With the exception of Belarus, South Korea and starting this Saturday, Germany, global football is currently suspended. The Premier League has been given the all clear by the government to restart after June 1, behind closed doors, and with that in mind, teams are now training awhile adhering to social distancing guidelines.
However, there are still plenty of questions to be answered when it comes to Project Restart, and we’ll learn more this week as meetings are held and votes taken.
Until football returns, we still have plenty of news items to cover. So let’s take a spin through the Tottenham Hotspur community in cyberspace. For today’s Spurs transfer rumor round-up go here.
We start with one individual who is STRONGLY against Project Restart, former Spurs and current Newcastle United defender Danny Rose.
“The government is saying we are bringing football back because it is going to boost the nation’s morale,” he said during an Instagram Live with British singer-songwriter Don-E yesterday.
“I don’t give a fuck about the nation’s morale, people’s lives are at risk. Football shouldn’t even be spoke about coming back until the numbers have dropped massively.”
“It’s bullshit. I listened to the announcement yesterday, no football until June 1 or something, I don’t even pay attention to any of that. I think I’m getting tested on Friday, so we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“I’m sad that people are getting sick and being affected. Football should be the last of things that need to be sorted.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has expressed his opposition to the plan as well. The United Kingdom has the second highest number of coronavirus cases in Europe, behind only Spain. More people have died of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom than in any other European country.
Elsewhere, Tottenham talisman Harry Kane has provided a fitness update. He’s ready and full go if/when the restart commences. So if you’re looking for some more uplifting news there is that. To the Lane and Back has more on this.
Finally, if you’re looking for something that’s pure on-the-pitch in scope, you really want to get into the pur football nitty-gritty, and forget about the off-the-pitch issues overshadowing everything right now, watch this Jose Mourinho video.
https://twitter.com/FutbolBible/status/1258683056094941185
The Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate is certainly one that all football fans worldwide have found themselves weighing in on, at some point. FWIW, I’ve been on team Messi for that. Mourinho says a lot of things that strengthen this side of the debate.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for Chicago Tribune.com, on Twitter and his cat on Instagram.