The wait goes on.
The carrot dangled in the form of 1000 of our brethren being allowed into Carrow Road to watch City’s home game with Preston has been unceremoniously whipped away.
A return to our second home, whether it be in the form of 1000 or 27000 guinea pigs, seems as far away now as ever.
This week’s confirmation by the club that they’ll no longer be issuing season ticket rebates on a game-by-game basis, but will instead allow the monthly direct debits to accrue in order, if wanted, to go towards the 2021/22 season’s ticket, was another sign.
Just to rub salt into the wounds, those lucky football fans in countries whose governments have carefully and professionally managed the pandemic – Germany for example – are being allowed back in small numbers. For them, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
There were also a limited number of fans in Sarajevo on Thursday night when Northern Ireland played Bosnia and Herzegovina and again yesterday in Luxembourg when our own Danel Sinani scored twice in their win over Cyprus.
Both games, however underwhelming, were enhanced by the sight and, more importantly, sound of real supporters. It felt like football.
While the artificial crowd noise pumped into our living rooms by the wizardry of Sky’s and BT Sport’s sound geeks initially had a small novelty value, now, for me at least, it’s maddening. It epitomises everything that’s grim about football right now.
Fair play for the idea in the first place and well done to the geeks who have honed it into something sophisticated enough to differentiate a goalscoring opportunity from a late tackle on the halfway line, but the fact it’s even there in the first place has played its part in ripping the soul out of the game we loved.
Like many, never have I felt so detached from my team.
Relegation didn’t really feel like relegation. Not really. It was miserable and we had a proper moan about it but it didn’t come with the blow to the solar plexus that have accompanied relegations of the past.
It should have because it was probably the most grim and pitiful relegation this club has ever suffered, but it didn’t. It was diluted.
The same applies to the successes, or in our case, success. The win at Huddersfield was, of course, very welcome but with no City fans there to salute their heroes’ first win since February, it felt hollow.
It was great obviously. A win is a win. It was still worth three points. But the elation that normally accompanies a City victory was, for me at least, tempered. Not the same. Nothing like.
I wouldn’t have been at the John Smith’s Stadium, but to hear the Yellow Army roaring on those in yellow draws you in. Brings it close. Those 1000+ voices represent us all, in the same way 26000 voices on a Carrow Road matchday represent City fans watching from afar.
Right now, Norwich City Football Club feels more remote than ever.
There are, of course, calls for this to be rectified and the petition to allow football fans to attend matches at all levels has, to date, collected over 194,000 signatures and will therefore be considered for debate in Parliament.
And I get it, totally. I’d give anything for a chance, for all the reasons above, to make that walk down King Street into Carrow Road and then filter into the stadium and mingle with my fellow RiverEndian moaners.
Oh how we need a good one.
But it’s the ‘at all levels’ part of the petition that really hits the mark. Those clubs that rely solely on folk paying at the gate to function; whose very existence is threatened by COVID-19 and it’s refusal to not only go away but come back for a second time, bigger and stronger.
Yet, with the UK infection rate doubling every 7-10 days and our hospitals warning of a turbulent winter ahead, in that regard now doesn’t feel like the right time to be part-filling stadia with people.
A complete no-win. How do you square a circle?
Yet, as if oblivious to the noise occurring outside their own expensively-decorated bubble, the Premier League continues to blunder on with the finesse and sensitivity of Sean Dyche.
Their refusal to offer help to those clubs outside the elite 20 continues apace, and few will forget their refusal to allow Fulham’s superfluous parachute payment to be fed back down the footballing food chain but instead be returned to their bulging coffers.
Yet, unbowed, the Premier League’s lack of awareness continues apace with their latest pocket-lining scheme being to launch a pay-per-view service for matches not included in the designated televised schedule. The lucky viewer will be charged £14.95 for the pleasure – a service that during Project Restart was provided gratis.
Aren’t they great?
There’s little to love about our game right now, most of it – but not all – out of football’s gift.
Quite how and/or when it will return to something resembling normal is a complete unknown. So too is what football will look like when it comes out the other side; the big fear being that 92 league clubs won’t emerge.
So, forgive me my little, self-indulgent whinge around missing being part of a Carrow Road crowd. We’ll get there, eventually, and barring another unforeseen catastrophe, there’ll be a football club there for us to support.
Others may not be so lucky.
