Now, to be fair most seasons of the Premier League are not as close as this year. Often the winner is known within the last few games, but this year Manchester City and Liverpool kept fans guessing until the very last moment. The battle between first and second was incredible to watch, and the teams seemed to switch places after every single game. This lead to some questions as to how on earth they know where to take the trophy on the last match day. Freetips.com explains how it is done.
With rumours swirling that helicopters are on standby at the two winning grounds it really seemed that this might be the most efficient solution to such a conundrum. The last time it was so close was in 2012, when it appeared to be simple as the two teams in contention were Manchester City and Manchester United. Had they both played at home, it may indeed have been straightforward but of course, this was not how it went and while City was in the Etihad, Manchester United were away to Sunderland meaning it was more than a quick flip across the city with a trophy. Both teams finished with the same 89 points, but City won the league on goal difference, closer even than the 2019 season.
The solution in such a situation does not, in fact, involve high-speed helicopter transfers but instead relies heavily on duplication. Both grounds will be set up to host the winning team, with two cups and two sets of medals. There are actually two genuine copies of the Premier League trophy, and both are engraved with the winning teams over the years. One lives at the ground of the holders, and one lives with the league itself. So, either trophy can be used for the presentation and once they have updated the engraving the winning team can have theirs back at the ground. There will also always be two sets of 40 medals. During the presentation any player that has appeared in five or more games will be awarded theirs in front of the cameras, will other staff and players pick theirs up later. We aren't sure what happens to the medals that are not used.
Further to this, each ground has a presentation team waiting in the wings which means once both final whistles blow and the winners are known the presentation can go ahead. There are members of the league on hand, and each team is asked to pick a local hero to help with the presentation. A bit of a smack in the face for the hero that doesn't get to see his team lift the cup, but that is how it works. We assume there is also some champagne on ice and some buffet snacks, where these are used at the losing ground is anyone's guess. So there you have it, how they handle the too close to call scenario at the end of the season.
