Ethan Robson Released

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

I don't think we will play in empty stadiums as it isn't viable.

The virus is in retreat so I am expecting an announcement soon about a restart date with fans.

End of September would be ok if the virus continues to decline and other aspects of life return to normal.

Agree France has announced they will start allowing small crowds from next month and we are a month behind them so a restart along the timeframe you suggest is likely albeit they may be restricted. Be interesting if starting with say a home crowd limit of circa 3000 will help or hinder season ticket sales given that’s roughly the number we have sold historically.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

I don't think we will play in empty stadiums as it isn't viable.

The virus is in retreat so I am expecting an announcement soon about a restart date with fans.

End of September would be ok if the virus continues to decline and other aspects of life return to normal.

Not sure the virus is in retreat. The reason the numbers are down is that we have been in lockdown and so avoiding contact. The virus is just a contagious and deadly as it was three months ago. Until we get a vaccine it will still greatly restrict football attendances.

If the 1 meter social distancing replaces the current two meter one, it starts to look feasible to have some crowds in stadiums, but probably with greatly reduced capacity. I wonder how many we could accommodate at BP 3,000 perhaps?

I agree with other posters that banning away fans will help. Maybe it will just be a restricted number of season ticket holders allowed in until things improve?

Quoted from RonMariner

Not sure the virus is in retreat. The reason the numbers are down is that we have been in lockdown and so avoiding contact. The virus is just a contagious and deadly as it was three months ago. Until we get a vaccine it will still greatly restrict football attendances.

If the 1 meter social distancing replaces the current two meter one, it starts to look feasible to have some crowds in stadiums, but probably with greatly reduced capacity. I wonder how many we could accommodate at BP 3,000 perhaps?

I agree with other posters that banning away fans will help. Maybe it will just be a restricted number of season ticket holders allowed in until things improve?

Even if you are correct about the virus we must resume soon. If the virus never actually goes away then people will have to decide to go to games or not depending on their individual preferences.

Mind you as with everything else expert opinion varies about the virus so whether it will remain an ever present is debatable.

Many theories abound as to whether the virus is becoming somehow less harmful, or whether it is simply a case of social distancing causing its suppression. With the exception of a couple of small, local flare ups most of Europe has continued to see a consistent decline in case numbers despite substantial easing of of what we know as lockdown.

I believe that clubs would be willing to commence a season in August / September behind closed doors provided there were reasonable assurances that normal crowds could return within a couple of months of the season start. Alternatively, there's no real reason that football at League One level or below couldn't be allowed to run into early June if it had to, to cater for a delayed start, as players at that level aren't likely to be troubled by the Euros.

Sport, not just football, has to get fans back as quickly as possible within the realms of relative safety. We will lose some famous institutions if it doesn't.

Quoted from Poojah

Many theories abound as to whether the virus is becoming somehow less harmful, or whether it is simply a case of social distancing causing its suppression. With the exception of a couple of small, local flare ups most of Europe has continued to see a consistent decline in case numbers despite substantial easing of of what we know as lockdown.

I believe that clubs would be willing to commence a season in August / September behind closed doors provided there were reasonable assurances that normal crowds could return within a couple of months of the season start. Alternatively, there's no real reason that football at League One level or below couldn't be allowed to run into early June if it had to, to cater for a delayed start, as players at that level aren't likely to be troubled by the Euros.

Sport, not just football, has to get fans back as quickly as possible within the realms of relative safety. We will lose some famous institutions if it doesn't.

It is imperative that we get back to normal soon or clubs will go to the wall.

Plan for a September start with fans assuming the virus continues to fall, and let fans decide whether to go or not. There is no other option if the rest of society continues to get back to normality.

The lockdown was to prevent the NHS being overwhelmed and to save lives. Sadly too many lives were lost for umpteen reasons but we now have to look forward and getting back to normal.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

It is imperative that we get back to normal soon or clubs will go to the wall.

Plan for a September start with fans assuming the virus continues to fall, and let fans decide whether to go or not. There is no other option if the rest of society continues to get back to normality.

The lockdown was to prevent the NHS being overwhelmed and to save lives. Sadly too many lives were lost for umpteen reasons but we now have to look forward and getting back to normal.

Provided we see case levels continue to drop I'm inclined to agree. Three months is a long time in this battle and considering that just about every other component of the economy will be up and running by then it seems unfair to discriminate against sport.

It's going to be logistically easier for some clubs than others. BP is at the easier end of the spectrum, if you go by the theory that outdoor transmission is something like 20x less likely than outdoor. Most people who watch Town either walk or go via private transport and you don't need to walk through an enclosed space in order to enter the ground.

Even at a London-based club with a concourse-based stadium things can be mitigated. Public transport services like the tube will be running at close to 'normal' levels anyway (though passengers will probably still have to wear a mask) and you could manage indoor areas of the ground. Insist on masks in enclosed spaces, close concessions and prohibit congregating in the concourse (except for toilet queues, where social disctancing can still be maintained if necessary), screens between urinals etc.

It may not be perfect straight away, but its better than no football at all and seeing clubs go to the wall, surely.

If a figure of around 3000 is being mooted around, the honest truth is we have played in front of less than that before, and still had a good atmosphere. And that was with hardly anyone in the Osmond Stand. But if there is to be no away fans the it'll surround sound Town fans making for a really good atmosphere and a wall of sound.

He did play one or two games under Holloway - he's a big fan of Robson, he mentioned it a lot around the time, and actually told the Sunderland boss he thinks he's good enough to play for them.

I'm not sure that he'd be as far out of our reach as people seem to think...Sunderland are a League One club and he can't get in their team.

A stiff easterly breeze from the Humber/North Sea would also help to blow the virus away.  An Advantage that many clubs cannot benefit from.