In the sense that it looks like there will be an announcement next week about cutting social distancing from 2 metres to 1, which gives some hope of allowing fans back into sports grounds after recalculating capacities.

There's 4,180 seats at the Vic, so assuming no away fans allowed into grounds and 2 empty seats for every 1 occupied that would be a seated capacity of 1,393 - maybe 1,500 taking into account ends of rows. Given the size of the budgie perches in the Millhouse I'm not sure even 2 of them empty amounts to a metre, but we can hope that the town's licensing team take pity on us!

Then there's the standing terraces. The pre-pandemic guidance for outdoor events is 2 people per square metre. Dunno if different rules apply for terracing, but 1 person per square metre could be another 1,852 fans for a total of just over 3,000. No idea how managing social distancing in standing areas would be done, not to mention the bogs and the general milling about behind the terraces. Maybe a small army of volunteers can be taken on and given a club tabard and a cattle prod each?

Joking aside, something along these lines can be done and will have to be done to get paying fans back into sports grounds - hopefully this autumn.

Should have added that if the government or council insists on all social distancing being managed by paid stewards the cost will be big problem for the club.

Just cant fathom how it would work if you had a season ticket and sat in the same seat for years.

I reckon games will go ahead with around 1000 - 1500 supporters allowed. That isn't the problem , the problem will be the cost , as I doubt the catering and certainly the bars underneath the stand could operate efficiently within strict social distancing guidelines.

Football at this level won't be financially viable with crowds like that. Structural changes to these lower league is the only way out.

Of the dozen who sit near me and are a group of friends I reckon only two or three willbe back due to age or health issues.

Any thoughts on what you are basing that 1,000-1,500 estimate on? I'm not saying it won't be a lower number than 3,000 or so - it definitely won't be much more than 1,000 if the government sticks with 2 metre social distancing.

I've spent the last 25 years working in the outdoor event industry so calculating crowd capacities for events is a routine part of what I do. There might be some other factors to take into account - for example there might be a requirement to have some extra portaloos put inside the ground if safe access to the toilets was a major factor in the crowd calculation. But such things can be done if they are cost effective - hiring portaloos isn't a massive cost if it came to that and it was justified by extra capacity.

I don't think people would be happy getting moved seats or stands or to have zero social distancing.

If people are that set in their ways that they don’t want to move seats whilst there is a global pandemic then they have the choice not to go. I’d sit anywhere in the ground rather than miss a game but that’s just me

If people are given the option of no football at all or moving your usual seat for a few months I’m pretty sure at least 90% would chose the latter

A large screen should be set up in the Naval Museum car park and for a reduced fee fans can watch the game there live too, providing extra revenue if the capacity in the ground is relatively low.

you would think so but i,m not too sure. i usually sit in an odd seat around loads of season ticket holders. part of their enjoyment seems to be a weekly catch up with each other who they see every home game. then there is a problem on who decides who goes to the match itself. if there is a limit of say 1500 and pools sell 2000 season tickets who will be the ones to miss out. lets just hope in all the weeks to come things can get to a point where we can get back to normal. going to the vic or anywhere else is not compulsory anyway.

I am basing it on the cost mainly , plus a bit of common sense and perception. I believe social distancing rightly or wrongly will be 1m very shortly. I think a crowd of 1000-1500 would cover the cost of staging the game. Other things I considered were ground capacity , the amount of seats ( where I think the majority of the crowd would be located ) and amount of staff needed to steward , provide refreshments and toilet facilities etc. It maybe that a bigger crowd could be allowed in , but a bigger crowd = bigger costs , and I believe Pools don't have a pot to piss in at the moment. Remember this is a club who want all the nitty gritty jobs carried out by volunteers next season. Therefore I feel 1000-1500 is a sensible figure. I don't think there will be the rush to watch football some people may think , so think 1000-1500 may well suffice initially , with others who would normally go , happy to watch via other means , streaming etc.

If the club have any say in the matter I can't see them opting for a lower capacity than is potentially available to them unless the excess costs are astronomical. Pools haven't got a hope in hell of promotion back to the EFL on gates of 1,000-1,500. Clubs that have done that in the recent past like Forest Green have had money-no-object chairmen treating the whole thing as a vanity project. Raj Singh isn't in that mould, but equally I don't see him sticking around for a part-time Pools side trying to stay out of the National League North.

