Sun experts say finishing Champions League a non-starter.. but Alan Shearer and Danny Higginbotham split on FA Cup

AS the Premier League tentatively eases its way towards a return, SunSport columnists ALAN SHEARER and DANNY HIGGINBOTHAM look at the big issues the game still has to tackle.

Can the FA Cup and Champions League survive this season and will we see international football at all this year?

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HAVE GERMANY SHOWN THE WAY FOR THE PREMIER LEAGUE TO RESTART?

AS: “It’s been very encouraging. I’m sure the Premier League have been liaising with them and keeping a close eye on what’s happening there.

“There’s been no major hiccups and it seems to have gone OK. I’ve watched both Borussia Dortmund games — it’s not ideal with no fans but it’s football and it’s back.

“How we do it, whether it be in neutral venues or not, remains to be seen but when it finishes is not important if we can get it done.”

DH: “Yes, they have. I’ve not seen players afraid to go into challenges or touch each other.”

SHOULD THIS SEASON’S FA CUP BE SCRAPPED TO EASE THE FIXTURE CONGESTION?

AS: “No, definitely not. And I’m not just saying it because Newcastle are in the quarter-finals — and are normally long since out! If we are getting the league campaigns done then we can get the FA Cup finished.

“There’s only one more round and then it’s a neutral venue for the semis and final anyway — normally Wembley.

“All eight teams left are from the Premier League so I’m sure it could be fitted into the schedule. It’s important to get it finished.”

DH: “Sadly, I think it should be. The priority is going to be the Premier League.

“It will be very difficult to continue the FA Cup because there are another seven games to go, when you already have a congested Premier League season.”

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WHAT ABOUT THE CHANCES OF COMPLETING THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE?

AS: “This is going to be a problem now. The two-week quarantine rule is going to make that really difficult as it looks like sports teams will not be exempt.

“If you think about the issue of two weeks of isolation for teams when going into one country and the same when you come back to the UK, it’s a big problem. Unless it is relaxed before August I can’t see it.”

DH: “Yes, that is a difficult one. Right now anyone who flies to this country has to be quarantined and what about staying in hotels the night before a game?”

INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL IS GOING TO TAKE A HAMMERING, ISN’T IT?

AS: “I would worry about this in the same way I fear for the Champions League.

“Again you have to look at the quarantine rules and how hard it would be for teams moving from country to country. In addition, this season is not going to finish until August at the earliest — there needs to be three or four weeks off and then back into it again.

“The schedule is going to be tight enough without having to factor in international breaks.

“If there’s a lot of questions to be answered for the Premier League, there are even more for internationals.”

DH: “I don’t find it the most important thing. Obviously you’ve got the Euros next year, therefore is there an immediate rush to play international football? No, there isn’t.”

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WOULD YOU BE HAPPY TO BE BACK IN TRAINING IF YOU WERE STILL A PLAYER?

AS: “As long as I felt it was safe to do so yes I would, I’d be delighted to be training again. It’s been nine or ten weeks at home for most of the players.

“They’ll have heard enough talk of ‘will they or won’t they’ and it would be a relief to get back to doing what they do best for most of them.”

DH: “Yes, I would. If you ask any footballer I think they would say they have missed it.

“I’d have some nerves at first, especially when going into contact. But players are in arguably the most protected work environment there is around, in terms of testing and the social distancing there is right now. Nobody is taking any chances.”

HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT A TEAM-MATE WHO DIDN’T WANT TO RETURN TO TRAINING?

AS: “You’ve got to understand their feelings and respect their opinion. You’ve got to listen to what they are saying and think, ‘OK fine, I get it’.

“People might have health worries in their immediate families.”

DH: “Each to their own. Every player who doesn’t want to will have their own reasons and they have to be respected.”

IF YOU WERE A MANAGER WHAT WOULD YOU BE SAYING TO YOUR PLAYERS?

AS: “Some of the them might need reassuring but I’d tell them it’s been made as safe as it possibly can be.

“They’ve been very stringent and tested twice already. Everything will be cleaned from top to bottom several times a day – they can’t do any more.”

DH: “It’s a football cliche for a manager to say ‘my door is always open’. But this is a time when I would stress that more than anything for players who have concerns, so that they can speak openly and honestly.”

UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, WOULD YOU WANT TO PLAY A FULL-CONTACT GAME?

AS: “Not yet — but they are not asking them to do that yet. That’s a different phase.

“For now, it’s about going in and working individually, four or five at a time. The time will come if phase one goes well, the number of tests are a lot more and there are less positive tests.”

DH: “Yes, I’m happy for the contact training to start when the next phase kicks in because you can’t then make it any safer. After that, you cannot allay the fears of players with concerns.

“If you are not going to do it in the next few weeks, then the only possible time you are going to do it is when the virus has gone completely or there is a vaccine.

“But this is not going anywhere in a hurry and a vaccine could be months away or never.

“So basically if we don’t start football in the next four or five weeks are we saying we cannot start until it has gone or there is a vaccine?

“Then you can guarantee a lot of these clubs that are a huge part of communities will not exist any more.

“We can either come back in a few weeks when we know the virus is still around or we can’t do it until it is completely gone.”