Liverpool will be far from ‘normal’ when football restarts

Liverpool will be far from ‘normal’ when football restarts.

The EPL this week has voted to begin phase two of reopening league play with full contact training. This gives teams just two weeks to get relatively match fit if they intend to hit the June 12 target for resuming play.

Fans have been watching closely how the restart in the Bundesliga two weeks ago has gone. I have watched eight matches in that time and it is definitely surreal to see games played in empty stands. Thus far, there have been no major issues with the resumption of the Bundesliga season.

In evidence to viewers, teams are wearing protective masks on the sidelines and are maintaining social distancing. Subdued goal celebrations and minimal contact between players in dead ball situations is also evident. Fist bumps, and elbow tags are the new normal for player celebrations.

Also absent thus far are the gaggling of players surrounding the ref to lobby for a particular call to go their way.

Use of VAR has been minimal or almost nonexistent in the matches I’ve seen. Review of goals and offsides in certain instances are the only occasions I’ve seen VAR used since play has resumed.

Five subs per side limited to three ‘windows’ for substitutions during the match is definitely a new wrinkle in the mix and makes perfect sense under the circumstances. With teams looking to play (like Liverpool) some ten matches in a span of a month or so, player fitness and fatigue becomes a factor.

It is evident that niggling fitness injuries and leg cramps are an obvious issue; too many having been suffered in the second half of the ties I’ve seen to be mere coincidence. This will be an ongoing issue going forward in the Bundesliga and likewise in the EPL when they return in a few weeks. Getting to match fitness takes time after not having played since mid March.

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Especially for Liverpool, who play such an intense brand of football.

A few observations about the matches themselves.

Sound; without fans screaming in the stands, stadiums become echo chambers that reveal coaches and players hollering and yelling instruction and encouragement. This is all a normal part of a match, but the absence of fans has made this communication apparent to fans who would otherwise not hear this.

It’ll also be an interesting exercise to listen to Jordan Henderson hollering instructions to the rest of the team.

During Der Klassiker this weekend past between Dortmund and Bayern, the stadium sound booth projected canned fan soundtracks for the match. This is the only instance of this that I’ve seen thus far, but it did make for a different twist on the empty stand situation.

Some teams have actually put cardboard cutouts of people in the stands for several rows nearest the pitch…apparently there is no standard between venues on how they manage empty stands.

Tempo; games seem to progress much more quickly, half time is upon you before you realize it, etc. The pace and urgency in the sides also seems to be subdued as well. So one is left feeling like they’ve been watching a training match or friendly practice session.

Again, as Liverpool play such an intense brand of football it’ll be really interesting to observe how they get on.

Ironically regarding tempo intensity and pace; the football I’ve seen so far from the Bundesliga restart looks a lot like the MLS, which is so slow and viscous, when compared with other professional leagues in Europe, South and Central America.

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I expect the EPL to look quite similar upon its return. Without fans in the stands the glaringly obvious repercussion on its face is that players have no one to play up to. So their intensity and tempo drops accordingly. This is how I have seen the restart thus far.

Just got word: EPL to restart the weekend of June 17, and the Reds will begin on the road in the derby with Everton.

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