A year has gone already since most countries entered into lockdown to limit the spread of Covid-19. The lock-down meant that stadiums could not host home or away fans and that players could finally hear their coach’s instructions on the pitch. No atmosphere, no songs, no noise, no home advantage or hostile stadium…
At the same time, the debate was still raging about the VAR. Some were in favour and some against. Some say that it denatured the game and some said it made if fairer. On my side, I think the VAR is ok but the refs just have too much room to interpret rules as they wish…The lack of consistency cannot be solved by VAR or anything for that matter. Below you will be able to read a passionate plea from LBG about stadium and the VAR. Thanks LBG!
“Today was a bit of a watershed for me, as the Club ask Season ticket holders for confirmation of their personal log in details, presumably in advance of their future request for money.
On another site I offered recently, in a debate whether the 70s/80s/90s players were as good as those of today, my current feelings about the game I have loved all my life.
The best current players, as highly tuned athletes are probably “better”, but the sport is definitely not. Covid has shown us what the sport used to be. It is a shadow of its former self WITHOUT THE PEOPLE THE GAME IS FOR….THE CROWD.! Ordinary people with passion for their team. In their place the new “prima donnas” have have risen up and taken their place on the stage, and I for one am fed up with them – referees, VAR, ” players representatives”, FIFA, UEFA, pundits, newspaper so called experts, are ruining our game as they compete for their 15 minutes.
If we ever get back to full capacity stadiums again, I believe the ordinary supporters are going to rebel if all the “spoilers” are not pushed aside, and the game be allowed to return to relative simplicity. And the Clubs will soon find, if they are not careful, that the rebellion will be led by those ordinary supporters, like me, refusing to pay, no matter how much football and Arsenal is in our blood. Yours truly, LBG”.
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
The big clubs don’t have to rely on ordinary supporters these days.
Them days are long gone.
The past year has shown that the game can exist solely on TV. The move to increase the Champions League games will squeeze the country competitions.
The move towards the continental then world game explains the involvement of the Yank owners and Middle East dictators. The franchise system will see clubs moving. Man City via Dubai is just the start….unless…the fans lose interest
@LBG I’m not convinced the players are better today. The diets might be better and the performance enhancing drugs definitely are, but nothing else is dramatically different.
The Arsenal teams of GG in the late 80s & early 90’s would wipe the floor with the current team. Absolutely no doubt. The Wenger team of the early 00’s was probably the best of the Arsenal teams I saw, but were they better than the Chapman team of the 30s? Hard to say without having seen them.
Some of the superstars of the past weren’t classic athletes. Maradona had a crazy lifestyle, was short and overweight. Cruyff smoked 60 a day. Puskas was fat. Garrincha would be classed as disabled today.
Saliba be wilding on Twitter, if that his real account
Nothing much to add.
Find the belief that the game can exist without supporters, solely on TV monies, surprising and sad if true. I wont watch empty stadiums matches after the pandemic, since the joy is already gone now.
I intentionally highlighted ” better”, since such comparisons are generally futile. Exceptions are what makes life and sport interesting as well. And a team of blind, one legged ex- Totteringham players could do a pretty good job against the current team on alternate weeks!
I’m with LBG really. It’s not that the game can’t exist in some form without fans in stadiums but there will be a massive fall from grace in a domino type effect if empty stadiums become the norm in the future.
You lose a massive amount of the passion and drama that can be palpably felt when fans are in the stadium. Even those watching at home will have the experience sanitised by the lack of atmosphere. Many people will start to fall out of love with the game and desert it to a large degree.
Maybe the money lost in gate receipts and matchday spending is a smaller amount of what constitutes a clubs seasonal income, but no fans at stadiums will have a knock on effect to all the other aspects of the revenue stream, including the T.V money.
Less people interested in watching, less people interested in merchandise; all this reduces the attractiveness to sponsorship across all aspects of the game so the figures that are currently in place for T.V rights, that filters down to the clubs in terms of revenue, will be set for a drop.
This is just my opinion and it may not actually work out that way but if that were to happen then all these overly paid footballers and managers and CEO’s and directors of football, agents, e.t.c could be set for a big downward adjustment of their income.
Not necessarily a bad thing in some respects but while it wont sign the death knell of football in its entirety it will significantly alter the whole landscape.
Thank you Gunners and all other football players for providing us with many good football games in these dark and worrisome times. I dont know what it was like for you to turn up in huge empty stadiums twice a week for eight months in a row and give your all to win the games and provide us with hope and entertainment. Especially we Gunners were spoiled with two pieces of silverware against all odds. VCC.
If you can bear to be reminded, recommend the Sky article on th last exactly one year, since the Leicester v Aston Villa game was the last Premier League fixture of last season to be played in front of a full crowd.
Of course Liverpool played Athletico Madrid and Cheltenham went ahead…..bit of a mistake……..and seems so long ago!
New Post