We have little or no chance of survival anyway unless we can consistently field our strongest side and they consistently perform at close to their best every game. In which case, surely the priority is to get e.g. Rashica, Normann, Kabak, Tzolis, Omobamidele, back to full fitness, while allowing extended recovery time for others e.g. Pukki. I would have thought a temporary Covid-suppressing break might be highly beneficial for us.
Not to mention it probably give Dean Smith more time with the players, and Villa under Smith benefited hugely from the last covid disruption.
Unlike when we came back we looked half asleep! Farke could never get the team going after a break (be it a season break or post covid, we always took a few games to get on the pace).
I don’t disagree with your principle in the short term, but remember that we don’t have millions to spend in January and have already had to play two matches missing players due to Covid. In contrast we can expect Newcastle, Watford and possibly even Burnley (let alone the other teams above them) to strengthen significantly. Every cancelled match also means fixture congestion later in the season, which is easier for clubs with buckets of cash and deeper benches to manage than it is for us. We always had a slim chance of survival, but Covid keeps making it harder.
But this fixture "congestion" is normal scenario for the championship. We should be welcome it as we will be more used to it.
While our points total is disappointing to say the least, our chance of survival has remained a possibility because the same is true of the 4 sides we're equal to or just behind. Leeds lost 1-4 at home to Arsenal today so we now have a game in hand on them, though Burnley have 2 games in hand on us and Watford have 1 in hand. Survival looks likely to be on a lower number of points than usual this year. By the time we face Arsenal on Boxing Day we will have had an 11 day break to get players back and the return of Byram is a bonus. Regular players like Pukki, McLean and Aarons will have had a rest and others should return fresh from covid or injury. It's like a fresh start to the season with Smith and Shakespeare having 11 days to work hard on improvements and be ready to go.
Meanwhile, the injury picture is beginning to look more positive: https://www.norfolklive.co.uk/sport...norwich-injury-arsenal-crystal-palace-6369583 Tzolis completes his Covid isolation on Monday so should return. Normann and Kabak should be ready for Arsenal and Rashica and Hanley might be as well. Rupp, Lees-Melou and Sargent should also hopefully be over their illnesses by Boxing Day. Keeping clear of Covid will be the main concern now.
There are six of us in the mix and we have to do better than at least three of them. In the cases of Leeds and Saints quite lot better. I do agree though that it looks like a low points total required, maybe as low as 34-5. Still means we need at least six wins and six draws though.
A lot will depend on the games between the bottom five or six clubs. We travel to Southampton, Leeds and Watford but are at home to Burnley and Newcastle. The other factor is whether Smith can bring in new players who can make an immediate difference. Unless players leave, that will have to be on a budget with Villa players like Davis and/or Hourihane coming in who already have a rapport with Smith and his style of play so they can hit the ground running. We have the squad places, so should fill them with the threat of Covid taking players out. If Aarons was to leave though, Smith could be more ambitious.
If Aarons leaves in Jan we have Byram to replace him now (hopefully fully fit) who is an experienced EPL player. It could be argued that we would be defensively more secure. Leaves scope to recruit a striker with the money generated.
Looks like things continue for now, with a little clarity over the rules: For me, that's an absolute joke of a decision, and seems to punish the teams who have already tried to keep going through Covid issues in the past. Leeds have been forced to give a load of U21 players experience to manage fixtures, thus making it even harder for them to get a game called off? How can you not factor in which positions are available, other than GK?
As if they didn't have enough advantages before, now we have to put up with the advent of 'bugger squads'! Seriously, we may be able to manage this with our 90% vaccination rate for players and staff. The return of Byram comes just in time, given his versatility. Tzolis should be out of quarantine today and the chances of others returning look good at the moment.
I doubt if this is the end of this. Omicron is here and increasing exponentially. Many of the Boxing Day fixtures may go ahead, but I imagine there's going to be a deluge of positive tests by the end of the year. Short-sighted and short-term thinking IMO.
Premier Leagus statement on vaccination rates here: https://www.premierleague.com/news/2424555 "The League also confirmed to its clubs today that 92 per cent of players and club staff have received one, two or three COVID-19 vaccination doses, with 84 per cent of players on the vaccination journey." So that's roughly 1 in 6 players who haven't received a vaccination, or ~4 per 25-man squad. Given some teams (Wolves have been 100% vaccinated for months, Brentford and Leeds were around 90% uptake back in September, Liverpool and ourselves have all first team players vaccinated I believe) have much higher vaccination rates, there must be a few squads out there with much poorer uptake.
That also assumed that the percentage is equal across all club staff - I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s lower amongst players than back room
The only announced one was Tzolis, but he returned to training on Monday and it's also hoped that Rashica will be fit. Hanley is likely to be out with his shoulder injury and Normann is still a doubt. Kabak, Sargent and Dowell have returned to training. https://www.pinkun.com/sport/norwic...addy-davitt-fan-premier-league-debate-8575846
