finished whatever date you cant just forget what has happened, next season can be cancelled as no one has played but there is so much on this season that is well over the half way mark it has to be completed anything else is just pointless

To finish this season you want to write off the whole off next season, this will be led by sky and bt who are facing a
£billion loss so far, i suppose it will be up to the clubs play this season to a conclusion and pick up your money or miss an entire season and pick up nothing for 12 months.

To finish this season you want to write off the whole off next season, this will be led by sky and bt who are facing a
£billion loss so far, i suppose it will be up to the clubs play this season to a conclusion and pick up your money or miss an entire season and pick up nothing for 12 months.

Better that (cancel next season) than not complete this...

Nothing is decide in either at this point but those battling for the honours (or for their lives) in this season are far more able to argue they were 'denied' the opportunity to finish what they started when over 75% of the season is completed

Of course money comes into it; and that (the amounts involved) for at least 6 clubs (3 at the bottom of the Premier League and 3 at the top of the Championship) are so massive that to deny the three 'deserved' clubs whilst rewarding the three 'failing' clubs would be a monstrous miscarriage no matter who they might be and the consequences could reverberate for year to come

Personally, I don't think next season will be written off but to achieve that all clubs will have to both sacrifice and compromise; and the bonus of that will be that everyone knows BEOFRE the competition starts what the rules and the outcomes will be

The fixture schedule has to change for the 2020 world cup in November anyway so why not just start the adjustment from now.

Start next season in January until october then play the Euros next November/December. Start the following season in the January again to coincide with the 2020 world cup in November . We would then have a 7 month lay off to get us back to normal schedule where we can have some sort of tournament played in between to pass the time.

That gives us until January to finish this season off completely.

Sounds too simple to me but is probably the only way it will work

It would be kind of a trial for the summer football / Winter break arguement

The fixture schedule has to change for the 2020 world cup in November anyway so why not just start the adjustment from now.

Start next season in January until october then play the Euros next November/December. Start the following season in the January again to coincide with the 2020 world cup in November . We would then have a 7 month lay off to get us back to normal schedule where we can have some sort of tournament played in between to pass the time.

That gives us until January to finish this season off completely.

Sounds too simple to me but is probably the only way it will work

It would be kind of a trial for the summer football / Winter break arguement

how many clubs would go to the wall between now and January is the question...

The fixture schedule has to change for the 2020 world cup in November anyway so why not just start the adjustment from now.

Start next season in January until october then play the Euros next November/December. Start the following season in the January again to coincide with the 2020 world cup in November . We would then have a 7 month lay off to get us back to normal schedule where we can have some sort of tournament played in between to pass the time.

That gives us until January to finish this season off completely.

Sounds too simple to me but is probably the only way it will work

It would be kind of a trial for the summer football / Winter break arguement

how many clubs would go to the wall between now and January is the question...

It shouldn't happen . We would still have 3 or 4 months left from this year then pre season .

The other options are worse .
Abandoning next season will see multiple clubs go under

I'm any case there is enough money in the coffers of the FA to not ket any club go under because of this virus. Even if it's a loan