Topic: The Impact of COVID 19 on Sport...

[Red_Rich]

You mean to say it helps you stay alert?

Aye!  Got my neck on a swivel !!! 

[Jm55]

You've got Shaun fucking Custis banging on about the balls being too sticky due to the disinfectant spray used on them ...

Surely he didn’t say that.

[Something Worse]

Just watched the Sunday Supp on catch up and then flicked to the Leipzig match.

What a bunch of negative, miserable pricks they are.

You've got Shaun fucking Custis banging on about the balls being too sticky due to the disinfectant spray used on them ... and then on the other channel you see the German league players flying into tackles.

Is that the scum Custis?

[rob1966]

You've got Shaun fucking Custis banging on about the balls being too sticky due to the disinfectant spray used on them ... and then on the other channel you see the German league players flying into tackles.

What a fucking bellsplash he is

[Son of Spion]

2 people from 1 Championship club have tested positive for coronavirus after testing of 1014 players and staff from the 24 clubs.

Incredibly low numbers again.

Very encouraging. Well, unless you are English media.

[Gerry Attrick]

2 people from 1 Championship club have tested positive for coronavirus after testing of 1014 players and staff from the 24 clubs.

The club? Hull City

[newterp]

Incredibly low numbers again.

Very encouraging. Well, unless you are English media.

And Troy Deeney

[Son of Spion]

Just watched the Sunday Supp on catch up and then flicked to the Leipzig match.

What a bunch of negative, miserable pricks they are.

You've got Shaun fucking Custis banging on about the balls being too sticky due to the disinfectant spray used on them ... and then on the other channel you see the German league players flying into tackles.

Honestly, how do these people survive the day?

They seem so incredibly fragile. A slight breeze would see them off. How they even manage to get out of bed in order to face the day is beyond me.

So many in this country at the moment seem to see lack of adaptability, lack of backbone, abundance of negativity, a wallowing in depression, the embracing of malaise and stagnation as things to be proud of.

It's so bizarre. A country where solutions are frowned upon and mocked, but tragically weak mentality and lack of adaptability are lauded. No wonder this country is seen as a joke by the rest of Europe. While most everyone else have been looking for positive solutions In order to move forward, too many here enjoy looking for and creating more problems so we can all stay entrenched in the mess.

[El Lobo]

It's obviously a coincidence but truly bizzare.

I’m sure it is too. But if you said certain players, from the most vocal clubs about not restarting, have maybe been a little more lax than other players at other clubs it wouldn’t be majorly surprising would it?

Spurs for example have had quite a few examples of players (and manager...) breaking quarantine rules and they’ve got very little to play for now and would have benefited from the season being void. Ourselves, you haven’t heard a peep. And I’d guess photographers and journalists would have been desperate to catch one of our players.

[Something Worse]

I’m sure it is too. But if you said certain players, from the most vocal clubs about not restarting, have maybe been a little more lax than other players at other clubs it wouldn’t be majorly surprising would it?

Spurs for example have had quite a few examples of players (and manager...) breaking quarantine rules and they’ve got very little to play for now and would have benefited from the season being void. Ourselves, you haven’t heard a peep. And I’d guess photographers and journalists would have been desperate to catch one of our players.

Spurs have a stadium to pay for, if anything they'd be suppressing test results

[Statto Red]

Spurs have a stadium to pay for, if anything they'd be suppressing test results

Indeed Levy has realised Spurs would lose money big time if the season was curtailed or even null & void so he's been quiet recently after the initial outburst of wanting the season null & voided.

[Son of Spion]

I’m sure it is too. But if you said certain players, from the most vocal clubs about not restarting, have maybe been a little more lax than other players at other clubs it wouldn’t be majorly surprising would it?

Spurs for example have had quite a few examples of players (and manager...) breaking quarantine rules and they’ve got very little to play for now and would have benefited from the season being void. Ourselves, you haven’t heard a peep. And I’d guess photographers and journalists would have been desperate to catch one of our players.

I'm onboard with your thinking there.

The clubs who have failed over the season have done so for a number of reasons. Mentality will be one of them. Application will be another, as will professionalism. So it's no surprise whatsoever to find that certain players from those clubs will have been lax since this crisis hit, and their minds been set more on hoping the season ends rather than continues.

We've seen with Liverpool under Klopp just how vitally important mentality, approach, application and professionalism are. Along with talent, this is why we are where we currently are. You could also say the same with the bottom clubs, especially after seeing their mindsets on show since the crisis kicked in. Their performances on the field of play have certainly reflected the mindset off it.

