Lots has changed in the past week. United were supposed to have played twice since the victory at Carrow Road last Saturday, though we sit here seven days on with no further on-field action to ponder upon.
Rewind to Sunday, and the first reports emerged that there was an outbreak of Covid-19 amongst players and staff at United. Initially, it was suggested the entire group that travelled to Norwich were negative for the virus - there has since been no confirmation that this still rings true.
There were only two training days prior to having to travel to London to face Brentford on Tuesday, with the first of those on Sunday severely hindered as only a small group were able to participate in a non-contact outdoor session. Come Monday, and the club revealed that all first team operations at the club's Carrington training complex had been shut down.
Rightly, discussions were underway with relation of the possibility of postponing Tuesday's match against Brentford. There remained a group of players injured, whilst others were having isolate and, majorly, those available had barely trained and were extremely under-prepared. With health at the forefront, an announcement came at around midnight on matchday that the evening's match would not be going ahead.
It was revealed later in the week that United only had nine first team players available.
United had until Saturday to get the situation under control, though further jeopardy was added as opponents Brighton were reported to have recorded some positive tests too. Furthermore, the reds had more cases recorded through the club as the under-23s reported some cases of the virus. Later announced, both under-18 and under-23 fixtures were postponed for this weekend.
The first team returned to Carrington on Wednesday, with the players testing in their cars on arrival at the training ground. The full list of players spotted arriving was listed as:
De Gea, Grant, Varane, Lindelof, Bailly, Jones, Wan-Bissaka, Dalot, Telles, Fred, McTominay, Pogba, Fernandes, Chong, Amad, Rashford, Martial, Cavani, Ronaldo
Bare in mind that Raphael Varane, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Paul Pogba, Tahith Chong, Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani have all been absent through injury. The impressions were that the depletion would only get worse.
The fears were realised on Thursday, with even fewer players spotted arriving at Carrington. There was no sign of Cristiano Ronaldo arriving, whilst suggestions emerged that Scott McTominay left the complex after only half an hour on Wednesday. Reports seemed to imply case number were in excess of 20 between players and staff, compounded by the Wednesday round of testing.
From there, things escalated fast and the Brighton match was officially postponed on Thursday afternoon - offering more notice than earlier in the week.
United's statement read, “The health of players and staff is our priority. Given the number of players and support staff having to isolate due to Covid-19, the club had no option other than to request the match be rearranged. The Premier League Board took the decision to postpone based on guidance from medical advisors. We will also suspend football training operations at the Carrington Training Complex for a short period to help reduce risk of further transmission.”
By the end of the week, United were limited to only seven available first team players. You can see why the decision to postpone was taken, and it was regrettably the right decision.
It isn't just United suffering by any means. The majority of teams now have positive cases, some to a greater extent than others. Nonetheless, the Premier League is certainly being ravaged and the number of postponements is getting out of hand.
The first match to be called off was Tottenham's trip to Brighton last weekend, with United's match against Brentford the first of a further three postponements during the week. So far, six of the scheduled matches this weekend aren't going ahead - including five of Saturday's six fixtures; this could still get worse given cases in the camps of teams still to play.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank shared his viewpoint that, "We think we should postpone the full round of Premier League games this weekend. Everyone is dealing with it."
It could no doubt go even further than just this weekend. The situation is getting out of hand, and Frank’s comments suggesting that the league should be suspended are very valid. The spread has to be controlled, and a suspension is logical at this stage.
Premier League clubs are reportedly pushing for a break in fixtures until the FA Cup Third Round commences on 7th January. The Premier League would then return on 15th January, meaning at least three rounds of fixtures would be missed.
Many teams are already a few games behind schedule, as many as three in Tottenham's case. The stark variety of the number of matches played between the teams is a real issue, with it seemingly unfair that teams are becoming so far adrift as a consequence of something rather out of their control.
Later in the season, it could be really to the detriment of those clubs behind in terms of games played. Into the New Year, it will result in more midweek matches which would culminate in more fixture overload. Significantly, more calendar congestion would mean increased fatigue, thus the need for teams to rotate (and weaken their side) to avoid injuries.
Shifting away from the players, the postponements are gutting for the fans. The Christmas into New Year period is the most enjoyable phase of the season for most supporters, but there is extreme doubt as to how many matches - if any - will actually take place. Moreover, the frequent late match cancellations that have occurred over the past week are far from ideal, with a number of fans already having travelled prior to postponements being announced.
One thing will be wished for universally - that football in England is not moved behind closed doors once again. The value of fans has been expressed more than ever this season, with Old Trafford electric ever since the outset against Leeds in August. However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reported to be considering a two week 'circuit breaker' lockdown after Christmas to control the spread of the new Omicron variant. What this would mean for football is yet to be seen but, if the action was able to continue under such circumstances, it would certainly involve matches being played without spectators.
As it stands, the Premier League have only announced that they plan to continue the current fixture schedule where safely possible, but the health and wellbeing of all concerned remains a priority. At the moment, it really seems that the number of Covid-19 cases means the health and wellbeing criteria for matches to go ahead is not being met.
The statement continued to say that, "The Premier League has reintroduced Emergency Measures, including protocols such as more frequent testing, wearing face coverings while indoors, observing social distancing and limiting treatment time".
Comments