Fans Returning To Stadiums

Discussion in 'The Hornets' Nest - Watford Chat' started by King Dev, Sep 16, 2020.

  1. UEA_Hornet

    UEA_Hornet First Team Captain

    I said as much well in advance. I don’t think there’s been a worse season to go down - at least in this generation.
     
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  2. Otter

    Otter Gambling industry insider

    There's the other argument that those teams who were already in the EFL will have a bigger headache as they rely more on gate receipts, at least us, Muff and Norwich have parachute payments, and to a lesser extent so do Cardiff and Huddersfield
     
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  3. HappyHornet24

    HappyHornet24 Crapster Staff Member

    Funnily enough Mr HH and I were talking about this earlier. We reckoned those clubs whose parachute payments have just ended are arguably in a more precarious situation. We were trying to work out who that would be and came up with Huddersfield; but maybe, as you say, they still have a year left.
     
  4. nascot

    nascot First Team

    Stoke maybe? They've also gone from 25k+ attendances to zero which sting a bit. Plus that stadium can't be cheap to run on a matchday.
     
  5. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Just read they had some MP on the Andrew Marr show basically saying it's up to the Premier league to help the others rather than rely on the Government for hand outs.
     
  6. Aberystwyth_Hornet

    Aberystwyth_Hornet Squad Player

    I'm not sure I agree, we clearly have some talented youngsters and a year in the championship will give them a great learning opportunity to play with each other rather than having to go out on loan. Relegation is always a disaster financially but so long as we do go up I genuinely believe we'll be stronger for it. Plus if we had stayed up, we would have gone down this season anyway and you could argue that would have been even worse because we may not have cut costs and even worse blown even more cash
     
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  7. Timbers

    Timbers Apeman

    One thing Stoke don't need to worry about is money, not whilst they are owned by the Coates family and people continue to bet around the world. They will be losing millions but I am sure it can be all a tax loss to Bet365
     
  8. Timbers

    Timbers Apeman

    That's how I see it, a time to reset an aging squad and a chance to regroup with players that want to be here as opposed to a squad that just keeps being papered over.
     
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  9. nascot

    nascot First Team

    With FFP they'll need creative accounting but you're right, rich owners will help.
     
  10. Hogg-DEENEY!!!

    Hogg-DEENEY!!! Squad Player

    Oliver Dowden, a local boy and presumably related to Will Hughes, is Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport, I'm sure he'll help us out...oh wait, he's a Tory, of course he won't!
     
  11. Hogg-DEENEY!!!

    Hogg-DEENEY!!! Squad Player

    Of course our position is perilous, but with the troubles the other EFL clubs are having, it's possibly a good time to try and go for promotion. Need to do it soon though as we could risk becoming just another EFL club if not
     
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  12. Hogg-DEENEY!!!

    Hogg-DEENEY!!! Squad Player

    Stoke I believe are in the final year of their payments, although they go down dramatically from the first two years
     
  13. Hogg-DEENEY!!!

    Hogg-DEENEY!!! Squad Player

    I know we're entering winter flu season now, but surely we can't be making bold predictions for 6 months' time? Football is an outdoor event, the trials certain teams had run seemed to go well, I wouldn't give up hope entirely that they'll review it at some stage ready for a return some point this season, although God knows when away trips will become a thing again
     
  14. WatfordTalk

    WatfordTalk First Team

    Worst season to go down, but potentially the best season to get back out. Championship looks even weaker than I remember it this year, can't afford to waste this opportunity.
     
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  15. ForzaWatford

    ForzaWatford Squad Player

    It's not looking likely, but it would be funny if Leeds got promoted and then relegated again without actually getting to go to a PL game.
     
  16. AndrewH63

    AndrewH63 Reservist

    That’s the MP for Bushey, Oliver Dowden. He fully supported David Cameron and staying in the EU, fully supported Theresa May, now he fully supports Boris Johnson and BREXIT. He just has opinions that mimic the leadership. The government won’t support football specifically any more than it will air carriers, high street stores or care homes.
     
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  17. UEA_Hornet

    UEA_Hornet First Team Captain

    You're right on the last bit. The government has been consistent on that. Trouble is unlike with airlines or shops or other sectors, the government seems to be saying because the few at the top of football are financially well off they should fund those below them. I haven't seen them tell Bupa to fund independent care homes or Tesco to subsidise local shops.
     
