Our F.A. Premier League (F.A.P.L.), and therefore our Premier London derbies (PLDs) Clubs are back in team training, albeit in player groups of 3, with social distancing, and no physical contact. The Spurs App has shown a 3 minutes 45 seconds video, with one or two new hairstyles on display (unless someone went white overnight); Harry Kane on the field in action; and a familiar Portuguese voice giving orders and encouragement. He said he wanted a pre-season working with the likes of Kane, Son and Dele and now he is sort of getting it. Terrestrial T.V. also showed a very short clip of training somewhere seemingly taken by a drone camera. Was it official, or a spy from a rival?
Elsewhere towards the base of the football pyramid, which the F.A.P.L. has been asked to support, in the English Football League (E.F.L.) League 2 voted 20 to 4 to end the season now deciding the final table on points per game. Swindon Town, Crewe Alexander, and Plymouth Argyle are the top 3, with Cheltenham Town, Exeter City, Colchester United, and Northampton Town in the play-off places, which would take place. No London Clubs but at least Leyton Orient are safe and now with said Harry Kane involved in shirt sponsorship. An interesting question relates to relegation from E.F.L. League 2 where Stevenage Borough are in 24th and last place. There are however now only 71 not 72 Clubs in the E.F.L. since Bury F.C. once at Gigg Lane along with Carlisle United at Brunton Park and Lincoln City at Sincil Bank having one of the best playing surfaces anywhere, were expelled in August 2019.
Does that mean that Barrow F.C., leaders by 4 points of the National League, will come back into the E.F.L. and Stevenage stay in too? ironically Barrow-in-Furness has also been top of another league that is the national coronavirus Covid-19 infection rate table with 822 cases per 100,000 population. Surely that will not influence the E.F.L. in the same way that being in an expensive to reach part of the country may have influenced fellow Clubs to not re-elect them in 1972? However whether the F.A.P.L. is to resume or not, and we are to “see” the remaining 8 PLDs matches of the 2019-2020 season will depend on what happens with Covid-19 throughout the country as lockdown measures ease, so watch that R number!
Until next time, “stay alert” and if you are an essential worker “thank you”, Andrew at PLDs.