Next season’s fixtures

[Draytonian III]

When the season gets up and running,I’ve read a couple rumours from different sources that it could be mid September but behind closed doors for the first few weeks. If this is the case and a team’s first 10 for instance are behind closed doors I wonder if the leagues fixtures boffins would sort the fixtures out wherever possible and play the “long distance “ behind closed doors ie Rovers away to Plymouth and Swindon and save the more local matches for when supporters are back in the grounds to help with raising money.
 This forum along with all the other club’s would go into meltdown if majority of local derbies are behind closed doors.
 

[Donnywolf]

Very very good suggestion - one full of good ideas and simple common sense

So probably the cynic in me thinks the Fixture computer programmer wont think of that - but they should for sure or at least make sure Teams can get as many "big hitters" played when they can take money for it

The big test will come in 14 days time I suppose when the Pubs etc have been open to see if we avoid more cases which will undoubtedly vary the start date of the Season

[Surrey Rover]

Maybe this model could be considered rather than playing in empty stadiums.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/53268001

[IDM]

Only one seat between groups.?  That also says nothing about spacing between rows either.

Social distancing would need to be below one metre for that to happen, but the main issue is the pinch points of concourses etc and transport to and from the stadia.

[since-1969]

There is little need now to delay the seasons start . With the expectance of playing behind closed doors is now the present ‘new norm’ , the only thing clubs need to know is how will this effect season tickets owners . Do they ask them to pay the full fee or a reduced amount or leave it to the charity of the fans to donate their looses to club . If for arguments sake every season ticket holder donates his looses and the sales are the same as last season , will the clubs budget reflect this and maintain IT’S backing as before Or reduce the budget to reflect the clubs tickets sales over all .

[rich1471]

What I don't understand is from tomorrrrow I can go and sit in a cinema and watch a film for two hours with social distancing , go and sit in a pub for two hours as well but not sit in a football stadium what am I missing , I can get a bus or train to go to all three

[Campsall rover]

Didn’t think cinemas or theatre’s were opening yet.
If I am wrong then apologies. It would not make sense to open indoor facilities and not outdoor ones.
I am sure a 5.000 crowd could social distance at the keepmoat with the correct procedures put in place.
Presumably it would have to be season ticket holders only for a crowd limited to those numbers.

[rich1471]

They can open from tomorrow some have decided to open at a later date , vue open 10th July not sure about odeon

[graingrover]

The French have indicated a limit of 5000 per  football stadium initially .They are further down the Covid curve AND people are now well experienced in social distancing routines and wearing of masks ( in shops and on public transport ) which U.K. public is just getting assimilated to.It seems obvious that masks and some specific seating arrangements will have to be worked on by the clubs here too whenever the stadium ban ends .

[IDM]

What I don't understand is from tomorrrrow I can go and sit in a cinema and watch a film for two hours with social distancing , go and sit in a pub for two hours as well but not sit in a football stadium what am I missing , I can get a bus or train to go to all three

Far fewer people would be at the cinema than in a stadium, and they will have staggered times for different films..

I can imagine a scenario where a stadium is adapted for supporters to come in whilst social distancing applies however that would be at much reduced capacity.

Would we need to build screens between seat rows, and have rigidly controlled entry, exit and concourse procedures.?  For a few months until the rules are relaxed to allow normal entry anyway.?

How much would that cost.?  Would a partial capacity be economically viable to operate.?

As with many things coronavirus related, we are behind the curve compared to other countries so there is a view that we could learn from what they are doing.

My view is that for league one and below we could be looking at no fans until they can allow unrestricted access.

[EasyforDennis]

Unfortunately some of our fans couldn't behave pre coronovirus so how can we expect them to behave with strict social distancing rules in stadia? 

[Silkscarf]

I totally agree. But that would be the case in every ground. Some idiots always think they must display their 'passion' in whatever way they see fit, while the rest of us respect the rules and other people.

But in general reduced capacities and loads of taped off areas etc etc will be the way we get started again.

[silent majority]

Firstly the start date is crucial for EFL clubs. Whatever start date is announced then a pre-season for training purposes will be required, say 6 weeks as a minimum? Therefore using the start dates that have been mooted within EFL circles, the end of August and the middle of September, would be catastrophic for clubs whose players are furloughed until the end of August. It ain't going to happen.

The second point is that it's a conversation between the SGSA and Government who'll decide on supporters attending matches. It will happen, but numbers will be reduced. We will have to wait and see what figure that is.

