Football in empty stadiums

[Dyched]

BT said one of the German clubs was selling cardboard figures with fans faces. How many do you think we'd get on at t'Turf if we sold "fans" for a £5, including any required tv fee?

We could get Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club band sat in the cricket field

[Wile E Coyote]

I don’t have BT so not been able to watch but I’m interested in getting views on how it is.

p*** poor , we have it, but couldnt access it today. its happened before too. they rarely get decent games, and the customer service/fault fixing is sluggish at best. today for example nobody available to answer any queries, the automated useless text reply suggested trying again five hours after the games had finished.

[dsr]

Curious to know if you hear all the swearing and ranting at the ref / each other on the pitch and sideline?

Can't tell unless you speak the language. German sounds like swearing even if all they are saying is "good morning".

[dsr]

I don't get why subs are 2 metres apart wearing masks whilst sat on the bench when the minute they on the pitch they can be up as close as they like to the opposition players, breathing down their neck.

If you sit next to someone for 90 minutes, including talking to them face to face, you are more likely to catch something than if you stand behind for less than a minute at a corner.

[dsr]

Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Moenchengladbach was a decent game. Not very suspenseful, though, with it being 0-2 at 6 minutes. The Frankfurt defence was definitely practising 2-metre social isolation.

It was a bit poor playing the goal music for the Frankfurt goal that made it 1-3 with 10 minutes left. A bit poor for three reasons in fact - they were getting stuffed, there was no one there, and goal music is tacky anyway.

Why did they have a tannoy man announcing the subs?

[Grimsdale]

A bit of a taste of what to expect at the Turf when we get back underway - from our penultimate home game before the James Hargreaves was opened.

[TheFamilyCat]

A bit of a taste of what to expect at the Turf when we get back underway - from our penultimate home game before the James Hargreaves was opened.

What, we'll be playing Bradford?

[TheFamilyCat]

I was thinking this while in a moment of boredom the other day: who exactly will be in the ground at closed stadium games?

The players, subs, coaching staff and match officials, obviously. Players not in the match squad? Club owners/ chairmen and other directors? Ground staff presumably? Press and TV? Ball boys? Folk to fetch balls from empty stands?

[agreenwood]

Watched a couple of games yesterday and just couldn’t get into it. Whole thing felt flat. In some ways I think it’s worse that the games are being played in large stadiums as it’s even more eerie.

If it weren’t for the jeopardy some clubs would be in, I think it’d prefer it if the suspension was extended until fans were allowed back.

[JohnMac]

Apparently there were 250 non playing staff in the ground if I heard the commentary correctly and the only noise was from the coaching staff.

Derby atmosphere comes from the fans and media whipping up the excitement building up to the game. There are so many fans who think the players feel the same when it's just another game to the majority.

It's just a job and most players refer to training as going to work.

I'm going to use Spotify to generate crowd noise if we have to watch football without fans on TV.

I live near Gawthorpe and don't feel a thing if we are out walking and the players are across the river training and that's what Dortmund v Schalke felt like!

[Whitgord]

But it will feel better when you are invested in one team’s result. Watching the clarets will be a lot lot better than watching German teams with whom we have no affinity. I can’t wait to see Burnley play (behind closed doors) as the result will affect our league standing.

[Dy1geo]

I managed about 5 minutes of the Frankfurt game before I switched over but then again I have never watched the Bundesliga. I tried to watch the CL matches and Man Utd Europa League match that was behind closed doors Pre lockdown and it was the same. The fans and atmosphere make matches watchable on the TV.

[IanMcL]

Do directors get to watch?

[claret wizard]

I would think Directors would get to watch. As the main financial decision makers for clubs watching the team and making decisions about contracts etc is vital. You don't get the same insight into a game watching on a TV screen.

[diamondpocket]

On a BBC Sport article about a game yesterday it said there were 350 people present. Sounds a lot to me.

[cricketfieldclarets]

That’s less than one percent capacity of most grounds.

[dsr]

I was thinking this while in a moment of boredom the other day: who exactly will be in the ground at closed stadium games?

The players, subs, coaching staff and match officials, obviously. Players not in the match squad? Club owners/ chairmen and other directors? Ground staff presumably? Press and TV? Ball boys? Folk to fetch balls from empty stands?

People that should not be there on your list include club owners, chairmen and other directors, press, ball boys, and folk to fetch balls frm empty stands. They only need TV crews and the players, officials, and a limited number of coaches. (Not 30 per side. It's ridiculous how many spare parts wander out with the players on match days. I dare say they have important roles in training, but not on match day.)

I expect they are there, though. The richer the person, the more of life's luxuries they consider to be essential. And Pl footballers are very rich indeed.

[rob63]

You can't just let 'non vulnerable' fans back. Surely when it is safe to let any fans back it is then up to the individual to decide if they attend. You can't discriminate against anyone based on age or health. A person who is 80 isn't any more likely to catch or spread the virus than a person who is 20!

Why not let non-vulnerable fans back first? I thought the guidance was still for over 65's to stay indoors, surely that's already discrimination?

I can guarantee there'll be some people fit to go on the Turf before they deem themselves fit for work again.