Our Council probably pass ground capacity of at 30%.
But we goin from 4th highest council tax to 1st.

unfortunetly i think you will both be correct. the government and local councils seem more interested in reasons not to have fans than to have them. if some pay to view live match streaming is announced then there will be a good percentage of regulars who would be happy with that situation. attending football games is in some ways habit forming and once the habit is broken there will be some fans, especially the older end, that will be lost for life.

Yep, individual local authorities can be a lot more Covid risk averse than the government, which has just agreed that 4 NL friendlies can go ahead with up to a 1,000 fans in. The dates are:
Tuesday, 22 September

Dagenham & Redbridge v Concord Rangers
Yeovil Town v Bath City
Dartford v Dover Athletic
Saturday, 26 September

Notts County v York City

No surprise that Pools haven't been chosen for a test event, bearing in mind they can only manage to announce a home friendly on Twitter, that most of its fans don't have an account with! I'd lay odds the club didn't even ask for one.

It's also been announced today Hull Council has told Hull City that they can't hold a test event agreed to by the government because they are worried about rising numbers of Covid cases in the city. So the club doesn't get a chance to prove that it can provide a Covid secure environment for fans.

Meanwhile the Premier League is basically looking after number one and asking the government to recognise that they can guarantee high safety standards that by implication the lower leagues can't: bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54

Let's hope that the test events for those clubs go well. We all have an interest in the outcome being a thumbs up.

Woking played a friendly last night and streamed it on Youtube. 550 viewers. (0-0 draw) Their next step is to introduce a paywall so that it is getting some cash into the club. There have been no ticket sales down here, so they will be getting close to needing that money for salaries. They are calling for volunteers to help out from 13:00 to 17:00 on Saturdays for temperature checks and directing people onto the one-way route. I can't imagine the same thing working after the pubs have been open a few hours on a Saturday.

Hopefully the Woking Massive will behave themselves! Seriously, I think fans will be good natured and tolerant of volunteers even after a few pints. Everybody understands clubs at this level are in a terrible pickle with Covid.

Tomorrow's game with Blyth at the Vic is off - one of the Blyth team has tested positive. Hopefully it will give Pools a bit more time to get streaming for home games sorted out - the friendly at Gateshead is going to be pay-as-you-view. I do worry that things are taking forever to get organised behind the scenes at Pools - hope there's an announcement soon to prove me wrong.

Apparently playing Blackhall Cricket Club at the Welfare Park tomorrow afternoon. Part of the deal was that Blackhall had to assure Dave Challinor that they will let Rhys Oates score at least a goal.

Brandon FC now according to the radio.

I will be attending the Charlton v Doncaster match this afternoon,attendance limited to 1,000,fans given their own arrival time,
mine is 14.00.No food or drink kiosks allowed to open in the stadium,mask to be worn at all times,stewards controlling access to toilets & a phased departure from the stadium at the end of the match.
With all of Charlton's off the field problems this is going to be a very strange experience.

So my little joke wasn't that far off the mark really , Brandon? and Jesus Wept ! Rhys Oates on the commentary team, when this would be the perfect game to notch a couple unless he is commentating at the same time as playing. I expect at least a 10-0 win in this one, nothing less

its more than strange it sounds like some sci fi experiment. stuck in the valley with only 999 others a hour before ko and yards from someone else to talk about the game or anything else. be really interested what you and others think about your experiance. why a mask when you are outside anyway. from my point of view i,d rather never attend a game again with a set arrival time and a face muzzle. one hour plus for a freezing night match at the vic before kick off. you might not get the virus but more like pneumonia.

Enjoyed watching the Darts on ITV4 last nite.
2000 fans enjoying themselves and safely organised.
Well done to the Austrian government and the PDC.
Hopefully Boris and the FA can follow that.

And covid down to 23rd in the UK league of most causes of death.

Some of the rarfs that turn up at Pools can't even work out that you shouldn't make monkey chants at players so pissed up and being tolerant isn't really their forte.

For that reason I reckon we would've been the ideal club to have been chosen to host a test game. I would imagine majority of our fans think Covid is a conspiracy theory, therefore observing social distancing guidance would be a non event.

Another great forecast by Horden, Pools seven up at half time. I think it’s hard to judge trialists in friendliest but this level its impossible. I don’t think it’s even a useful run out.

Totally agree Johjo1. think privately even Challinor must be thinking WTF!

