Fans return/pilots paused

'A number of sports have urged the government to allow them to continue with their plans to open turnstiles from 1 October, with a decision due this week.

However, it is understood they are set to be told that fans will not be allowed back from next month and that pilot events will be paused.'


Doesn’t look good this especially after listening to the scientists yesterday, but lets wait and see.
 
In hindsight shouldn't have started sport in the first place until fans where allowed back however small numbers they allowed in.
The longer this lasts your just piling up debt and clubs are going to go under.
 
I didn’t mind watching the end of the last Prem season on TV, and the condensed European games were actually much better than 2 leg games.

However the Prem games this season feel rather pointless and in 2 weekends I think I’ve watched about 45 minutes. Even watching our game on Ifollow only held a certain amount of enjoyment.

Football without fans, whilst not nothing, isn’t really worth much IMO.
 
I was one of the lucky 1000 and it was a joy to watch live football again.
Hardly watched any PL games in the new season.

There was little risk at the Football ground but when I took a walk down the prom beforehand, I was dodging past people and there was no regard for the 1 metre rule. It was heaving !
Great point
 
Inevitable really, with the second wave upon us. At the start of the pandemic I thought it would be 2021 and the availabilty of a vacine before supporters would get back into grounds, irrespective of the success or otherwise of any pilots. The football authorities and the government should be concentrating on a support package to keep clubs going until then. And, as well as some Government support there should be an automatic levy on the PL revenues to support the lower leagues. It is utterly ridiculous that Spurs are paying Bale £600k a week when the PL are reluctant to even advance very limited TV monies to the lower leagues (not give them a additional grant).
 
I went to an outdoor market on Saturday which was 10 times busier than anything I saw at Bloomfield Road which looked 100% safe and a lot safer than most things which continue. Am non-political but the decision making at the moment is useless!
 
Inside the ground can be controlled and is a relatively safe environment. I think the concern is people arriving and leaving the vicinity, travelling there by public transport, congregating around the stadium etc.
 
It's not necessarily about being safe in the ground - it's about general movement of people. If you reopen stadia, then people will have to travel there, they will go into pubs and shops. If you provide catering, the concourses will be busy. If you don't, the local area will be. The highest risk of transmission is indoors in warm, less well ventilated areas, and the longer you're in them, the higher the risk. That's why the main restriction is on people in the home. But it applies as much in pubs, restaurants, cafes and small shops, people car sharing, public transport especially as it gets colder and the heating goes up.
 
BBC now reporting that crowds will in all probability not be allowed in until well into next year. Not good at all , but not unexpected.
 
'A number of sports have urged the government to allow them to continue with their plans to open turnstiles from 1 October, with a decision due this week.

However, it is understood they are set to be told that fans will not be allowed back from next month and that pilot events will be paused.'


Doesn’t look good this especially after listening to the scientists yesterday, but lets wait and see.
When you think about it, the pilot scheme made no money for the club on Saturday as those there had already paid through their season ticket and there were no revenue opportunities on the day with no concourse open.
 
No issue with Cheltenham being allowed to go ahead with over 300,000 in attendance. This will destroy and seriously harm a lot of football clubs. I'm not surprised one bit, just sad that a lot of communities are going to suffer.
 
Why not let small numbers go back, and rotate it - this keeps the connection with the club ,and provides some atmosphere at the games at least, and people for the players to play in front of. 2000 or so in our stadium, surely safe?
But it ain't just about us do you let the same 2000 into Sunderlands ground or is a percentage of capacity.
Opening up London teams would be a nightmare for public transport as it can't be different rules for individual clubs.
 
I was also fortunate to go on Saturday and felt safe inside and outside the ground.
Everything was organised well and the Stewards were helpful.
It wasn't about making money obviously, it was proving they could create a safe environment and they did that.
We could quite easily accommodate more fans safely.
For certain I felt safer at the match than I do shopping or doing my Grandson's school run.
I was hoping all the season ticket holders would get a chance to go but it seems unlikely now.
 
