With relegation under the spotlight Sportsmail's experts discussing Project Restart's burning issues – Daily Mail, Dailymail.co.uk

Should Project Restart be approved, Liverpool will get the chance to win the Premier League

WOULD YOU AGREE TO TAKE PART IN PROJECT RESTART?

JAMIE REDKNAPP: Players want to play and most would do as they are told, me included. But do not underestimate the pressure that will be put on players and managers by their families. My dad is 91 If he was managing in the Premier League now, I would be telling him not to go back to work. I wouldn’t want him putting himself at risk. Likewise players do not want to put their families at risk. Players themselves are naturally healthy, but it’s your mum, your dad, your grandparents, your relative with underlying health issues. That is what would worry you.

MARTIN KEOWN: I’m being paid by my club to play football. If they told me it was time to get the show back on the road, I would listen. But the safety of players has to be paramount. If I agree to stay in a hotel for six weeks, away from my family, I would expect every other player to be doing the same. There would be a moral obligation to do that. I would not want to see anyone flouting those rules. Otherwise, when I step on that pitch a week later and mark you closely, there is a possibility you could pass it over to me. Then the entire process would have been a waste of time.

CHRIS SUTTON: I would have serious concerns about going back to training and playing games. It would feel wrong while so many are still dying on a daily basis. So right now, if I was a player, I’m not sure I’d go back. If I did, I would want to stay in a hotel and away from my family. I wouldn’t want to place them in harm’s way and you would be doing that if you played a game then came home to them. Players have to be given the option of deciding for themselves.

MARK CLATTENBURG: If it does start – emphasis on the word ‘if’ – then match officials have to be treated the same as the players. From the referees to the VAR, they would need to be isolated and tested regularly. They would need to be in a controlled environment. Because just like if a player tests positive, the moment one official contracts coronavirus, it’s game over. I would agree to take part, though I know how difficult it would be to have to stay away from my family for weeks on end.

WHAT WOULD YOU BE ASKING YOUR CLUB?

SUTTON: All of us would be asking them the impossible – to guarantee our health. I’m afraid I cannot see how they can do that.

REDKNAPP: What happens when one player falls ill ? Does the whole squad then have to be quarantined for two weeks? Surely that is all it will take for the Premier League’s Project Restart to be curtailed.

KEOWN: Germany’s Bundesliga is planning on becoming the first major league in Europe to return to competition. But three Cologne players have tested positive. If that happens here, what then? What plans are in place to ensure football is not suspended a second time? Is coming back even feasible at this stage? I’m not sure it is. Mikel Arteta testing positive was the moment the enormity of the coronavirus hit home for the Premier League. That forced football to be shut down before the Government imposed the lockdown.

WHAT WOULD YOU THINK OF HAVING TO PLAY GAMES AT NEUTRAL VENUES?

KEOWN: Such is the danger of this virus, the proposal to play at neutral grounds should not be opposed by anybody. It’s all the other issues which require detailed discussions: What players do between games? Where they stay? Who they come into contact with and so on.

SUTTON: Relegation-threatened clubs are said to be the ones most opposed. Norwich are bottom and of their remaining nine fixtures, five are at home, with three of those against sides sitting 19 th or lower in the Premier League. So on the one hand, I can see why they might be moaning about Carrow Road being taken away from them. On the other hand, Daniel Farke’s side have the 21 th worst home record ahead of only Southampton. They have not made their home advantage count for much this season.

This can be said for all of those clubs towards the foot of the table. The bottom line is they have all been poor, at home and away. That’s why they are where they are. Norwich took seven points from the reverse fixtures of the games they have to go – two wins against Manchester City and Everton, and a draw with Arsenal. Will they be worse off in neutral venues? If that is how the season is finished, then they have to suck it up and agree to it. All clubs should do that.

