Project Restart

Good afternoon and welcome back to another blog. Before I get into today's topic, my first blog 'This Is Me' has just surpassed 400 views! I never expected anywhere near so many this quickly so thank you so much to everyone who has taken time out their day to read it. I hope you learned something about me that you didn't already know. As you can probably tell from the title, this is one for the football fans out there. The Premier League returns on Wednesday and I for one am buzzing. Three months without any live football has really taken it's toll at times. Rather than the deep thinking, philosophical blog, this will be my opinions on football restarting and might even turn into a rant (I do like a rant now and again). If you're not a football lover, please take the time to read on anyway and share this link with your football friends. I would love to get a good debate going down in the comments.

First, a bit of background information. I'm an Arsenal fan. My whole family support Arsenal and my dad took me to my first game when I was seven. I remember it vividly. Arsenal against Leeds at Highbury. We won 5-2 and the legendary Thierry Henry himself scored a hat-trick. From that day I was hooked to live football - and hooked to Arsenal. Ever since I go to almost every home game as well as the odd away game when I can. For me, football is football. Whether it be against Barcelona in the Champions League or Lincoln in the Emirates FA Cup, the next game for me is always the most exciting. Why do I love football? Easy. Every game is different and unpredictable and you can never take anything for granted.

So what do I think about Project Restart? Obviously I am delighted that live football is returning to our screens on Wednesday night, as are millions of fans up and down the country. The return of the sport loved by so many will bring relief and happiness back to our faces. The league has already been decided, so the main question is about who gets the Champions League places and who gets relegated. I also like the fact that games will be played in the home team's stadium. I know that the likes of Brighton and Bournemouth were called out for saying they would only play games in neutral stadiums if relegation was scrapped (I lost a lot of respect for them after that). But do the home teams really have an advantage? The supporters really can be the 12th player in tense games and I feel that works in the away team's favour going forward. Games will be much more balanced as the atmosphere in the stadiums will be a training game feel rather than a Premier League with millions of pounds at stake.

I have been taking the time over the past few weeks to watch some of the Bundesliga games from Germany and Coppa Italia games from Italy. I can't lie it was odd. You can hear every word the players and coaches are saying. It's almost like watching a game down the local park on a Sunday morning - obviously much better quality. Just looking at the screen and getting distracted by the thousands upon thousands of empty seats in the stands, usually filled with people singing and chanting and giving the referee abuse. And when a team scores. Whereas we're used to seeing dancing and players jumping on top of each other, you're lucky if you get a knuckle pump. I get more enjoyment scoring a goal on FIFA when I'm already 5-0 down (that obviously never happens) than I would do scoring in front of nobody. Imagine scoring that last minute winner in a cup final, looking round and nobody is celebrating with you? I certainly can't.

The one thing that concerns me is when fans will be allowed to go back to watch football in stadiums. If the rest of this season goes well and the games are finished without any glitches, then people will think "OK there's no need to rush fans back into stadiums". Safety first and all that. Will we be allowed to go to live games next season? Will supporters be allowed to travel across Europe in June 2021 for the European Championships? What will happen to European competitions next season? Part of me wants this season to finish so next season can start and hopefully return to normality. But part of me wants to go back to the Emirates to watch my beloved Arsenal. If not, then let's all pray that pubs can open again soon.

Bottom line is this. Premier League football is almost back which is great. How long can clubs last without the support from the fans? Personally I'm not worried about Arsenal or any of the 'big' teams. I'm referring to those teams in League One and League Two who rely almost exclusively on ticket sales and monies taken on a matchday. We all saw what happened to Bury back in September and very nearly Bolton Wanderers. Without fans back in the stadiums, I'm sure there will be more casualties to come as a result of the on goings in the world.

To all you football supporters out there, I wish you and your teams well for the rest of the season (apart from Tottenham of course). I shall enjoy watching the Gunners beat Manchester City on Wednesday night (no I've not been drinking today)!

See you on Friday.

Connor
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