Ticking the Boxes

I believe that, before the virus arrived, there was a growing feeling among football fans that transfer fees and players' wages plus match-day entry fees were out of control.

From what we hear from experts, the entire world is entering a long period of recession. All professional sports will be scrambling for a share of a disappearing pot of gold.

Warnings about teams in lower divisions being decimated cannot be ignored. perhaps it is time for football to take another look at the Bosman ruling.

Nobody seems to take any notice of the other bit of Latin that gets the odd mention, so why should they take any notice of that bit of Latin?

Our transfer plan seems to be as effective as the Blackadder IV type of plan... everybody run towards the German machine guns until were all dead or they run out of bullets.

The world's money is held increasingly by fewer and fewer people. The major players in the western world have allocated obscene amounts of money to 'keep people working, ie, in jobs'.

Money used to be backed by resources such as gold but the various governments have, in reality, devalued their currencies with insufficient gold to back things up. So, IMO, there won't be a long worldwide recession – recession, yes, but long? No!

Taking this back to the Premier Leaague, we (the proletariat – and I include in that people (worldwide) earning up to, say, 𧴜,000 pa) will still hanker to watch games on TV. So, there will still be money money money in that part of the business.

TV companies will pursue Premier League and the like no differently than before. As this is probably the largest of the largesse, I don't see a massive change, unfortunately. Human nature, eh!

Sorry, guys, if I got a bit too serious – I think it's beer o'clock!!

There will be 'middle-class' accountants and renters pulling their hair out, having tried so hard so long to escape the prole bucket.

So, sub-prole is erm 㿨,000; 㿔,000 are earthworms; 㿊,000 are boys from the blackstuff; 㿀,000 are Macclesfield players; 㾿,000 are NHS nurses; 㾸,000 are lucky Amazon warehouse 'associates'.

And anyone on benefits is...

Sorry, had to rant and rave.

On another note, for all those statisticians, do you know which player has made the most tackles per game this season? – James McCarthy. How we'd have liked him in the centre of midfield this season when we've rolled over and died. I'd say we already had Gueye replacement, but Gueye was sort of McCarthy's replacement anyway.

With the squad we have at the moment, I hope we get those points, with the crowd behind us, we would have had no problems... without our backing, it is going to be a close call.

When everything is settled and next season comes around, I hope my usual enthusiasm for Everton and football in general returns. At the moment, I couldn't care less about football but I'll always care about the Blues.

On a separate issue but linked to this thread, does anyone else have concerns that the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium is never going to happen? The picture leading this thread of the wooden seats in 2020 is enough to make me cry.

I don't even feel like watching the remaining games on TV and if I can go and play golf then I will. I'll still love Everton but football in general and the Premier League has lost its attraction.

Next season will be a little unusual, but likely increases in numbers watching on TV until, eg, the active case numbers fall below one in 40,000 (ie, 1,500 cases nationwide, approx 100 new cases per day) which is likely if all is well for the next 2 months (the current number is around 1,400 new cases daily, Italy is already at 200 new cases a day).

After all that is normalised, business as usual. Sitting next to people in the open air is a low-risk activity.

In the public sector, it could well be a whole other story as Tories do what Tories do.

I think you sum up the feelings of a lot of us regarding how we feel about football at the moment. Like you, I have been going to Goodison for over 65 years, and I would never ever believe I could be so uninterested in football as I am at present.

I think what this pandemic has highlighted is that clubs at all levels have been living way beyond their means. Deloitte have just done a breakdown of clubs outside the Premier League who are spending 107% of their income. Ring any bells? This was similar to why the financial crisis happened in 2009, people getting 110% mortgages.

I think that clubs in Leagues One and Two can't be sustained as fully professional clubs. I would think that these leagues need to go to semi-professional status.

The Championship could possibly sustain a fully professional league but only with a very strict salary cap. This would have to be stringently policed and maybe a 35-point reduction if a club broke the rules. That would deter any club in trying to break the rules.

