Get The Crowds Back

I promised no more politics, but I thought while we're waiting for FPL to bounce back into gear I'd do one more. I've been watching the Bundesliga, and obviously the missing crowd is a huge factor in how enjoyable it is to watch. In fact, this has really emphasised just how important the fans are to the game. I actually even wonder if at some point in the future we'll see a business model for football clubs that views fans as an asset rather than as a customer. A club could perhaps make tickets super cheap. Even maybe offer some kind of incentive scheme to reward fans that stay the full 90 minutes. Fill the stadium. Make it look good. Then, with that incredible atmosphere, make their income selling the TV rights and advertising. Of course, the atmosphere would also help the players on the pitch too. So it would really propel the team.

I digress though. My point with this article was to make the argument for why we need to get the crowds back asap. Or rather why we shouldn't have removed them in the first place.

(crowd vs no crowd)

Sadly we won't be seeing any crowds for these remaining Premier League fixtures. (Thank God for fpl, I think I'd struggle to keep my focus without the crowd if the Bundesliga is anything to go by). I want to make the case strongly though as when (if?) the next season starts in the autumn we really need to be back to normal with the crowds back in tow from week one.

"..but it's too dangerous"

I would counter that argument to anyone making it with three responses.

1) no one is forcing anyone to go

It may sound a little bit harsh to say this, but if you feel like a football match is unsafe then you are free to simply not go. It's the same with many things in life. If you think go-karting or hang gliding is too dangerous then you don't have to take part. I'm not sure I'd be too keen on hang gliding personally, but I wouldn't try to ban others from doing it.

You may then say, "but ah, this virus spreads. That's different. Someone could go to the game then spread it to me even if I don't go." Which is true. However, we then get to the wider point. You don't have to leave your house at all if you're that concerned. Again, this may sound harsh, but we can't expect everyone else to suspend their own lives simply because we have a concern about something.

(I deal with this idea in more detail here; Where The Hell Is FPL? )

2) the risk of catching something at a football match is tiny

This is indeed true. In fact, the furore surrounding large gatherings, be they at the beach or at a football match, is more emotion than science. People see the images of large crowds and get hysterical;

"OMG! Look at all those people, the virus will be out of control!"

However, this is just silly. Of course there's always the chance you could catch something from someone, but sitting or standing on a terrace for a few hours, usually in the open air, just isn't a huge risk. After all, when have you ever known someone to come down with the flu and say, "Jeez, I knew I shouldn't have went to Old Trafford last weekend."

Generally we catch things from people with have sustained close contact with, usually indoors. Such as family members or work colleagues.

3) there are numerous things we can do to mitigate the risk without resorting to shutting everything down

There are simply better ways of doings things. So shutting everything down is a hysterical and clumsy solution. It's taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut as they say. Often causing even more problems when you consider the wider implications of the actions. What will be the economic, and by extension the health consequences of football clubs going out of business in every town and city up and down the country?

To give just a few ideas off the top of my head of what could be done.

• You could advise older and vulnerable people not to go. You could even incentivise them not to. For example, by refunding their tickets, or by offering a free alternative (live feed at home for instance).

• You could advise extra hygiene for the people working in the kiosks and behind the bars.

• You could make sure there's handwash in the toilets. (These are simple things; but these little things are the things that actually make a genuine difference).

• You could even have a mask day maybe. Where supporters are given (or sent) masks, perhaps even with the club logo on. Ideally, in my opinion, the wearing would always be optional. Especially as there are also negative impacts that can come from wearing a face covering - such as lack of oxygen. However, even if just a proportion of fans wore one it would make a difference (assuming masks are even that effective of course). Plus, people already take scarfs to games, so you could even advise people to use those as a mouth covering.

• You could also promote other behaviour. Like advising people not to shake hands and so forth.

I'm sure you could think of more. In fact, you really have a duty to do this and to explore every option before going down the draconian route of simply banning things.

So let's try to get full football back as quickly as possible :)