In hindsight shouldn't have started sport in the first place until fans where allowed back however small numbers they allowed in.
The longer this lasts your just piling up debt and clubs are going to go under.

Easy to say when Blackpool were 12th or whatever. If we were top you wouldn't have said that
 
I was also fortunate to go on Saturday and felt safe inside and outside the ground.
Everything was organised well and the Stewards were helpful.
It wasn't about making money obviously, it was proving they could create a safe environment and they did that.
We could quite easily accommodate more fans safely.
For certain I felt safer at the match than I do shopping or doing my Grandson's school run.
I was hoping all the season ticket holders would get a chance to go but it seems unlikely now.
Spot on. Felt exactly the same. I'd been in Asda that morning, and the ground was a much more welcoming and safer environment.
 
As one of the lucky 1000 on Saturday, here was my day.

Left home in my car, three masks, wipes and hand gel in case they were needed. Packed lunch and water in backpack. Arrived at Travelodge car park ciirca 14.00. paid via mobile phone, mask on and walked to ground. Queue was socially distanced. Entered ground followed one way system to loo. On washing hands saw that someone had already. Left a green towel by the sink rather than put it in the bin. Continue.

Found seat had lunch. Watched game. Mask on at all times, game watched without, including at end and returning to car. Drove home, no stopping. Arrived home. Circa 18.30.
 
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When you think about it, the pilot scheme made no money for the club on Saturday as those there had already paid through their season ticket and there were no revenue opportunities on the day with no concourse open.
Very true Wizaard and that will be the case l suspect for the rest of the season even if say 25% (4000) season ticket holders are allowed in at some point, and that is a big 'if'.
 
The real issue here is not about what we as individual supporters want to do with our leisure time, it's that sports 'clubs', pubs, restaurants, cafes, theatres, cinemas, concert venues, hotels etc. are all not being treated as the businesses that they actually are and the vital employers they are. And paying customers to these venues are drivers of the local community economies; supporting businesses (like the new Armfield Club) by providing a huge percentage of the monthly/annual revenue.

The government have discussed getting schools back - 100% agree. That's vital. Then they talk about people going back to the workplace as though the 'workplace' means an office. There's countless different workplaces that need to be considered. We're causing crippling economic conditions to protect a small percentage of the population. Surely it makes more sense limit the vulnerable being in public spaces than the fit and healthy and also to make sure that the fit and healthy fully realise their responsibilities as spreaders?
 
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The real issue here is not about what we as individual supporters want to do with our leisure time, it's that sports 'clubs', pubs, restaurants, cafes, theatres, cinemas, concert venues, hotels etc. are all not being treated as the businesses that they actually are and the vital employers. And paying customers to these venues are drivers of the local community economies; supporting businesses (like the new Armfield Club) by providing a huge percentage of the monthly/annual revenue.

The government have discussed getting schools back - 100% agree. That's vital. Then they talk about people going back to the workplace as though the 'workplace' means an office. There's countless different workplaces that need to be considered. We're causing crippling economic conditions to protect a small percentage of the population. Surely it makes more sense limit the vulnerable being in public spaces than the fit and healthy and also to make sure that the fit and healthy fully realise their responsibilities as spreaders?
Top post Sir.
 
The real issue here is not about what we as individual supporters want to do with our leisure time, it's that sports 'clubs', pubs, restaurants, cafes, theatres, cinemas, concert venues, hotels etc. are all not being treated as the businesses that they actually are and the vital employers. And paying customers to these venues are drivers of the local community economies; supporting businesses (like the new Armfield Club) by providing a huge percentage of the monthly/annual revenue.

The government have discussed getting schools back - 100% agree. That's vital. Then they talk about people going back to the workplace as though the 'workplace' means an office. There's countless different workplaces that need to be considered. We're causing crippling economic conditions to protect a small percentage of the population. Surely it makes more sense limit the vulnerable being in public spaces than the fit and healthy and also to make sure that the fit and healthy fully realise their responsibilities as spreaders?
Agreed. Being made up as they go along.

You have to ask what sort of a life is one where your children aren’t getting a proper education, you can’t see your friends & family, can’t travel, can’t go to watch sports or theatre?