A very depressing read Gary, but – only too accurate I’m afraid.
My walk to the ground takes me down PoW rather than King Street but it’s just a different version of the same ritual. I often bump into folks I know in Morrisons, have a chat with the steward by the hot dog stall, then steward Richard and the operator of the Barclay service lift before meeting my mates.
We moan in the UB too you know, but maybe not quite as much as your colleagues in the *Regency Security Stand*. I fear for the stewards [at every club] particularly as most are paid on a match by match basis and while some of them do it for love others need the money.
Pay-per-view stinks. No other phrase to describe it really.
I don’t blame the Club for its refund stance; it’s logical from their point of view.
But while I’ll keep paying monthly without complaint I do wonder what I’ll do at the end of this godforsaken season. I don’t want refunds. I want football to go and watch.
With all of us in the stadium.
Two things stuck in my mind this week. The first being the hidden message from the club which to me suggested that whatever happened in terms of viral risk we would not be going back this season and therefore probably into 2022 (given that September would be more dangerous than May). The second was when I read Connor Southwell’s article which mentioned that the O2 and Albert Hall would be opening to people. If it is unsafe for us to drive 10 miles to watch a football team in an outside environment then it is surely unsafe to travel longer distances to watch a Russian violinist (for example) perform indoors. This is not about viral risk this appears to be deeper and I have not got an idea what the agenda is
Considering the context of other currently allowed behaviours, ie. Theatre Royal performances continuing inside a marquee at Interlude at the UEA; restaurants and bars open to customers; and supermarket shopping with rampantly ignored social-distancing rules carrying on uncurbed, it does seem a shame that well-behaved, orderly, organised, well=spaced football arenas and fans aren’t afforded the same level of respect. I’m not saying allowing fans back is appropriate at this point in the Covid situation, just that it is inconsistent with how other congregationary areas are being regulated. I’m optimistic the risk level will eventually be correctly assessed – supermarket shopping surely must be more hazardous? – and limited attendances will one again be allowed, probably later this season.
Hi Gary
An excellent article.
This virus pandemic so I have read on the second wave has mutated this nay or may not be the case but if this is the case then all research has to go back to the drawing board.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic says he has got the virus for the second time so that means that the body is not building a immunity to it.
Wherever you go there are people of all ages flouting simple rules that could hopefully prevent it spreading, then you read that our own Idah switched seats on a plane and moved to within a mtr of a prevestly positive tested IFA official why was he even on the flight.
Clubs are coming out and saying that games with crowds can safely go ahead with up to 50% of supporters in the grounds and say that the Proms with 3000 people in attendance was less safe than an open stadium my simple mind says as all the crowds that attend the test events been retested to ensure they are all safe and the same goes for those at the Proms.
Test events must be resumed otherwise no one will know if or when it is safe to return to some sort of normality.
Today Nuringburgring FA1 are letting in 20k to watch so the biggest test so far.
Only time will tell if the government plans are working but the big problem is those people who think this virus will not happen or effect them in anyway, some one said if it was a virus only affecting the young people the the older generation would follow all the rules to help stop it spreading but as it is effecting most the older people then the younger generation are throwing away the rules as they feel safe, this new mutation could change all that.
I am sorry Blackpool let us down yesterday and got beaten by some team in blue
Oh dear, I was about to argue the point that we must be grateful for what we have at the moment. I was/am particularly looking forward to Wales game against Ireland this afternoon. I just checked the BBC website for the all clear only to see that there are currently six players in the Ireland squad who have covid 19 and I can only assume that the game will be called off, then there is Boris’ announcement tomorrow. Having booked sunday lunch for 4.30 I won’t be watching the England game either. I hope I’ve seriously misjudged this but I can’t help thinking that football match attendances will be on a back burner for a bit.
I agree Gary this is a really hard situation to find an answer to.
Due to my disabilities and to a certain extent cost I cannot go to Carrow Road anything like I have done in the last 50 odd years. But I still miss the crowd atmosphere massively even on the TV.
I would go as far as to say though I do not attend as I did, it has a profound affect on my thinking. So what is like for the season ticket holders and especially the regular away supporters. They have every Saturday disrupted. For some it must weigh heavily on their mind set.
Some no doubt may even be suffering depression.
I don’t know if it was Paddy or Connor in the EDP this week felt it unfair that grouse shooting had been allowed and that the return to football stadiums was not.