Moving to 1m social distancing is about keeping tens of thousands of businesses in the retail, leisure and entertainment sectors viable and a few million off the dole. Bet you a virtual pint that football at the Vic is back in the autumn, with a temporary capacity of at least 2,500 and no shortage of fans wanting to go to games - as long as Pools have a manager and a squad that looks like it can do something.

Pools haven't a hope in hell of getting back into the EFL on gates of 3000 IMO , as long as they continue to be run haphazardly. FGR chairman I doubt throws money around like confetti , they are were they are because they are well ran. It's not always about having a sugar daddy.

I reckon all restrictions will be lifted by the end of July or very soon after.

well wrexham get more than that regularly and have not really bothered the play off fixtures. most clubs who have been promoted in the last few seasons have one thing in common, a wealthy backer. doubt anyone would have heard of teams like FGR, salford or fleetwood if one didn,t roll up to their club. in the present state of affairs pools need more or less full houses at games to give themselves a fighting chance.

Cheltenham ? Macclesfield ?

I think this " they got promoted because they have a wealthy backer " is a poor excuse. We have a wealthy backer , its just our wealthy backer doesn't spend his money wisely , whereas the wealthy backers at other clubs have a bit more about them.

It could be argued that our wealthy backer is spending his money wisely. Not blowing it on Pools would seem to be wise. Even as a lifelong fan (or more likely, because I'm a lifelong fan) I'd put a limit on the damage to my personal fortune. We've seen far too many people with insufficient funds to invest enough to be successful, along with an array of con men and chancers who take the opportunity to fleece good willed fans. I do think that we're looking at another couple of years of this level and hopefully Raj stays around long enough to gain enough trust from other wealthy backers to get aboard and share the burden. Yes, they can be tempted by a succesful team and a good supporter base. At the moment, I'd be happy just to be able to go and watch a match again.

He is blowing money on Pools though, just ask him. He is spending money , shoring up the club, that is badly run , therefore leaking money under his charge. My point is, some of these other chairman may put in more money than Singh , but they are also savvy in terms of saving money and bringing in revenue from other sources, Singh is not.

On reflection he may as well have spent a million on three really good players able to blast us out of this division , regardless of the mess off the field

cheltenham due to their geography must be one of the best placed clubs in the country. if you live there you have no real alternative if you do not want to travel all the way to bristol or brum to watch league football. macclesfield must be a club who would even use pools as their blueprint for financial stability.

I've been having a look at some other sites and it is still not really clear on the play off picture for the season just finished. Stevenage won't be relegated if the NL can't guarantee that 20/21 season will take place. NL North and South don't have playoffs for promotion to the NL, which means the NL won't be concluded properly. Hopefully over the next week that will be resolved. Stevenage is not on my list of places to visit again.. lost 6-1 last time I went there (and turned down an afternoon of passion with the g/f, don't tell the wife ;( )

too many ifs or buts but can anyone see 2020/1 not taking place. is it though not about taking place but when it will start.

Whenever it starts , I can see us going into administration three quarters of the way through it

The problem with the way the club is run is the poison chalice that RS took over. That and complete lack of revenue streams outside of turnstiles.

thing is that raj may have spare money it might not be enough for pools without a change in the behind the scenes running. he wants more investment but the problem is people who would invest want a say in how the club is run and where their money is going. a good start to obtain more revenue would be to move the 50/50 draw sellers outside or just inside the ground. actually would not mind a plastic pitch to bring revenue in the other 6 days a week. by the time pools become an EFL club they,ll be legal at that level.

Just read that the new covid ground regulations include no chanting or singing.
Stewards in for a hard time.
Can't imagine our fans abiding by those rules.

No sweat. Everybody can bring a drum. Be like those Duracell adverts.

Good luck with that!
It's like buying a pint in the pub but your not allowed to drink it .

or fans of any proper football clubs. shows again how far out of touch these people are with the ordinary person in the street.

They could play canned chanting over the tannoy.

Oh just remembered the tannoy is bust.

Bagpipers?

medieval music with gregorian chants. bring your own lute.