Ex-West Brom men key to Premier League’s return
Two former Albion directors are set to have a huge say in whether football is able to return following the coronavirus outbreak.
The government, Premier League and EFL are all continuing to hold talks in a bid to find a way to conclude the 2019/20 season in a fair and safe way.
Integral to those discussions are the Premier League’s director of football Richard Garlick and chief medical adviser Mark Gillett.
Garlick filled various roles at The Hawthorns between 2010 and 2018 with the 43-year-old employed as the club’s secretary and legal director before being appointed technical director.
Gillett, who was known simply as Doc at Albion, also joined the Baggies as head of sports science and medicine.
He then went on to become the club’s director of performance.
Now the two men are at the forefront of talks to find a way to bring the game back safely – with the two football chiefs responsible to easing the concerns of doctors working for Premier League sides.
Medics have put together a letter for Gillett and Garlick listing 100 questions and potential problems they are worried may arise. The letter – split into 10 different sections – revealed multiple Covid-19 concerns they believe have not yet been addressed.
They include:
“Approving guidelines that still carry risk of death.”
“Liability, insurance and testing for players, staff and their families.”
“Increased risk for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups.”
“Ability of emergency services to attend training ground incidents.”
“Possible transmission via sweat and goalkeeper gloves.”
All clubs have been invited to put in writing any concerns they over a potential return to training this month.
The plan for a return, which is still pending an official decision, is to have matches in the Premier League restart on June 12.
Alongside holding talks with club doctors, Garlick has drawn up a seven-page document looking at new protocols that include testing, social distancing and wearing personal protective equipment for footballers.
The football chief has also been looking into the prospect of players wearing masks or snoods at training.
Meanwhile, Albion have re-opened The Hawthorns kitchen in order to prepare more than 1,000 meals per week for distribution to children across Sandwell.
The Baggies successfully launched the Hawthorns Hot Meals scheme in April and have since delivered 2,534 dinners in the local community.
The club’s head chef Sean Byrne and his team have worked tirelessly to cook the meals, with Albion Foundation staff on hand to deliver to 61 different schools. The meals are then redistributed by schools to children they believe may otherwise be going without important nutrition during the economy-stopping pandemic crisis.
Albion Foundation director, Rob Lake, said: “We are working really closely with Sandwell Council and our partner schools to provide a co-ordinated support package.
“We identified that there are some families really struggling to feed a full household three meals per day.
“The schools choose the families who need these meals the most and we deliver knowing it is going to the right people.”
