Throughout the pandemic we’ve constantly heard clubs bemoaning the fact that they can’t get fans into their grounds, and it’s resulting in a huge loss of revenue and atmosphere in the grounds.
The Premier League has still provided entertainment but it’s nowhere near as good without the fans, so if you combine that with the financial benefits then it has to be an absolute no-brainer for clubs to push for fans to return.
Unfortunately it seems that one club is opposed to this happening:
For sporting “integrity” it makes sense if *every* Premier League club has a home fixture with some fans. That means delaying penultimate round of fixtures until after May 17 (season ends 23rd). One club wants to wait until next season for fans’ return for organisational reasons.
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) March 25, 2021
The main reasons that would come to mind for not wanting fans back would be if there was a club who were struggling, perhaps their owner had a track record of not giving two hoots about their supporters, and they might be backing a manager who would not receive a positive reception if there were fans in attendance.
This led to the inevitable question:
Henry just tell us, it’s Newcastle isn’t it?
— Joe (@JoeD_Nufc) March 25, 2021
Interestingly it turns out that Newcastle are not the club that are trying to oppose this, but it does make you wonder who isn’t willing to welcome fans back with open arms as soon as they can:
It’s another club, Joe. I’ve not spoken to Newcastle. But I can imagine the atmosphere if fixtures tweaked and 10,000 fans were inside SJP given the issues with owner and manager. Good luck either way.
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) March 25, 2021