Coronavirus and Football

[RossFC]

By my count, we’ve got 3 still in isolation (Alisson, Matip, Firmino), 8 injuries (Phillips, Thiago, Hill, Balagizi, Elliott, Minamino, Origi, Stewart) and 3 at afcon (Keita, Mane, Salah).

So 14 players unavailable. And that’s before any new amount of positive tests that may have occurred today.

The post above I made just before the game got postponed (6 days ago), When the news broke about positive tests, we already had 14 players out (before anything more was announced).

Since the Arsenal LC game got postponed, and since the FA Cup game has been played, it's now currently 22 players out.

7 injured (Thiago, Origi, Elliott, Phillips, Hill, Stewart, Blair)
3 are at AFCON (Mane, Salah, Keita)
1 confirmed positive (Arnold)
Alisson had covid but should be finished with iso now.
Not sure about Jota, Ox, Henderson, Milner, Gomez, Neco, Quansah, Karius, Jaros and Harvey Davies.

 

[moomba]

Isn't that 11?

 

[RossFC]

Isn't that 11?

22 players yet to return to full training or any matches.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

22 players yet to return to full training or any matches.

Did they get told they’re false positive?

 

[SM]

22 players yet to return to full training or any matches.

Doesn't matter if they've trained. They're available if they're able to play.

 

[Zidane98]

Isn't that 11?

Jota, Milner, Henderson, Gomez, Neco all didn't train last week. All did not play in the FA Cup tie - they were in iso.

4 of our bench had zero senior games to their name. Gordon - who scored - only came out of iso himself on Thursday. The u18 side was on standby (their fixture the day before was cancelled). Thats how few players we had available.

 

[RossFC]

Did they get told they’re false positive?

They were told before the fa cup game, but the rules are you are not allowed to play for a certain period after that, including the fa cup game.

Doesn't matter if they've trained. They're available if they're able to play.

If training doesn't matter, then Alisson should be available now, making it 21.

 

[Zidane98]

A player that has not trained for a whole week should not be expected to play. Thats just asking for injury issues.

Fair enough that Liverpool be asked to explain exactly how this has happened.

It's quite funny that you demand this but when it comes to Newcastle & Leicester postponing games you are 100% confident in the process and both clubs did nothing wrong at all. Leeds playing away at City with 15 year olds in the squad is apparently fine.


Yet Newcastle didn't even close their training ground. Leicester didn't have an outbreak amongst their staff while Liverpool had both manager and assistant manager test positive and training was suspended.


Do at least try and hide your bias.

 

[SM]

A player that has not trained for a whole week should not be expected to play. Thats just asking for injury issues.


It's quite funny that you demand this but when it comes to Newcastle & Leicester postponing games you are 100% confident in the process and both clubs did nothing wrong at all. Leeds playing away at City with 15 year olds in the squad is apparently fine.


Yet Newcastle didn't even close their training ground. Leicester didn't have an outbreak amongst their staff while Liverpool had both manager and assistant manager test positive and training was suspended.


Do at least try and hide your bias.

If they're fit to play then they can be expected to play. We had half a team play against Blackpool a day after they came out of quarantine and yes a few of them pulled up sore, but they got through the game.

 

[Zidane98]

If they're fit to play then they can be expected to play. We had half a team play against Blackpool a day after they came out of quarantine and yes a few of them pulled up sore, but they got through the game.

At professional level fitness tests are a must, no way a player who hasn't trained for a week should play without one. That's just a recipe for more injuries expecting them to play.

Better off using U23 & U18 players out of a separate bubble which is exactly what happened in our FA Cup tie.

 

[SM]

At professional level fitness tests are a must, no way a player who hasn't trained for a week should play without one. That's just a recipe for more injuries expecting them to play.

Better off using U23 & U18 players out of a separate bubble which is exactly what happened in our FA Cup tie.

Then do that?

 

[Zidane98]

Then do that?

We did for the FA Cup tie. That would have been played if we had 0 senior squad players were available as that's what the FA decided on (believe it's the same for 4th round).


The rules are different for the league cup semi final 2 leg ties.

 

[RossFC]

Pretty much for almost all games to stop being postponed, the prem and efl should copy the fa's rules.

We'll see some really decimated sides and the league will look like a complete mess, but the season will end on time.

 

[SM]

Pretty much for almost all games to stop being postponed, the prem and efl should copy the fa's rules.

We'll see some really decimated sides and the league will look like a complete mess, but the season will end on time.

We lost 1-0 to Blackpool (who had played all through Christmas as normal) and probably should have equalised right at the end (when in theory we would be at our most exhausted).

Missing one week of training really isn't as catastrophic as you and Zidane think it is.

 

[Zidane98]

We lost 1-0 to Blackpool (who had played all through Christmas as normal) and probably should have equalised right at the end (when in theory we would be at our most exhausted).

Missing one week of training really isn't as catastrophic as you and Zidane think it is.

We played against Spurs after losing our entire midfield plus VVD the day before the game to rona. It is what it is.

 

[SM]

We played against Spurs after losing our entire midfield plus VVD the day before the game to rona. It is what it is.

Indeed, so should be fine to play.

 

[Zidane98]

Indeed, so should be fine to play.

It's pretty reasonable to not field a side made up of 3 to 4 senior players plus U18/23 players in a 2 leg tie with all keepers in iso plus both manager & assistant manager in iso. Will just result in a 5/6/7-0 scoreline in the first leg and result in both clubs just sending out teams of kids for the second leg.


