So far so good, with no dampers from the Government or anyone else this week on the proposed F.A. premier League (F.A.P.L.) restart date of 17 June 2020 for the 2019-2020 season. The Premier League Shareholders (i.e. the Clubs) have agreed temporary changes to the rules so that there will be up to 9 substitutes on the bench, of which up to 5 may be used in a match until the end of this protracted season. That is an increase of 2 on each of these numbers, but does it mean you can substitute a goalkeeper twice?
Last week we looked at where our Premier London derbies (PLDs) Clubs were in their mini-league, and this week we can look ahead at what is to come when play resumes. There has however been no official confirmation that the F.A.P.L. will continue with the same fixture list as was abandoned after the 7 March round of matches, but presumably it will. That being so there are no PLDs matches in the first round of games over the weekend of Friday 19 to Monday 22 June when all 20 Premier League Clubs will play once. From the original F.A.P.L. fixture list at the start of the season the sequence of PLDs matches should be: Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United; West Ham United v Chelsea; Chelsea v Watford; Crystal Palace v Chelsea; Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal; West Ham United v Watford; Arsenal v Watford; and on the last day of the “old season fixture list” Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur. The F.A. have now announced the first 3 fixtures so that the first PLDs match will be Spurs v West Ham on Tuesday 23 June at 8:15pm on Sky Sports.
All the 92 remaining F.A.P.L. matches will be broadcast live with 3 in a row on Saturdays and Sundays, and 4 of them on the B.B.C. for the first time since Sunday 6 March 1988. That match was a First Division North London derby in which Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 1. It was the usual Spurs defensive frailty with a second minute goal by the Gunners’ Alan Smith, a Spurs second half equalizer from Clive Allen, and a late winner by Perry Groves. The respective Managers were George Graham, who later “crossed the floor of the House” to manage Spurs, and Terry Venables who lost to Spurs in the 1967 Cup Final when playing for Chelsea. Will history repeat itself this year and the North London derby again be on the “Beeb”? It is not scheduled to be of the 6 “neutral games” to be played at neutral venues. Whatever professional football and PLDs are one week closer.
Until next time “stay alert” and if you are an essential worker “thank you”, Andrew at PLDs.