[Draytonian III]

Another point if the league make leagues 1&2 home supporters only when the grounds are opened what’s to stop away supporters buying/getting hold of tickets for the ground. Not all of a teams supporters live in Doncaster, as a lot people who post on here don’t.
 

[silent majority]

Another point if the league make leagues 1&2 home supporters only when the grounds are opened what’s to stop away supporters buying/getting hold of tickets for the ground. Not all of a teams supporters live in Doncaster, as a lot people who post on here don’t.
 

We can sell more season tickets than the number of supporters allowed in. Away fans won't be buying match tickets.

[EasyforDennis]

Another point if the league make leagues 1&2 home supporters only when the grounds are opened what’s to stop away supporters buying/getting hold of tickets for the ground. Not all of a teams supporters live in Doncaster, as a lot people who post on here don’t.
 

We can sell more season tickets than the number of supporters allowed in. Away fans won't be buying match tickets.

So in theory are you saying that a season ticket will not guarantee you entry to all games?

[Draytonian III]

I know for a fact when Torquay banned away supporters years ago some Rovers supporters got in

[elmsallrover]

But if the club does not put match day tickets on sale then no away fans can get into the ground

[Draytonian III]

If there’s no match day tickets on sale how are supporters supposed to get in ? If it’s say a third of the capacity do we have 5000 season ticket holders, I’m using our ground as an example there is of course bigger and smaller grounds with bigger and smaller amounts of season ticket holders

[idler]

There ought to be a scheme whereby season ticket holders that can't attend certain games inform the club in advance and their seat could maybe go to someone else.

[silent majority]

I'm just speculating of course, but lets look at this logically.

As I said earlier its a decision to be made by government and the SGSA (Sports Ground Safety Authority) who will decide when and how many supporters will be allowed into grounds. Then it will be the responsibility of the local SAG (Safety Advisory Group) to control that along with a new post to be created such as the Covid-19 coordinator. That will more than likely be the Safety Officer or stadium manager at the club.

Being realistic how many supporters do you think they will allow into football grounds as a starting figure? I've heard the figure of 30% mentioned. But of course each ground will be different, but that's a starting figure which clubs can then negotiate from. In our case that's less than 5,000.

Now, we can get close to that in a normal season with ST holders. But this isn't a normal season. Lets say we can sell 3,500, which then leaves 1,500 to be sold for each match day. Do you then allocate all those to home supporters only, or do you try and sell some to away supporters? This is where it gets difficult. The club needs as many walk-ups as it can get, but would that be allowed? Probably not. Would a club survive on gates of less than 5,000? Probably not.

To maximise the revenue stream you need to operate as close to whatever figure you are allocated as possible. That means all tickets will need to be pre-sold, you allow for your ST holders and then pre-sell on the website up to your maximum. I doubt if there would be may walk ups, the danger is that you would have to turn people away, which is a major issue.

To get back to the point I was making, the best way of seeing football next season is to buy a season ticket. And then hope that the club can actually accommodate all those ST holders. If we have more ST holders than places then we may, and again I'm speculating, have to start a system of alternative weekends, see one game, miss the next etc.

But all that will be ratified in the next few weeks. Lets hope for a positive outcome, and don't forget to buy your ST!

[Campsall rover]

They can open from tomorrow some have decided to open at a later date , vue open 10th July not sure about odeon

Right ok.
Where is the ventilation in a cinema. Not somewhere where I am rushing off to that’s for sure.

[keith79]

Why would they start the new season behind closed doors, when this season finished because teams could not afford to play behind closed doors.

[elmsallrover]

They can open from tomorrow some have decided to open at a later date , vue open 10th July not sure about odeon

I think that as a lot to do with some big films being released a few weeks later

[Draytonian III]

Why would the new season start behind closed doors, when this season finished because teams could not afford to play behind closed doors.

Did you read what I wrote in the initial post ? I was making a comment / suggestion / idea but if you want to read it your way fair enough

[Glyn_Wigley]

Unfortunately some of our fans couldn't behave pre coronovirus so how can we expect them to behave with strict social distancing rules in stadia? 

Because they can be identified a lot quicker and with more certainty?

[keith79]

Why would the new season start behind closed doors, when this season finished because teams could not afford to play behind closed doors.

Did you read what I wrote in the initial post ? I was making a comment / suggestion / idea but if you want to read it your way fair enough

😞