Have to remember that for the quarter final fixture 2 years ago we were not allowed to postpone the game due to the entire senior squad playing the world club club overseas at the time with literally 0 senior players available. That's the real farcical decision by the EFL.

 

[RPCB]

If a club has 4 Covid cases and 6 injured players, they have only 4 players unavailable for selection. The 6 injured players can be replaced by Under 18 and 23 players.

It seems as though clubs just want to combine the two. It shouldn’t work like that.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

Warming to the idea for 3-0 forfeits like in Italy. Team decides whether they’re willing to play youngsters or forfeit

 

[Zidane98]

If a club has 4 Covid cases and 6 injured players, they have only 4 players unavailable for selection. The 6 injured players can be replaced by Under 18 and 23 players.

It seems as though clubs just want to combine the two. It shouldn’t work like that.

Agree totally.


Newcastle's game vs Everton was the worst case of that. They literally only had 3 postiive cases, no outbreak amongst staff. The fact that they didn't see the need to close their training centre at the time is telling. You've got Eddie Howe talking about a few players having a knock ffs. Not even serious injuries.


Next season I suspect England's covid rules will change to you only have to isolate if you are unwell and have tested positive. It's the only way going forward long term otherwise we will have compromised football competitions for the next 5 years at this rate.

 

[Zidane98]

Warming to the idea for 3-0 forfeits like in Italy. Team decides whether they’re willing to play youngsters or forfeit

Thats what the FA did for the FA Cup 3rd round. Presume they willl for the 4th round too.

 

[moomba]

It's quite funny that you demand this but when it comes to Newcastle & Leicester postponing games you are 100% confident in the process and both clubs did nothing wrong at all. Leeds playing away at City with 15 year olds in the squad is apparently fine.

Yet Newcastle didn't even close their training ground. Leicester didn't have an outbreak amongst their staff while Liverpool had both manager and assistant manager test positive and training was suspended.


Do at least try and hide your bias.

You got a game called off for 1 positive test and a load of "mistakes". The odds of that happening without some sort of structural flaw in your testing procedures are huge.

I dont think it's too much to ask for Liverpool to provide detail of how that happened.

As much as you try to deflect this onto other clubs or me, neither Leeds, Newcastle or me have reported a significant quantity of false positive covid results to get a game called off.

Whether it was an innocent mistake or not, I don't think it's too much to ask Liverpool to provide a bit of an explanation.

Not sure why you would be reluctant for that to happen.

 

[Zidane98]

You got a game called off for 1 positive test and a load of "mistakes".

I do t think it's too much to ask for Liverpool to provide detail of how that happened.

As much as you try to deflect this onto other clubs or me, neither Leeds, Newcastle or me have reported a significant quantity of false positive covid results to get a game called off.

Whether it was an innocent mistake or not, I don't think it's too much to ask Liverpool to provide a bit of an explanation.

There's no deflection here, a significant amount of the squad were in ISO until the Friday after the game. Allison, Matip, Firmino were also positive confirmed cases that were in iso for the Arsenal game so your claim that the game was called off primarily on 1 positive is also absolutely incorrect. That's 4 definite positives, plus both assistant manager & manager with positives who had been working with the squad.


Also its entirely possible to get a faint detection on a RAT test towards the end of an infection and then to get a negative PCR test a few days later.


Again, do try and hide your bias with your demands for Liverpool to explain everything and not for other teams with clearly less covid issues postponing a match.

 

[moomba]

There's no deflection here, a significant amount of the squad were in ISO until the Friday after the game. Allison, Matip, Firmino were also positive confirmed cases that were in iso for the Arsenal game so your claim that the game was called off primarily on 1 positive is also absolutely incorrect. That's 4 definite positives, plus both assistant manager & manager with positives who had been working with the squad.

Are you suggesting that the game would still have been called off without the false positives?

Also its entirely possible to get a faint detection on a RAT test towards the end of an infection and then to get a negative PCR test a few days later.

It is possible to get a false positive. At my work I"ve come across a couple over the past two years. To get a significant number at once is a lot less likely.

Again, do try and hide your bias with your demands for Liverpool to explain everything and not for other teams with clearly less covid issues postponing a match.

Why are you so reluctant for Liverpool to simply explain what happened.

And again this is.not about other teams, or about me.

 

[Zidane98]

Are you suggesting that the game would still have been called off without the false positives?



It is possible to get a false positive. At my work I"ve come across a couple over the past two years. To get a significant number at once is a lot less likely.




Why are you so reluctant for Liverpool to simply explain what happened.

And again this is.not about other teams, or about me.

Reluctant? LOL. They've been far more forthcoming than any other team in releasing information. The facts are there were 6 positive players and coaches out for the Arsenal game plus a significant amount of the squad in isolation and positive cases in the U23 squad. Training off for the week - this call was actually made by health authorities, not the club itself unless you also believe they are in on the conspiracy. One of the factors also was the squad travelling down to London when the club was dealing with a potential outbreak. False positives do happen. Actual positives towards the end of an infection do happen regularly which come up as a negative on PCR swaps a few days later.



Compared with Newcastle who had a grand total of 3 positive cases. No training ground closure. No management with positive cases. Apparently no explanation required for you on that one.

You could do a little more to hide your bias.