With Spurs, it might explain why they are the nearly men who never quite get over the line.

[Fromola]

Indeed Levy has realised Spurs would lose money big time if the season was curtailed or even null & void so he's been quiet recently after the initial outburst of wanting the season null & voided.

Initially he thought if the season was cancelled altogether then they could sneak into the CL next season from 18/19 results as the 19/20 season effectively didn't happen.

[Peabee]

Well what you think isn't really important mate, it's all down to statistics and that r0 number (And k)

Once r0 goes above one then you get an exponential rate. It's clear that the virus is still out there and is still spreading despite the very good lockdown effort by the public.

We've seen relaxation of this and more people seemingly flouting the rules and giving that r0 a chance to increase.

So I think that's all people are saying mate. It's all about the numbers...

R0 is a fixed number (or range since it’s estimated) called the basic reproduction number and only applicable when everyone is susceptible, I.e. when immunity is zero, so it’s the number used to estimate herd immunity %.

It’s the effective reproduction number, R, or Re, which is variable.

I’m not being pedantic. They’re different definitions.

[T.Mills]

Honestly, how do these people survive the day?

They seem so incredibly fragile. A slight breeze would see them off. How they even manage to get out of bed in order to face the day is beyond me.

So many in this country at the moment seem to see lack of adaptability, lack of backbone, abundance of negativity, a wallowing in depression, the embracing of malaise and stagnation as things to be proud of.

It's so bizarre. A country where solutions are frowned upon and mocked, but tragically weak mentality and lack of adaptability are lauded. No wonder this country is seen as a joke by the rest of Europe. While most everyone else have been looking for positive solutions I order to move forward, too many here enjoy looking for and creating more problems so we can all stay entrenched in the mess.

Fuck me, if i could sum up my feelings in a repost, this would be it!

[Lush is the best medicine...]

Shockingly, it turns out Hull are the team with two players testing positive in the Chsmpionship. I’m flabbergasted.

surprised they aren’t doing a team ice bath right now

[Fromola]

People starting to make a point of breaking lockdown rules now to spite the government/Cummings.

God knows what the infection will be like in a month's time. Lockdown is over now.

[El Lobo]

I'm onboard with your thinking there.

The clubs who have failed over the season have done so for a number of reasons. Mentality will be one of them. Application will be another, as will professionalism. So it's no surprise whatsoever to find that certain players from those clubs will have been lax since this crisis hit, and their minds been set more on hoping the season ends rather than continues.

We've seen with Liverpool under Klopp just how vitally important mentality, approach, application and professionalism are. Along with talent, this is why we are where we currently are. You could also say the same with the bottom clubs, especially after seeing their mindsets on show since the crisis kicked in. Their performances on the field of play have certainly reflected the mindset off it.

With Spurs, it might explain why they are the nearly men who never quite get over the line.

Yeah absolutely.

I dare say though, if Serge Aurier was playing for a team 25 points clear at the top he’d be making a point of not being caught breaking quarantine rules on an almost weekly basis.

[FlashGordon]

Yeah absolutely.

I dare say though, if Serge Aurier was playing for a team 25 points clear at the top he’d be making a point of not being caught breaking quarantine rules on an almost weekly basis.

I don't know, Serge Aurier seems like an absolute idiot  Don't think it matters where he is in the table he'll continue to be stupid.

[The North Bank]

People starting to make a point of breaking lockdown rules now to spite the government/Cummings.

God knows what the infection will be like in a month's time. Lockdown is over now.

Very stupid thing to do, risking death to prove a point.

[Gerry Attrick]

Sid Lowe says there are reports a few Sevilla players could be in big trouble for breaking lockdown rules.

[Lush is the best medicine...]

Sid Lowe says there are reports a few Sevilla players could be in big trouble for breaking lockdown rules.

and what a shock that ever banega is involved

[El Lobo]

Very stupid thing to do, risking death to prove a point.

It would be, but bear in mind Fromola thinks 28 million people in this country went to the beach last weekend and you’ll see how seriously you take it’s posts

[Jm55]

Yeah absolutely.

I dare say though, if Serge Aurier was playing for a team 25 points clear at the top he’d be making a point of not being caught breaking quarantine rules on an almost weekly basis.

There’s a case of chicken or egg about this.

I think the fact that Aurier is the kind of person that behaves like this is a key reason why he isn’t playing for a team anywhere near the top of the league. The amount of research into the player’s mentality prior to signing for clubs like Liverpool and Barcelona is well documented.