Leaving aside the ethical question of shooting the 2 pastimes are completely different as you don’t get hugged etc every time you shoot the poor old grouse like you do when a goal is scored.
When Project Restart started players were meant to celebrate a goal alone without each other. That soon went, understandably the emotion is so high after scoring a goal, and that is the problem with football it is so emotive. It is so hard to control that feeling of elation.
Many people inside Horse Racing feel it absurd that they cannot have spectators controlled safely which I am sure they can but ignore the fact that 10,000’s of people descending upon places like Ascot, Newmarket etc will spread the disease like wildfire.
Hence it is extremely unlikely away supporters will be allowed anywhere this season.
And with some clubs, especially the lower league teams, there have to be enough home supporters allowed in to make it viable from a financial situation.
Personally without a vaccine I cannot see a way through this, perhaps a compromise can be found but as we head into winter the priority must be to make sure that the NHS is not overwhelmed and unfortunately that may mean those lucky few maybe the only ones to see the team this year.
Hi Tim
I’ve gone for a light-hearted article for tomorrow cos I’m not as brave as Gary but: I’m a regular home supporter to the point that I have to be really, really bad to miss a game. I’ve still only failed to attend about seven or eight matches in 33 years. But I can live with disruption for now. It’s the way of the current world, or the curl of the burl as my son might term it.
My problem is that this Government [and Starmer’s lot would be no better] tell us all we can ease ourselves back, see how it goes and hopefully go back together and properly when the time is right.
But that’s all been ripped away from us as there seems to be no hope of that happening in the foreseeable future.
Can you imagine what it’s like for somebody like Placheta, Olly Skipp or Xavi Quintilla who have never seen what our support can offer the team in terms of our truly unique support?
As for the hunting lot I’ll pass. I’ve done a fair bit of rough shooting in the past but that’s different because it IS vermin control [mixy rabbits, etc] and I’ll not apologise for taking part in that activity at that time.
But I understand the landed gents are not allowed any hunt followers on Boxing Day either. I’m sure they’ll stick to a drag trail with no witnesses, all good men and true as they surely are.
I think we’d all love to be back at the Carra but unless there’s 27,000 in the ground it simply wouldn’t be the same for me.
Agree with every word of that Martin.
I still believe if we had been able to play with a full house Carrow Road our relegation may well have happened but we would have put up a much better fight of it.
I even wonder without the 1000 heroes we may not have equalised against Preston.
Horrible times Martin I’m afraid.
Tut tut, Martin. Don’t let the situation get you down. In times like this, poking the huntin’ shootin’ faternity and our politicians will not solve the problem. Neither will it ease the stress that many people are facing. Leave that up to the rags we call newspapers. Stand firm, maintain your customary wit, and give us your expert footballing analysis. We’ll be back soon. OTBC
I saw yesterday that a few pantomimes are being allowed with the lottery paying for the unused tickets. The whole situation is a pantomime with so many inconsistencies. Yesterday I watched some live football, an amateur game at Eaton Park. I can play golf and am trusted to socially distance but I cannot go to a golf tournament even with a very limited crowd. The rule of 6 means 6 in England but could be 16 in Scotland if 10 of them are young children, both rules supported by the Science!
I cannot see that I will attend Carrow Road in 2020 and most if not all of 2021. I do not believe that a vaccine will provide the silver bullet we are led to believe by our politicians. Look how long it has taken to irradiate various diseases and those others that still are around because we cannot get 100% take up of a vaccine.
A really good article, thanks.
They just have to open all stadia, at least 50% of normal capacity. For most people the chances of catching Covid are minimal, and the chances of dying from it much less. Let people as responsible adults make their own decisions about whether to go or not. We must learn to live with the virus, it ain’t going away!
As their is a few pantomines being staged cant see why not allowed into carrow road after all 😊
The real problem is that every Tory mp had to sign a Boris brexit pledge to be allowed to stand in the last election. Some very sensible and experienced Tories were dumped and a shed load of UKIP members joined the Tory party. We have a bunch of single vision politicians running the show, and as to following the science , well we all know its so much safer to have a 50% capacity at the royal Albert hall, than to have 5000 fans in a 27000 seated stadium . bitter moi!!!!.
You bet .
I know shouldn’t do politics .sorry.
I know Bernie, and neither should I. We try and avoid it on MFW as much as possible.
(You’re right!)