‘Bizarre situation’ – Exclusive: Phillips says playing behind closed doors might have to be done
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips has admitted that West Brom might have to see out their final nine matches of the Championship season behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As it stands, all professional football in England has been suspended until the end of April and most teams have agreed that they want to finish off the remaining games of the 2019/20 season.
However with confirmed cases of the virus rising daily, no one can really predict when football might be able to reconvene.
One suggestion for playing out the remaining fixtures is for teams to play in empty stadiums and while Phillips admits that wouldn’t be great, he can understand why it might be a strong option.
“I’ve never experienced it (playing behind closed doors) and the closest I came to it was playing in reserves games in empty stadiums and it’s quite strange,” Phillips told West Brom News.
“We’re in strange, unfamiliar territory at the moment. It’s a bizarre situation so I think that if I was a player and I had to play behind closed doors, it takes a lot out of the game. The atmosphere is something that gets you going or puts pressure on the other team.
“If there’s a chance of getting the season finished then it would have to be done. You’d have to get on with it.
“It’s not ideal but if it was to come to that then, as players, you get out there and you do your job. At least you’re back playing and you’re back training.
“It’s for what, nine games? You just get on with it because when football does reconvene it’s going to be done in a short period of time. It’s not going to be Saturday, Saturday, Saturday. It could be every other day.”
A lot of football supporters would probably be happy to see the season finish, even if it means having to watch it on television without actually being at the stadium.
However playing matches behind closed doors isn’t as easy as it seems.
One point that has been raised is that ambulances and paramedics have to be present at matches in case of emergency.
Is it really wise to take away precious resources that the NHS so that football can reconvene? Definitely not.
In other West Brom news, this is why Kenneth Zohore still has so much to prove at The Hawthorns.