[sinnermichael]

Sid Lowe says there are reports a few Sevilla players could be in big trouble for breaking lockdown rules.

It's ok. They were acting on instinct.

[Red Beret]

This very issue was called out on here very early into all this, particularly by Red Berry, if I recall correctly.

If they had got away with railroading a voiding or at least the removal of relegation then maybe they would have viewed the blatant lack of faith in their players as worth it.

Problem is, now those things are not even in the room, never mind on the table, it looks like the clubs have thrown their players under the bus. The clubs' own hierarchies have delivered major psychological blows on their own players.

Yeah.  I recall saying that other clubs lower down the table had kept more or less quiet and the antics of West Ham, Brighton etc might reveal a mental fragility that others could take advantage of.  Arguably that's a top-down situation as those in charge don't have faith in the players.  Then again the bottom six are all equally culpable in trying to derail restarting the season.  It's only the insistence that relegation will happen regardless of how the table is determined that's got them moving again.

And as I said, clubs could insist they can't field a team because their players aren't satisfied enough with procedures to feel safe to play; but it looks like the PL will just have them forfeit the games, so it will gain them nothing.  They'll play again, albeit dragged kicking and screaming. 

The main issue now is whether we can continue to the end of the season uninterrupted, or whether it might be suspended again.

[El Lobo]

There’s a case of chicken or egg about this.

I think the fact that Aurier is the kind of person that behaves like this is a key reason why he isn’t playing for a team anywhere near the top of the league. The amount of research into the player’s mentality prior to signing for clubs like Liverpool and Barcelona is well documented.

That was a stupid example to be fair

Someone who isn’t a complete fuckwit. Someone like Jack Grea.... Um. Kyle Wal.... Erm. Moise Kea... Hmm. Ok yeah maybe my point doesn’t stand at all!

[Son of Spion]

Something struck me recently and I'm not sure if it was a genuine recollection of mine or just something I'd dreamed at some point or other.

I have vague memories of it being put forward by some that building big ground capacities in the current age was becoming far less important because top clubs' revenue  was coming from other things these days such as TV and fans in the ground were becoming less important.

If my recollection is correct, and I didn't just dream that up, I wonder how the current state of affairs will be viewed by people who thought that way?

To me, the current crisis has firmly established that fans are everything.
Although football will have to compromise for a long time to come, I assume that the importance of getting the big crowds back in in future will not be lost on the game. Afterall, it's the spectacle of big games in front of big crowds that saw TV willing to pay big money to screen games in the first place.

Current crisis and sensible compromise apart, I think this has shown that the mantra pushed by many fans that 'football without fans is nothing' is absolutely true.

[Tesco tearaway]

*SNIP*

Current crisis and sensible compromise apart, I think this has shown that the mantra pushed by many fans that 'football without fans is nothing' is absolutely true.

Excellent post as always SoS 
Absolutely true for me.
I've been watching the Bundesliga games, and, without a shadow of a doubt, I've enjoyed the games with piped crowd noises far more than the others.
I hope we do the full Kop effect when we play home games; chants, songs, the lot! 

[Son of Spion]

Excellent post as always SoS 
Absolutely true for me.
I've been watching the Bundesliga games, and, without a shadow of a doubt, I've enjoyed the games with piped crowd noises far more than the others.
I hope we do the full Kop effect when we play home games; chants, songs, the lot! 

I'm sure the club will have a copy of the old Kop Choir LP that was out donkeys ago.

My mates and I would come home from school for dinner and put that on full blast as we stood on the couch, scarves raised, singing along. 

[Fabulous_aurelio]

The government has published new guidelines for elite athletes returning to contact training - when individual sports deem it safe to do so.

The government advises beginning with clusters of two or three athletes, then progressing to larger groups of four to 12 and ultimately full team training.

It is up to individual sports to assess the risk and consult athletes, coaches and support staff.

The Premier League will discuss the guidance at a meeting on Wednesday.

Clubs in England's top flight returned to 'phase one' non-contact training on 19 May.

Contact training is phase two in a three-stage plan, with the final phase - the resumption of sport behind closed doors - expected to begin in June.

Sports minister Nigel Huddleston said: "This new guidance marks the latest phase of a carefully phased return to training process for elite athletes, designed to limit the risk of injury and protect the health and safety of all involved.

"We are absolutely clear that individual sports must review whether they have the appropriate carefully controlled medical conditions in place before they can proceed, and secure the confidence of athletes, coaches and support staff."

Current social-distancing rules will apply at all times other than during technical training, and equipment-sharing will be avoided where possible.