There needs to be more nuance in how we are going to move forward while this virus is around. You can’t just continue closing the world down and hoping for the best.
 
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Whilst the above is true and the government have hardly covered themselves in glory, I think if we are all honest we can also agree that a lot of the Great British Public are selfish, entitled pricks who care not for anybody but themselves and as a result also help to ruin it for everybody by not being sensible about what they are doing.
 
You can sit in a pub indoors at max table capacity and watch a game of football, with people being allowed to get up and go for a slash, same with beer gardens.

Spreading people out over a stadium isn't allowed though.

Absolute clowns, they might as well be picking the restrictions out of a tombola.
 
You can sit in a pub indoors at max table capacity and watch a game of football, with people being allowed to get up and go for a slash, same with beer gardens.

Spreading people out over a stadium isn't allowed though.

Absolute clowns, they might as well be picking the restrictions out of a tombola.
Wouldn’t be a surprise if that’s what they are doing.
 
Larry, as others have said in other threads, I don't feel that it's really true to focus on the 'rule breakers' as though they are the ones that are putting the country in danger. The vast majority of people you see are trying to do their bit and are being accepting of the constraints that are being applied. In fact, I'd suggest that because this situation is pretty much all we hear about now, seeing someone not following the guidelines does stand out and does make you notice it. But is that because they are everywhere or because you're 'shocked' at their selfish behaviour?
I don't believe that a small minority attending a rave are the reason we have spiking rates. That will have as much to do with relaxed guidelines and increased testing as anything else.
 
Larry, as others have said in other threads, I don't feel that it's really true to focus on the 'rule breakers' as though they are the ones that are putting the country in danger. The vast majority of people you see are trying to do their bit and are being accepting of the constraints that are being applied. In fact, I'd suggest that because this situation is pretty much all we hear about now, seeing someone not following the guidelines does stand out and does make you notice it. But is that because they are everywhere or because you're 'shocked' at their selfish behaviour?
I don't believe that a small minority attending a rave are the reason we have spiking rates. That will have as much to do with relaxed guidelines and increased testing as anything else.
I was merely putting the point across that we are all, both government and public in this together so whilst I agree we can't blame everything on the reckless, they do however need to accept some blame and personal responsibility rather than not looking at themselves and pointing to something else. That works both ways for the government also.
 
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Yep. Completely agree. We all have to accept that to have normality, we also need to move away from normality. I.E. If i consistently attend public events in densely populated situations and I have a family member that has health conditions or is obviously vulnerable, then I have to choose what i prefer - my events or regular contact with them. And I also think that those on the 'vulnerable spectrum' have to accept that they need to forego some of their more normal habits too because everyone else can't stop doing normal things to limit their risk.
 
But it ain't just about us do you let the same 2000 into Sunderlands ground or is a percentage of capacity.
Opening up London teams would be a nightmare for public transport as it can't be different rules for individual clubs.
Some stadia are better suited to the current situation than others. Bloomers is quite well designed in terms of setting up social distancing. Imagine trying to do the same at some of the older grounds with tight concourses, less spacious toilets etc. Villa Park for example.
 
Seriously tho,
How long can lower league clubs keep paying footballers £several K a week without any income?
Of course they do have income - most have a few thousand season ticket holders, there is sponsorship money, TV money, now iFollow money, cup revenue, merchandise sales etc. I can imagine it's a month by month project for many and there will be a lot of debt floating round by next summer.
 
Of course they do have income - most have a few thousand season ticket holders, there is sponsorship money, TV money, now iFollow money, cup revenue, merchandise sales etc. I can imagine it's a month by month project for many and there will be a lot of debt floating round by next summer.
That's a pittance what the actual weekly running costs are.
2.5 million salary cap works out at over 48k a week add on all the rest of the staff from manger, groundsman CEO etc and your well over 60k.
The Season ticket money with our signings and wages since July has gone TV revenues are going to be down as Companies ask for rebates and Ifollow brings in sod all.

We need to freeze the season now as we are spending next year's money already to keep a float.
 
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