My feelings on todays match experience at 'The Valley' today.
Entry to the stadium was very slow, tickets checked, temperature checked & hands sanitised before reaching turnstiles.There were 3 time slots given to fans to enter the stadium,13.30,14.00 & 14.30,these times were emailed to fans yesterday evening.
Once in the ground, no standing or chatting was allowed in the concources, follow arrows to your seats or toilets,no food or drinks kiosks were allowed to be open. You had to sit in your allocated seat which a green tick above the number, which was spaced at least 2 seats away from the next person. Masks had to be worn at all times.
As the crowd was made of Charlton fans who had bought season tickets & had the most loyalty points, there were no complaints, people were just happy to be back at 'The Valley' watching football again.
The atmosphere was a bit subdued but there was a bit of singing, but people were much kinder to the opposition than normal. Exit from the ground was very slow, block by block, the teams were doing their 'warm downs' by the time i was leaving my seat.
If non-league clubs are expected to stage matches in the present climate, it will be very difficult & costly. Also i would not envy volunteers trying to make sure people stick to the rules of social distancing.

So some fans had to wear a mask for 3.5 hours!.
I watched bits of the Carlisle v Southend n
Boro v Bournemouth on the IFOLLOW Chan's.
Quite clearly when the cameras zoomed into the crowds.There must of been at least 70% without facemasks on. Can't all of been asthma sufferers.


Covid + IFollow = the crowd killers.
100% capacitys a few years away IMHO.

UTP.

So Clive...

I'm assuming there was no opportunity to sit close to a mate?

Could you use the toilet facilities?, if so what was the protocol?

[quote="paulus the woodgnome and a side salad"]So Clive...

I'm assuming there was no opportunity to sit close to a mate?

Could you use the toilet facilities?, if so what was the protocol?[/quote


It's against Event regulations to provide no toilet facilities for even a small crowd if there's no access to other loos. Might be one in, one out though, so going to the match after a skinful would be a pretty bad idea! For that matter the rest of the rigmarole that Clive describes doesn't sound suited to fans who like a few pints before kick off.

Its 2 people in pub toilets at the same time, so imagine same applies to football clubs

Toilet facilities were available, but people were warned that they may have to queue, but as there are plenty of toilets & the crowd was limited to 1,000 in a 27,000 capacity stadium it was never going to be a problem.
Only 2 stands were open, you could choose which stand to sit in. All tickets were obtained online & only to season ticket holders with sufficient loyalty points ,the club only got the go ahead for this event late Wednesday afternoon so it was difficult for people with mates to arrange to sit together, as obviously the demand for tickets was very high, although i did notice families/mates sitting quite close together.

The club believe that they will be allowed between 6,000 to 8,000 supporters for games after the 2nd October, which would be Sunderland, with no away supporters.
I'm not sure people would be happy to follow these 'Covid safe' procedures for a long period over this season. Maybe clubs with terracing & open concourcing may find it easier to control fans.
It was great to see a game back at 'The Valley' & much better than the appalling service provided by the EFL's I-Follow streaming service.
After all of the above, Charlton were beaten by a very good Doncaster side & it is going to be very hard season for us unless our off field problems are sorted out very soon, although our youngsters are getting the chance to gain 1st team experience, including Charlie Barker 17 year old son of former Pools player Richie Barker.

Looking at the latest news you have to say footie is just not going to take off this year .



late January 2021 is my prediction...you heard it first.

Alright for the likes of Talbot Avenger and his sort i suppose.

I'm taking a guess at a 3/10 for the matchday experience charltonclive??

About that yes, it was lucky that the weather was very good & people followed the stewards instructions.
On a cold wet night it would be very hard to maintain the rules that were in place.

exactly. turning up so early for some just to get in. then waiting all that time after a game is over, especially after a defeat, just would not be for me. do not know if there was any possibility of leaving early but at some games i for one cannot wait to get out of the place and get home.

agree with you, but thought it was a bit higher in the lower teens. whoever is right is not the point. the facts are that mental illness and suicides are on there way up and some are bound to be a direct or indirectly due to these regulations we are all going through.

My mental health is much better since football ended , well National League and Pools I mean

National League told clubs this evening the season will not start without fans. No chance!

they are having a meeting thursday so we will see what they come out with next. actually they might announce boris to be the new president of the league itself knowing them.