Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein has suggested that the next Premier League season should start in February 2021 and end in November.

The 76-year-old cites three major reasons why it would make sense to radically change the domestic calendar. While it would allow this campaign to be finished, it could also give time for crowds to return for matches and align with the Qatar World Cup:

“I’d like to see next season recalibrated. One reason is we don’t know what’s going to happen. Will this season actually be able to finish in June and July?”

“I wouldn’t put pressure on ourselves. If we have to, let’s finish this season in October or November. We’d give ourselves ample time for the players to have a break.”

“I’d like to see next season run from February to November. With luck, we could be in a position to have fans back. Not only that, the World Cup in 2022 is in November in Qatar. So we are going to have to recalibrate the season then. Why not do it for next season?”

The major obstacle to Dein’s proposal would be UEFA. The European governing body have not set a hard deadline for the end of the season but they have suggested August 3rd as a cutoff point.

It has led to many leagues around Europe trying to complete their seasons behind closed doors in order to meet the unofficial deadline.

In addition, Dein’s plan doesn’t really take into account that many clubs are in financial difficulties due to the global health crisis and delaying next season would cause serious ramifications for those teams that are struggling.