Premier League “circuit break”: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Sam Allardyce disagree over plan

The manager of Manchester United Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not interested in the planned Premier League “circuit break” which will reportedly last for two-week. The circuit break might be introduced in the league due to the increasing cases of coronavirus among players and staff.

Solskjaer insisted that the proposed two-week Premier League “circuit break” might make the already congested fixtures in the league to become worsen, adding that players and staff are following the coronavirus protocol and there should not be a cause for an alarm.

Since the Premier League announced the latest coronavirus test result which confirmed that about 18 players and staff within the league had tested positive for the virus, the call for a two-week break has continued to wax stronger.

Recall that earlier in December, the Premier League had to postpone Newcastle United vs Aston Villa league match because of a high number of confirmed coronavirus cases at the camp of Newcastle.

Also, a few days ago, the Premier League announced that the Everton vs Manchester City Premier League fixture has been postponed because City’s camp has been hit with a high number of coronavirus cases.

There are reports that the high number of coronavirus cases in the league might affect the Tottenham vs Fulham league match scheduled for today, December 30, at 19:00.

Despite all these postponements of matches, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not see any benefit in halting the league for two-weeks over the raging coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s not something I’ve thought about a lot. I think our players have been really good in following protocols and rules,” Solskjaer said after Manchester United 1-0 victory over Wolves on Tuesday, December 29.

“That’s part of the job here, that we as clubs follow the protocols given. I can’t see the benefit of having a circuit break, whatever it’s going to be called.

“Because when are we going to play the games? We all know this year is so difficult, but I don’t think stopping the games is going to make a big, big change.”

The Premier League carried out a coronavirus test on 1,479 players and club staff members between December 21 and 27 which returned a total of 18 positive results. The people who have been confirmed carriers of the virus are currently self-isolating.

Unlike Manchester United coach, the manager of West Brom Sam Allardyce told the press on Tuesday that the rumored two-week Premier League “circuit break” will be a welcome development in the league due to the rising cases of the virus.

The coach agreed to the proposed plan after his relegation-threatened club suffered a 5-0 thrashing at the hand of Leeds United.

“Everyone’s safety is more important than anything else,” he said. “When I listen to the news the variant virus transmits quicker than the original virus [so] we can only do the right thing which is have a circuit break.

“I am 66 years old and the last thing I want to do is catch Covid. I’m very concerned about myself and football in general. If that’s what needs to be done we need to do it. We had one positive this week and it seems to be creeping around no matter how hard we try.”