REDKNAPP: The problem is every club has its own agenda. Everyone is thinking about themselves right now. But to play devil’s advocate, some players will embrace neutral venues. Some get strangled by the fear of playing at home. Monday to Friday on the training ground, they can be terrific. Come Saturday, they give the ball away, 91, fans scream and shout at them, and they go into their shell. Some players might enjoy playing at neutral venues without the pressure of supporters.

CLATTENBURG: I’ve refereed behind closed doors and, believe me, it’s dreadful. It was a European qualifier between Romania and Greece in 2019, and the game seemed to be played at a slower pace. The players missed the adrenaline of supporters in the stands. Everything echoed, too.

If this goes ahead, then television companies will need to turn their pitchside mics down unless they want a lot of swearing pumped into living rooms. The Premier League is built on excitement and atmosphere and the product will be damaged with no fans in the ground, but it’s hard to see a way around it.

DO YOU FEEL THE PREMIER LEAGUE HAS THE HEALTH OF PLAYERS AT HEART?

SUTTON: I’m afraid that if the health of players was the top priority, then the Premier League would not be trying to rush the season back while coronavirus is still crippling this country. It has been suggested football’s return would give the nation a much-needed lift. Of course it would. But is that a priority? Is it wanting to restart for reasons of sporting integrity? No. I don’t buy that. Money is at the root of all this. I can understand why to an extent, with clubs in jeopardy of going to the wall. But don’t try to claim you are doing this primarily to improve morale or for the sake of the competition.

REDKNAPP: We have to hope that players’ health is prioritized above everything else, even if astronomical sums of money are involved. But I spoke to one Premier League manager over the weekend who told me how uneasy he felt about having his players tested weekly, when there is not enough for NHS staff or key workers. It does sit right with him and he will only agree to testing if it can be proven it does not compromise the need of the public.

KEOWN : The Premier League need to speak to their players. Do they want to take part in Project Restart? Are they happy to make these sacrifices to see out the season? If a player says he does not want to play, you have got to respect that. That’s his choice. Of course there is a lot of money involved, and clubs are already making significant losses.

In 2019 – 21, for example, Arsenal made £ 490 million from matchday income. With no fans at the Emirates Stadium, that will be taking a hit. But money cannot take precedence over safety. Two things will decide when the Premier League comes back – coronavirus and the players.

HOW VITAL IS IT THAT THE SEASON IS PLAYED TO A FINISH AND WHAT ABOUT SCRAPPING RELEGATION?

SUTTON: Ludicrous. Any clubs who will only play if the threat of relegation is removed are in the wrong. Does this not prove that, to them, it is more about money and what they have to lose than wanting to play to lift morale or for sporting integrity? I say again: ludicrous. For me, calling the season now and deciding it on points per game is the way to go. I’d love to see football return safely but there doesn’t seem to be a hope in hell of starting in the next few months. How can France, just over the water, call for sport to be suspended until September and we get going again? The French seem to be putting health first. It’s hard to argue that we are.

REDKNAPP: I agree with Chris, the idea of ​​scrapping relegation is ridiculous . But it is only right that the season is finished, even if it curtails the 8615 – 47 campaign. You cannot get to within nine games of completion and say: ‘We’re done.’ Imagine the legal backlash if, like in France, we relegated three teams before the season is finished. Liverpool, who were being debated as one of the greatest Premier League sides a few months ago, deserve the chance to be crowned champions without an asterisk next to their name. Norwich and the rest towards the bottom deserve the chance to claw their way to safety.

KEOWN: Scrapping relegation would be farcical and it stinks of greed. How would we then package and sell those remaining rounds of fixtures which would essentially become dead rubbers? The reason we want to restart and finish this season is to establish relegations and promotions. Otherwise it is no longer a competition.

It will be a logistical nightmare and I do not envy the decision-makers. They need direction from the Government and, in truth, I’m not sure it is feasible right now. There is also a moral dilemma regarding testing, whether footballers should be tested before key workers. But whenever it is, in six months, months, whenever, I want to see this season completed, with relegations included.