Walsall fc could be back playing 6th June

Wan Ting Cover ? :grin:

2 Likes

Fleetwood chairman said he didn’t envisage any games played with spectators for the rest of this year. But then doesn’t really know any more than the rest of us!

When you are reliant on one annual event to generate all your income you take out whatever insurance you can afford. They’re not short of a bob or two at Wimbledon. Funnily enough you can’t buy that cover right now…

Wouldn’t testing participants actually create more problems? IF there exists a test that is 100% reliable (incorrect results being potentially dangerous if they give a false sense of security), then there are 3 possible outcomes:

  1. You are an active case - so, until there is a reliable vaccine for everyone else, you need to be quarantined to prevent spread i.e. you can’t play even behind closed doors; only expect it to be a handful, if any, but what if it’s a key player(s) to your team?

  2. You have had it but have recovered - might be immune to further reinfection so can safely mingle (although not yet proved whether that is the case - and even if you can’t re- catch it yourself should you be in contact with an active case, is there a chance you might still be able to pass it on to others?) i.e. the “safe” group who should be OK to play, though possibly will be only a minority of players if they have all been following the separation guidance properly

  3. You have not yet had it - so should be safe to mingle without being a danger to others but, until a reliable vaccine is available, you could be at risk of catching it from a chance encounter with an undiagnosed active case i.e you are “safe” to everyone else but you might not be safe from them (will that prey on your mind and affect how you play?); likely to be the biggest group

And of course testing would have to be ongoing rather than a one-off exercise (especially if the test isn’t 100% reliable) to make sure you aren’t creating a hotbed for the virus to flourish in.

It’s exactly the same scenario for relaxing lockdown for the general population - which is why I say I can’t see it happening in foorball until it happens for everyone, and that the driver for completing the season regardless isn’t so much fairness and it being for the benefit of the fans but purely because of the money.

One extra thought - would it be morally right for players of any particular team to go out on the pitch while other employees of the same club are still at home on furlough?

Football, and especially Walsall FC, is a big part of my life and who I am, but footballers are not key workers so I can’t see why they should expect special treatment to what everyone else is having to go through. Games should not start again until such time as the general population is allowed to attend them. Fingers crossed that will be sooner rather than later.

3 Likes

Agree with all of that. I wasn’t arguing for a restart, just suggesting possible scenarios.

Saw one idea that seemed daft at first but could have some merit. Start a full new season when possible and add this season’s record on to determine final standings. Number of games played so far would have to be evened up such as Sheffield United playing Villa 3 times. There are probably negatives to this idea but at least it takes account of matches already played.

Lead story on BBC News home page is that scientists say social distancing will be required until a vaccine is found…

I didn’t realise other organisers had taken this out. I’ve only heard of Wimbledon having done it.

I am not too sure what that means. If it means carrying on as of now then the economy will trashed and millions of people in my age group will have died from social isolation dwarfing the numbers dying from COVID 19. If it means getting back to something like normality but avoiding close contact with strangers and enhanced hygiene then life would be livable.
My hope is that the lockdown can start to be lifted in early May with small shops, garden centres,DIY stores etc opening for business and then a rolling programme of business and sporting events being allowed. One nation,I think Austria,has said outdoor sport can begin on the 1st of May.
The lockdown was to “save the NHS” and looking at the figures we have done that. Over 2,000 critical beds currently available plus all the “nightingale” beds coming on stream.
I would hope therefore we can finish the season off in June possibly behind closed doors but I think that would be the right way to go.

2 Likes

I don’t think the government or the medical authorities will allow crowds to attend any sporting event until we’re given the all clear. I know that’s not going to sit well with a lot of people but we can’t start to socialize until we know that it’s absolutely safe to do so.
I’m all for bringing football back as long as all who attend have been tested.

2 Likes

They’ll be riots against the government if they haven’t ramped up testing massively by middle of June. I guess football is assuming they’ll be good on their promise of 100k by end of April which I very much doubt they’ll hit. Hope I’m wrong.

Can do 35,000 per day now according to information given to press conference.Raab seemed confident 100,000 will be hit by end of month. I hope he is right.

Why does the phrase “Raab seemed confident” fill me with the opposite emotion. Setting targets which you keep repeating is not the same as actually delivering on them.

2 Likes

Let’s not play party politics.
Obviously Raab sees a lot more info than me or you see.
I will admit the handling of all this has not been brilliant. Time will tell if his confidence is justified.
We are all in the same boat mate and we have to go on the advice we are given.
When all this is over then we can back to slagging politicians off, don’t worry I have mine stored about Starmer, but for now let’s concentrate on the pandemic in front of us.

2 Likes

They still need to be held to account for their actions and there are many things that I have misgivings about in the way that things like PPE etc have been dealt with. It is the advantage of living in a democracy rather than a totalitarian state that people can question things. Would you use the same argument to defend Trump’s actions ( I accept he has been much worse) in America ? That we should not play politics etc?
I obviously hope that we get back to normailty as quickly as anyone else but I still think Raab is an utterly useless politician.

2 Likes

The problem is that some on here cannot resist making this a party political matter. I don’t see it like that as I regard this as a matter too serious for political knockabout. I have many reservations about how this is being handled but am mindful that it is an unprecedented event which has a long way to go yet.

4 Likes

That may be your opinion but why vent it now on this issue. He ,like the others is grappling with an event beyond imagination just a few weeks ago. Even your friend Ursula Van Der Layan apologised profusely to Italy today for the EU’s initial response . People are human you know,they make mistakes and I think we should bear that in mind.

2 Likes

At the end of the day the government may of and will make mistakes. But they are acting on the best advice possible to them. And doing all they can at an unprecedented time in my opinion.

3 Likes

How are you getting on anyway with the lock down @WalsallOne ?
I don’t mean this in derogatory ways at all but you are one our senior members on here.
Hope everything is OK with you.

What Trump does in the good ole USA have no bearing on what we do here.
Trump is doing whatever he thinks is good for the Americans, not the UK.
Boris and our Government are doing what is good for us. We might not agree but they are going on the best advice available.
What exactly has Trump got to do with our measures ?
Let’s use Jacinda in NZ if you are going down that road would I use the same argument where she is concerned ?
Each country is looking after their own so your reference to Trump is pointless.