Serious questions to be answered off-field about next season

[streetrifle]

Whichever league we are in next season there are surely some big questions to be answered before September when its apparently planned to start.
How can it be staged properly with any form of social distancing, even 1 metre, without significantly reducing capacity?
How would such reduced capacity be accommodated fairly, e.g. % of season ticket holders by lottery?
Would any form of testing be carried out on entry, e.g. temperature
Presumably fans would need to wear a mask
Given that a significant number of season ticket holder/fans are aged over 70 and/or have underlying health conditions and would be unhappy to risk attending before a vaccine is available to them, would it be fair for them to have to lose their usually long-held seats in that interim period whilst they wait for the vaccine to arrive possibly before the end of the season.
How can the club possibly keep all areas of the ground sanitised throughout the season?
With social distancing queuing in toilets/bars might cause delays at half time

[Pompey Penguin]

What should happen or what will happen? Very different things, but to have guess at the latter, whilst remembering that this virus has made a liar out of me every time I have suggested how things will go.

The genie is out of the bottle, and I can't see it being forced back in. People are fed up with restrictions and are increasingly deciding to do what they want (wrongly or rightly). Unless the government is prepared to get very draconian, it will be difficult to u-turn again. So I suspect that come September football (and loads of other events) will be open almost back to normal; it will be up to individuals to decide on their own choices and protection measures. There will be blips on the way, a steady rate of deaths, but improved treatment and maybe a vaccine at some point in the future. I am afraid that the answer will be that if you are worried about crowds don't go to football matches (or other sports, or cinema, or concerts, or nightclubs, etc.), but don't expect everybody else to act the same way.

[Sam_Brown]

I am afraid that the answer will be that if you are worried about crowds don't go to football matches (or other sports, or cinema, or concerts, or nightclubs, etc.), but don't expect everybody else to act the same way.

I think this is where I am at the moment as well and I've made my peace with it.

I just hope those that those who want to get out (and rightly have the right to do so based on recent advice) remain respectful of those who are still cautious and understand that the virus isn't over. Social distancing is still a thing as is wearing masks on public transport and people need to stick by these rules lest we end up with a second peak.

What I hope people remember more than anything is that it's not just about how it affects you how your choices have the chance to affect other people as well. Just want to see people some empathy that's all.

[streetrifle]

Hi Pompey Penguin

I really dispute your idea that fans will be able to ignore any restrictions next season at Fratton and 'do as they want' as many people are doing nowadays everywhere else i.e. on the beaches, in the parks etc. Until there is a vaccine Portsmouth FC and all the clubs will have firm and far-reaching restrictions placed on them by the government before they allow fans into the stadium and whilst they are in the stadium.

I could imagine restrictions on numbers allowed in the ground, new disciplines around the use of toilets and sales in the bars, and big processes involved in entry and exits in the ground. It really doesn't bear thinking about, particularly is its as soon as September as is envisaged.

[richisbradders]

I can’t see any stadiums having a full crowd until the 2021/2022 season to be honest.

From all the crowd less games for me watching a game is nothing without the fans which doesn’t really help matters on my theory either.

[No Shot Sherlock]

If social distancing of a metre is still a part of everyday life, then I don't see how the club can do anything but restrict attendance accordingly. One measure that could help is to stop away fans attending any matches. This would not only free up space to spread more home fans across, but would also avoid additional numbers using public transport to travel to away games.

[Mr Dee]

Life as we knew it is over.

[Pompey Penguin]

Until there is a vaccine Portsmouth FC and all the clubs will have firm and far-reaching restrictions placed on them by the government before they allow fans into the stadium and whilst they are in the stadium.

So, possibly never then. That will be the end of non-PL footballs clubs as professional concerns.

More generally, the government has announced that parents will be fined if their children do not go to school in September. Even with "year-group bubbles", the virus will be spread around schools and then outside very quickly. Who doesn't come into contact with children on a regular basis? With that going on, there seems little point in putting many restrictions on football and other crowd-based activities.

[New Forester]

Life as we knew it is over.

The speed of change makes that true almost every year with or without a pandemic.

[GreenBlue]

It may not just be COVID-19 keeping us away from football and each other. Just seen this on the BBC.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53218704

.

[Sam_Brown]

It may not just be COVID-19 keeping us away from football and each other. Just seen this on the BBC.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53218704

.

Not an expert but after swine flu and the like over the years I feel this is probably more common than most would think and probably wouldn’t make the headlines if not for Covid.