Dave Seddon’s Preston pressview: Ban on fans inside stadiums is a crushing blow

Prime Minister Boris Johnson didn’t just ‘pause’ the plans for fans to return to grounds in reduced numbers next month, he slammed on the brakes and then applied the hand brake.

It was lumped in with the other measures announced on Tuesday to try and blunt the spike of Covid-19, with the caveat of a six-month timescale.

If indeed we are looking at the full six-month stretch, it will be late March before the turnstiles are clicking again.

The Government has done more U-turns than a lorry driver with a dodgy Satnav during the pandemic but there was little hope offered that six months might be less.

There was no ‘we’ll keep this under review’, leaving football and elite spectator sports to put heads into hands and work out how to get through to the spring.

It is the hope that kills you. Just three days before the PM spoke in the House of Commons, seven EFL games had been used as a pilot to test having fans back in Covid-secure stadiums.

I was fortunate to be at one such game at Carrow Road, as Preston took on Norwich City.

There might only have been 1,000 Canaries fans in the ground but how good it was to see them.

Just seeing a few rows of seats occupied – socially distanced of course – in the stand opposite the press box was a boost.

The home supporters made themselves heard and for the first time since June’s restart you could hear more than just the managers and players shouting.

The Norwich game and the other pilot matches should have been the first step towards a little bit of normality.

Instead we are back where we started, football back to being watched only from the armchair or the bar stool.

That’s ironic isn’t it? You are not allowed access to a football stadium to watch a game in the open air. But you can sit in the local boozer and watch it.

This coming Monday’s clash between Arsenal and Liverpool has moved kick-off time to make sure it finishes by last orders.

We knew that television always wagged football’s tail but this is taking things to the extreme.

I’m not playing down Covid-19 here, it’s been a horrible few months and if things are to ease in a few months, roll on the spring.

However, I do think fans can return to sports ground safely having witnessed the work that goes on behind the scenes.

I’ve covered 16 games behind closed doors now and the organisation at all grounds visited has been second to none.

Temperature checks, health forms, one-way routes, hand sanitiser on tap, limited or no contact with managers and players, are just some of the measures put in place.

At most grounds, perhaps all, the away dressing room has been relocated to a different area.

What was until March the press room at Derby County’s Pride Park ground, is now the away dressing room.

However, the visiting team still have to shower in the original dressing room, hence the sight of players wrapped in towels and wearing flip flops walking through the stand after the final whistle!

In terms of anticipating the return of fans into grounds, clubs put in so much work to make their grounds Covid-secure.

Rows of seats were taped off to ensure supporters could be socially distanced as they watched games.

If there was any worry about fans mingling too much outside grounds, measures could have been put in place – barriers used in carparks and the approach to the turnstiles.

You just hope there might be a re-think at some point as hopefully Covid numbers drop. But I won’t hold my breath.

North End manager Alex Neil made a good point at his press conference on Thursday in terms of fans being stopped from returning.

He genuinely fears a lost generation of supporters, not just at PNE but many other clubs.

People might find other things to do on a Saturday afternoon or Tuesday night, with iFollow not guaranteed to hold everyone’s attention.

Peering at your phone, iPad or laptop for 90 minutes is no substitute for the real thing.

Some people will disengage, fall along the wayside never to return.

I detected a bit of apathy when covering North End’s Carabao Cup tie with Brighton on Wednesday.

Social media wasn’t exactly awash with reaction to the defeat, it met more with a shrug of the shoulders.

Bearing in mind it would have been Manchester United visiting Deepdale next week had PNE won,things were fairly calm.

I understand why. It wouldn’t have been United in front of a 23,000 capacity crowd as was the case in January 2015 when the sides met in the FA Cup.

It would have been on Sky no doubt, with the option too of watching via the Carabao Cup website. It’s just not the same is it?

It will be interesting to see how football and indeed other sports get through the next six months financially.

Will there be backing from the Government or does support have to come from within the game?

Does the Premier League need to flow cash down the leagues?

I suspect the onus will be on the Premier League to bolster the solidarity payments made to clubs in the EFL to ensure they stay in business.

The top-flight clubs have splashed big money on some big signings in this window, almost as if the pandemic isn’t happening.

So the argument will be if they afford the fees and wages being paid out, the Premier League can afford to put some kind of fighting fund together.