How West Ham Could Be Affected By Project Restart and Football League

For over 2 months, football fans from around the globe have lived a life without the Premier League. For West Ham fans, it has been exactly 74 days since our 1-0 loss at the Emirates.

While points were dropped, it was a good performance from the Hammers and yet another reason to have hope that the club may indeed achieve survival. But West Ham haven’t had the opportunity to play any matches since.

The Premier League, its managers, and player representatives have met with government officials every week since the Covid-19 pandemic put a pause on the season. The purpose of these talks has been to discuss Project Restart – the official name of the plan that will be used to resume the season.

While there have been signs of progress, full squads are not yet training together and a resumption date has not been set in stone. Questions still remain on training and testing protocols, when the season would finish, where the remaining matches would be played, and if the season should be finished, to begin with.

In addition to the uncertainty surrounding every club, fans of clubs in and around the bottom three are surrounded with worry. It looks increasingly likely relegation will occur even if the season is not finished.

West Ham fans fall in this category, so it begs the question: What are the latest developments of Project Restart and how do those developments affect West Ham?

Contracts

One of the major issues I have spoken about when it comes to resuming the season is finishing it by June 30. Player contracts end on June 30 with new ones beginning July 1. Should the season last past June, clubs may face some players leaving in the middle of the season due to expired contracts.

While unfair to some clubs, this should not affect West Ham too much. The only three players out of contract this summer are Carlos Sanchez, Pablo Zabaleta, and Tomas Soucek.

West Ham fans will be glad to see the back of Sanchez and we all know Zabaleta’s best days are behind him. Soucek’s departure is the only worrying one as he was proving to be a solid player in the middle of the pitch.

Gold and Sullivan would need to spend the money to turn his loan deal into a permanent one but amid the pandemic, do they have the funds to do so?

Financial Implications

Just like business across all industries, Premier League clubs have not been immune to the economic standstill caused by the pandemic. While Premier League clubs could lose up to £1bn pounds if the season is not finished, TV rights holders may still find ways to collect back some money for a variety of reasons.

Clubs are also set to lose more revenue from a lack of fans. West Ham recently became the latest club to give refunds for remaining home fixtures.

This may prevent Gold & Sullivan from signing players like Soucek and may even result in the selling of a couple of players, albeit at a market loss. Overall, we simply do not know the extent to which West Ham and the rest of the Premier League will be affected until we know if the season will finish or not and if the 2020/21 season is at all affected.

Neutral Grounds

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In the original Project Restart proposal, neutral stadiums were deemed a necessity. Police were worried about people gathering outside stadiums where matches would be played, especially outside Anfield when Liverpool inevitably wins the league.

Teams closer to the bottom have been against neutral grounds as they worry a lack of home-field advantage could hamper their survival push. It was seen as just another way for relegation-threatened clubs to not finish the season and prevent relegation.

But as of last week, it was reported that 14 of the 20 clubs – including the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, and Spurs – did not want to play at neutral stadiums for a variety of reasons, including the fact that other leagues do not plan on doing so.

West Ham fans have a complicated relationship with our current home and I’m not sure neutral site matches would affect the team that much. At times during the past four years, it has sounded like there are barely any fans in the Olympic Stadium to begin with and when things go wrong, the negativity is palpable.

Overall, I’d still prefer the club to play at the OS but I’m not too worried about this talking point. I feel it is more important for teams like Bournemouth and Villa who thrive on their fans’ energy week in and week out.

Recent EFL Developments

The EFL announced some important and concrete measures to be taken if a season is abandoned. Three key points should be taken from the official statement.

First, a division (e.g. League 2) only needs a simple majority to abandon the season. Second, promotion and relegation across all Football League divisions will occur. Third, an unweighted points-per-game (PPG) model will be used should a league season be abandoned.

That last point is key for West Ham. Models have shown that using an unweighted PPG model – which simply takes the number of points a team has and divides that by the number of matches that club has played – West Ham would finish 16th.

A weighted PPG model – which weighs home and away results separately – actually sees West Ham finish 18th and therefore, relegated to the Championship.

While it is no guarantee the Premier League will follow suit, the EFL measures certainly increase the likelihood of the Premier League using an unweighted model as well, which would secure the club’s Premier League status.

Next. West Ham MUST offer Premier League lifeline to potential star. dark

The only guarantee I can make is there will be clubs that will be unhappy and most of these clubs will most likely sue the Premier League.

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