Advantage or not

[ijkay]

do you feel that clubs that are allowed spectators will have an advantage over those who cant

[kritichris]

definitely, the 12th man effect.

[bfcmartin]

Definitely an advantage to the teams that can have fans in even if it is 2000 or 4000. It surely cant be right that as the rules stand in our league 10 clubs can have fans and 10 can't how can that be fair. Some sides could have fans in for the rest of the season and we could possibly have none. How can that be fair.

[conyoviejo]

Maybe the away team should be given a one goal start to even things up. Lol

[tiger76]

TBH for the PL it won't make much if any difference, our only upcoming away game that will have fans is at the Emirates, and in such a large venue a crows of 2,000 isn't going to influence the result either way.

It might impact more on the lower leagues and non-league fixtures where fans can attend, 2,000 in many of those grounds would be almost a normal attendance, and in the smaller capacity stadiums it would be noticeable, and of course there won't be any away fans allowed.

[ICL]

Definitely wrong for only some teams, within a league, to be allowed fans in to the stadium. Not allowing fans in disadvantages the home team; my evidence for this is that removing fans from a stadium for a home game, is one one the harshest punishments used by football authorities.

[Burnleyareback2]

Normally a couple of thousand ; no.

But after so many months I think having any fans back is a huge advantage for players.

For Burnley, Tarks, Lowton, Brady, JBG will probably be relieved that they can get on with their game.

[Jakubclaret]

Don't think it'll make a difference if very marginal, you could easily put forward the argument that players with fragile confidence are more relaxed & less likely to make mistakes when not being watched, the crowd & the impact gets overstated all too often not disputing it plays a part but certainly not crucial to a performance.

[Cirrus_Minor]

Just a few thousand all separated around the place all wearing face masks. Not allowed to shout or sing , just clap. Not going to be a cauldron of atmosphere is it. Marginal advantage if that.

[claret wizard]

TBH for the PL it won't make much if any difference, our only upcoming away game that will have fans is at the Emirates, and in such a large venue a crows of 2,000 isn't going to influence the result either way.

They probably won’t all turn up anyway.

[FactualFrank]

Good point regarding no shouting, forgot about that.

With only clapping and singing allowed will Sky keep the fake crowd?

[JohnMac]

Arsenal will still declare 60,000 as the Official Attendance

[Devils_Advocate]

I think its to our advantage not to have fans as the away fans normally out sing us and we are well known for being very quick to turn on our own players if things aren't going well.

Obviously its not good for the fans who want to go but if this is simply a question of advantage or not then I think our advantage definitely lies with keeping the fans out for now

[Bordeauxclaret]

Not sure it’ll give an advantage to the home team over the away team with the small numbers involved.

[CrosspoolClarets]

Hugely unfair, for us it is only Liverpool and Arsenal away, assuming this will change before West Ham, but indirectly we could suffer if, say, Fulham beat Brighton in mid December with the help of 2000 fans. Those fans could give a lift at a crucial point, adding a little bit of tempo.

The Premier League is a non level playing field anyway (just look at penalty stats) but it is still governed by a huge rulebook. Nothing in that rulebook says one club can have fans and another cannot. It should be a vote with the usual 60% (?) needed to pass it.

The country should all have the same rules, we’re not allowed virus comments on here anymore so I'll simply say all rules relating to football need to be equitable and fair, it’s what we do in this country, British fair play.

[ijkay]

certainly not a level playing field is it