Neil Humphreys: Covid-19's second wave may end EPL's revival
Rising cases elsewhere highlight the English farce behind Project Restart
While English Premier League clubs argue over playing venues and other self-interests, a worrying development is taking place within the sport.
Covid-19 cases are rising again.
The numbers are small. But it's who the victims are - and where they are - that must terrify the EPL.
Germany, Spain and even South Korea are experiencing the potential beginnings of a second wave. Not for the first time, the English seem to be off the pace with the evolving climate around them.
Last night, the British government gave the EPL the green light to potentially restart the season from June 1 and the 20 clubs met to discuss Project Restart and a resumption of fixtures.
But Project Restart is more suited to fairies, than footballers. It is a fantasy, cobbled together by those blinded by dollar signs.
Aside from the fact that hundreds of English victims are still dying daily in Covid-19's first wave, Germany and Spain are providing startling reasons for not coming back before a second.
Just consider the developments at Dynamo Dresden.
A Bundesliga side in the second tier, Dresden's players were sent home after two tested positive for the coronavirus. The squad is now quarantined for a fortnight.
According to Bundesliga chief executive Christian Seifert, Dresden will miss the season restart on May 17. It's rather simple, apparently. Dresden can make up the missed fixtures once they return.
That probably means three games in a week, for a rusty team straight out of quarantine, with two players recovering from Covid-19. No problem.
The EPL has such a clear and easy path to follow now, even if England has a higher death toll than Germany and is further behind in its post-lockdown preparations.
Even countries that are ahead of the curve are still gathering in front of daily graphs, biting nails and desperately hoping that those numbers do not spike.
In Spain, five footballers in La Liga's top two divisions have tested positive for Covid-19 since clubs began testing players last week. Real Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro confirmed that he was one of the cases.
Like the EPL, La Liga intends to return next month.
Unlike the EPL, La Liga is already at the second phase of a four-stage preparation protocol.
LAGGING BEHIND
Meanwhile, the EPL just had another meeting about neutral venues and TV revenues as the cash-flow crisis tightens its grips.
Last week, Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish painted a "doomsday scenario" for dormant EPL clubs, comparing them to struggling airlines. His concerns are obviously valid.
But most flights within those struggling airlines are grounded nonetheless. Professional footballers should be no different.
And yet, their employers seem adamant that the EPL is somehow capable of shortcutting a pandemic and reaching the same mid-June target as countries like Germany and Spain - and for the same reason, too.
Uefa has called for Europe's top leagues to finalise their season plans by May 25 so a decision on the Champions League can be taken on May 27, which seemed a viable proposition a few days ago.
As Covid-19 disrupts scientific thinking on a daily basis, it's hard to remember that a sense of giddy optimism ran through the football community on Friday evening.
The K-League kicked off its season. The fixtures were completed with minimal talking, no spitting and more masks in the dugout than a Halloween party. The South Koreans offered a slither of hope.
And then, the numbers spiked.
Yesterday, South Korea reported 35 new infections - the highest number in more than a month. There were more cases in 48 hours than in the previous week, reportedly thanks to a fresh outbreak at re-opened nightclubs.
President Moon Jae In moved quickly to dampen expectations and warned a jittery nation. Prepare for a second wave.
Meanwhile, back in a country that wasn't prepared for the first wave, EPL clubs debate the pros and cons of neutral venues like befuddled aristocrats on the Titanic, arguing over the best view of the iceberg.
They obsess over personal, immediate concerns, as if oblivious to the wider environment.
Even if the cases in Germany, Spain and South Korea do not entirely register, then the third positive test among players at Brighton & Hove Albion should offer a timely caution.
After a six-week lockdown, isolating athletes are still testing positive, suggesting that Project Restart is either naive or downright negligent.
It seems typically macabre of this remorseless virus to infect three Seagulls on the coast. Brighton is a seaside town.
The EPL should heed the warning. A second wave may be on the horizon.
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