The latest episode of the “Barclay and Barton on the Premier League” podcast is now available on all streaming platforms.
Legendary football journalist Paddy Barclay and football writer Wayne Barton explore the Premier League era, dedicating time to some of the great teams and players, and aiming a forensic microscope over some of the most fascinating stories of the times.
It’s a new season and a new ball game. Now all the retrospective podcasts are done, Paddy and Wayne discuss the 19/20 season so far. What went so right for Liverpool? What went wrong for Manchester City? And could they still have a silver lining? The coronavirus pandemic changed the sporting world but will the changes since the restart of the competition be here to stay?
“Because of what was happening, and because it was so tragic, I just didn’t feel comfortable with football coming back,” Wayne says. “I agree with the sentiment that football is nothing without fans and I found it difficult to come to terms with the fact that it could come back and be accepted in the same way. I always thought the competition would be affected by too many changes… however, I’m not completely against it. I watched it. I have looked forward to it. It is different but I still want my team to win a football match.”
“I was all in favour of forcing the Premier League into thirty minute matches just to legitimise the competition,” Paddy says. “I have to thank the clubs and the bodies for the way they have continued the season. As a fan I thank those who made the decisions and everybody who helped. We’ve got football back, it’s the right thing to do. It’s been part of a get back to normal strategy. Who knows? There might be interruptions down the line but football has done its best. It doesn’t mean I think it’s right that there’s football without fans.”
Barclay and Barton on the Premier League is in association with Pitch Publishing.
