There are just a few days left until the busy festive football fixtures take precedence, and shortly after comes the FA Cup Third Round.
It’s always a great time of year for football supporters, perhaps less so for players and managers, with little turnaround time between games and the distinct prospect of injuries.
This year, however, perhaps the powers that be need to take a step back and decide what’s truly important.
Why?
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is continuing to wreak havoc, and football is bearing the brunt as much as any other area of society.
So much so, that the amount of positive tests in the Premier League has more than doubled recently.
Premier League Covid-19 test results this season (via Sky Sports)
2 Aug-8 Aug 3,118 tested; 9 positive
9 Aug-15 Aug 3,231 tests; 11 positive
16 Aug-22 Aug 3,060 tests; 16 positive
23 Aug-29 Aug 3,020 tests; six positive
30 Aug-5 Sep 1,952 tests; two positive
6 Sep-12 Sep 3,039 tests; three positive
13 Sep-19 Sep 3,154 tests; two positive
20 Sep-26 Sep 3,010 tests; one positive
27 Sep-3 Oct 2,927 tests; four positive
4 Oct-10 Oct 1,696 tests; zero positive
11 Oct-17 Oct 3,044 tests; six positive
18 Oct-24 Oct 3,209 tests; four positive
25-31 Oct 3,006 tests; four positive
1-7 Nov 2,953 tests; three positive
8-14 Nov 1,647 tests; four positive
15-21 Nov 3,188 tests; six positive
22-28 Nov 3,379 tests; seven positive
29 Nov-5 Dec 3,154 tests; 12 positive
6-12 Dec 3,805 tests; 42 positive
13-19 Dec 12,345 tests; 90 positive – testing increased to daily lateral flow testing and twice-weekly PCR testing
We are not just at a tipping point, but past it, and any attempt to power through the fixture calendar to save a few bob here and there, and to not have to deal with a pile-up at the end of the season, is in the poorest taste.
If those within football are supposed to be the exemplars and role models, then they need to take the lead to ensure that others follow.