  18. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Someone tying to keep his job I guess?
     
  19. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Big petition going around demanding MP's to let fans into grounds.

    Got 10k signatures so can be debated in Parliament - will anything come out of it?

    Apart from a "we'll think about this again in the future once rates and cases are going down"
     
  20. Optimistichornet

    Optimistichornet Penguin Assassin

    talksport saying it has 150k signatures now.
     
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  21. The 2nd referendum petition got 6 million and I can't remember it being debated.
     
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  22. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    I guess they will debate it just to show they are interested..

    But football and football clubs will be a long way down the list of priorities to help save for the Government.
     
  23. Keighley

    Keighley First Team

  24. Arakel

    Arakel First Team

    That's actually a good point; gates are the vast majority of income for most Champ clubs, so most will need to offload without being able to replace this year.
     
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  25. lm_wfc

    lm_wfc First Team

    The well off should be the ones to pay to support those with a lower income?
    Interesting take from this government there.
     
  26. Hogg-DEENEY!!!

    Hogg-DEENEY!!! Squad Player

    Heard a few people make the suggestion that the government not allowing fans back is a way of strongarming the Premier League to do something for the lower leagues? If true, there does seem to be an almighty game of chicken going on here
     
  27. Supertommymooney

    Supertommymooney Squad Player

    The Prem can survive much longer without crowds back, you'd think - financially, I mean.

    How long the TV money lasts ultimately depends on people wanting to watch games with zero atmosphere.... it's really not the same.
     
  28. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    I personally think the freak results we’re getting (At the top level) are due to the current situation and lack of crowds.

    In normal circumstances the season ends, players go on holiday, they mentally switch off and have some time off then come back refreshed, build up their fitness levels then the new season starts. The stadiums are full, it’s serious, every game means something.

    In the current situation they’ve had months doing nothing, followed by a load of games squeezed in to a packed schedule, then barely a few weeks break before it all starts up again, all with no fans.

    I genuinely think it means less to the players now and you can see it in some of the defensive play. At the top level you’ve only got to drop your effort levels by 10/20% and it will make a huge difference.

    What that will do for viewing figures in the long run who knows.
     
  29. Supertommymooney

    Supertommymooney Squad Player

    Yup!

    You said it better than me though.
     
  30. Happy bunny

    Happy bunny Cheered up a bit

    Clive will be joining the Tories any day now
     
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  31. SkylaRose

    SkylaRose Administrator Staff Member

    What some of Abi Dabhi players get paid a month would set up most LG 1 and 2 sides up for a season almost. There is a viable solution, in quite unforeseen circumstances, if nothing is sorted soon, maybe a little sacrifice from the big players to help the little clubs would not be an uncharacteristic thing to do.
     
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  32. Hogg-DEENEY!!!

    Hogg-DEENEY!!! Squad Player

    Maybe that explains it in part, home wins aren't as common now, but we've still seen some batshit insane results like Villa-Liverpool the other day, how do you explain that?
     
  33. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    I think exactly as I’ve said, Liverpool players dropping off in performance levels. I think it’s going to be fairly random, but some players are going to be more affected than others, or should I say less motivated. Ultimately the competition has been cheapened by the haphazard nature of the scheduling and the transition from one season to another in a matter of weeks, and no fans in grounds. There is also the possibility the season gets curtailed again, which won’t exactly help some players mindsets.

    If home advantage was actually ever a thing (historical results show it definitely was) then surely removing fans altogether will have net negative influence on how players perform?
     
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  34. Hogg-DEENEY!!!

    Hogg-DEENEY!!! Squad Player

    Yeah, but surely Villa would have been affected more than Liverpool without a crowd roaring them on? Genuinely don't know how it would have affected the league, obviously that's a huge outlier, but even before lockdown, even before we battered them, there were signs that they weren't quite as good as they appeared. Think this situation is exposing faults that already existed, rather than creating new ones if you get what I mean
     
  35. scummybear

    scummybear Reservist

    I forget who it was saying it, but last week a former pro was saying defenders will be more affected by the lack of crowds than forwards. He said defenders are terrified of making a mistake because the fans get on their back much quicker than an attacker, as mistakes are usually more costly. But without fans there any mistakes are just shrugged off as 'oh well', meaning that fear isn't keeping them as sharp. Also, when a team goes behind there's no fans pushing them to up their game and fight back.

    Could've been ********, but sounded feasible to me.

    Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
     
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