We all know that we’re going to get Premier League football sooner rather than later but the details remain clouded in uncertainty.
The league’s plan of resuming action gave hope to the millions of EPL fans around the world but for everyone that looked beyond the surface, Project Restart did have several glaring holes that made its implementation hard, to say the least.
In this piece, I look at what the latest developments around rebooting the league are and share my thoughts on how it may affect the key battles for the remainder of the season.
What Is the Problem With Project Restart?
To put it simply – uncertainty. There was no way that the league’s governing body could come up with a bulletproof plan to resume action with all the strict measures and health concerns veering their heads but I feel they could’ve put more effort into communicating their plan better.
There were a lot of clubs who rejected it at first and the discontent grew as the Premier League’s officials failed to provide essential information on how the games will be hosted on neutral grounds and what number of medical experts and other staff will be needed to ensure the safety of the players and everyone involved.
The Premier League is returning, make no mistake about that. However, the lackluster effort on the part of the Premier League will only heap more uncertainty and pressure and as far as I’m concerned, Project Restart can be branded as a complete failure so far.
Will Project Restart Ever Materialize?
This is a question that nobody can outright answer at this time. Probably the best answer to this right now is saying that – yes, we will be watching Premier League games in the summer but there’s no telling whether any of the initial parameters of Project Restart will be kept.
Several clubs expressed their skepticism over the plan’s obscure details and a lot more have jumped on the bandwagon since then. It’s got to a point where the elite clubs, which the Premier League counted on for providing the stadiums for the games, have also taken a step back.
This has prompted the Football Association to jump in an attempt to relieve the mounting pressure. The oldest football governing body promised that they will make the effort to oversee the successful conclusion of the season which includes crowning a champion and seeing three teams get relegated.
This is music to Liverpool fans’ ears as the Merseyside faithful are currently biting their nails over the possibility of the season getting abandoned.
To be quite honest, I never thought this was going to happen and to be honest, but I did expect a lot more commitment from the Premier League to try and navigate this hard time as smoothly as possible.
Well, it didn’t happen but it seems that the FA’s much-needed involvement in the process will alleviate some of the concerns.
That said, things remain messy and although I’m sure we’ll soon have the chance to watch and bet on the world’s most exicting domestic football competition, I’m not sure there won’t be a few more roadblocks before we get what we all want.