Football is the only major team sport to recommence training so far, with the English Football League joining the Premier League in returning on Monday.

It was announced on Thursday that rugby union's Premiership clubs would not begin training for at least two weeks, while cricket in England and Wales will remain shut down until at least 1 July.

(BBC Sport - 1 hour ago)

[rafathegaffa83]

Something struck me recently and I'm not sure if it was a genuine recollection of mine or just something I'd dreamed at some point or other.

Juventus have been a big proponent of this. They moved into a smaller ground and I'm pretty sure it was either Juventus or another Serie A club that mentioned something about matchday ticket sales not being a big deal with a crowd simply there for atmosphere.

[Lush is the best medicine...]

Juventus have been a big proponent of this. They moved into a smaller ground and I'm pretty sure it was either Juventus or another Serie A club that mentioned something about matchday ticket sales not being a big deal with a crowd simply there for atmosphere.

also with their old stadium it was crap for sight lines so people didn’t bother going (there was a coppa Italia game with something like 300 people when they were at their peak in the 2000s) and didn’t have much of a corporate offering, so downsizing to a better smaller stadium when you weren’t selling out before and being able to milk the corporate makes sense for a lot, plus in Italy a lot are council owned so the clubs don’t make as much (why roma are desperate for their own stadium)

[rob1966]

I think this has shown that the mantra pushed by many fans that 'football without fans is nothing' is absolutely true.

Depends on the club. I had a quick look, Utd's MDR runs at about £110 million per season, we've moved into the high £90m MDR due to the main stand. However, Burnleys MDR is £8.9 million, yes eight point nine. West Ham, even with a 55,000 + stadium only take around £25 million. For over half the clubs in this league, 80 to 90% of their income is TV. Fans inside the stadium are just there to make a noise, to the likes of Burnley, West Ham and the rest, the most important fans for them support us and Man Utd. That's why I bang on about threatening them with pulling the plug if they don't play ball, as football without LFC and Man U ceases to exist.

[Fromola]

Something struck me recently and I'm not sure if it was a genuine recollection of mine or just something I'd dreamed at some point or other.

I have vague memories of it being put forward by some that building big ground capacities in the current age was becoming far less important because top clubs' revenue  was coming from other things these days such as TV and fans in the ground were becoming less important.

If my recollection is correct, and I didn't just dream that up, I wonder how the current state of affairs will be viewed by people who thought that way?

To me, the current crisis has firmly established that fans are everything.
Although football will have to compromise for a long time to come, I assume that the importance of getting the big crowds back in in future will not be lost on the game. Afterall, it's the spectacle of big games in front of big crowds that saw TV willing to pay big money to screen games in the first place.

Current crisis and sensible compromise apart, I think this has shown that the mantra pushed by many fans that 'football without fans is nothing' is absolutely true.

Personally i've got zero interest in watching games without crowds (as devilishly annoying as most crowds in England are). I just want the season to finish so we can win the league. Won't give a fuck about next season if there's no fans allowed, although I hope we win the league.

Without fans it's essentially just a kickabout in the park. Our fans pretty much made the tagline "football without fans is nothing".

[El Lobo]

Personally i've got zero interest in watching games without crowds (as devilishly annoying as most crowds in England are). I just want the season to finish so we can win the league. Won't give a fuck about next season if there's no fans allowed, although I hope we win the league.

Without fans it's essentially just a kickabout in the park. Our fans pretty much made the tagline "football without fans is nothing".

So you won’t be watching or commenting on any games for the rest of this season?

[Fromola]

So you won’t be watching or commenting on any games for the rest of this season?

I'll watch our games. I won't watch others.

[El Lobo]

I'll watch our games. I won't watch others.

You’ve got no interest in watching football without crowds, but you’ll still watch. You don’t care about watching next season, as long as Liverpool win the league. You understand how glory supporty that sounds...?

[Statto Red]

I've been watching the Bundesliga & most of it has been good & you forget that they're playing behind closed doors with the quality of the football, not sure that'll be the case when likes of Burnley play Palace, mind you that's normally shit even with a crowd attending.

[Fromola]

You’ve got no interest in watching football without crowds, but you’ll still watch. You don’t care about watching next season, as long as Liverpool win the league. You understand how glory supporty that sounds...?

I've waited 30 years to see us win the league so I can watch a few games without crowds if it means finally seeing something finally happen I was beginning to think never would.

Wouldn't have much interest in next season without crowds but as a Liverpool fan still hope we win all the games.