Then to the Premier League... well, there is no doubt that the revenue for all clubs will drop dramatically; I see Man Utd are reporting that they have lost 㿈 million since the pandemic started and they believe the losses will be a lot bigger than the 㿈 million they have lost at present. So, if the richest club in Britain is struggling, you can only imagine the impact it's having on less-affluent Premier League clubs.

The problem that all the leagues have is they have players on huge contracts with many years left, and they won't be in any hurry to take pay cuts.

As you say, Ray, everyone knows why football is coming back. There is no integrity involved, as Lyndon says, clubs have got into bed with the TV monopoly and are beholden to their paymasters. Hopefully no further lives are lost because of football's return.

The paying customers of BT and Sky and overseas deals will be cutting their own cloth and subscription to Sky ilk. Lower down the leagues will be scary and I think a wing and a prayer will be the emphasis... Overall, a shrinking pot all round.

How long? I think it may be a few seasons before some normality returns, but the damage is already done, the clear up hasn't started yet.

Can't even summon excitement over who we might buy – or more likely loan. Maybe when people stop dying in their thousands we will all be able to take football semi-seriously again.

Nothing is certain any more, including guaranteed future revenues. Transfer fees and wages have to come into line with that reality. Any club that is paying more than it can afford in light of these uncertainties should be in no doubt that they are gambling and putting their business at terrible risk.

Taxpayers will not be bailing out insolvent premier league clubs paying £30 000- £100 000+ per week to players.

Unless the league as a whole re-sets its position, we'll end up with about four teams vying for Europe every year and the remaining 16 fighting relegation.

I too place football way down on the list of my priorities. I have children and grandchildren who have to stand outside of our house when they visit, the youngest being 6 years old, and I don't think he really understands why we don't give him his customary hug.

Like Dave, I've been attending matches since 1948 and my life revolved around football in general and Everton in particular, but if I never see another game it won't bother me. My passion waned some years ago and it seems I attended games because I was programmed. I have, however, renewed my season ticket, mainly because of my grandson Josh's inherent love of football and Everton.

I have read on another thread that there is talk of initially allowing 10% of ground capacity to attend games. If that's the case, and I can't see how they can make that work with somewhere in the region of 35.000 season ticket holders, then it's almost certain that I will have witnessed my last game, because I have no intention of watching televised games in empty stadiums.

Those in the Premier League will be stretched (eg, Tottenham borrowing 𧵶M) but will probably survive if they can get crowds in within the year. Some will prosper by picking off assets from those further down the foodchain.

My local club is Aldershot in the National League and, at this level, football is in real jeopardy. 70% of income is at the turnstiles and without it clubs like this cannot survive on the back of any broadcasting deals.
Players at this level (professional) can be earning as little as 𧶀 per week and are on 9-10 month contracts. Most are currently unemployed.

For this reason, as well as the good of the game from top to bottom, I would welcome a complete "reboot" as a result of the COVID crisis.
Sadly, like some of the other things that should reboot (Valuing Social Care/NHS, real jobs, environment etc) I do not hold my breath.

Sorry to be serious; I am looking forward to seeing some football but will not be able to get really excited until it becomes real in front of crowds who feel pretty safe attending.

Everton need to be fit and highly motivated to get through the coming weeks.

On that last point, we have little margin for complacency. With the injury toll mounting by the day and a lack of squad depth, we look ill-equipped to coast serenely through the remaining weeks. The sooner we can notch a couple of wins, the sooner we can relax.

I fucking hate Sky/BT and their dickhead pundits and commentators. The game is full of greedy, self-important bastards and the bias in all aspects of the game is infuriating. I might tune in for a game or two on TV from next week, but just as likely won't.

I have little doubt that Everton will get the usual string of injuries – slips in the bath, standing on bootlaces, bizarre gardening accidents, Sigurdsson appearing in an advert "I've fallen and I can't get up" stuff.

He pointed out what we already knew, that our away form is shite. This is going to prove something to us now with no fans in the ground. Are our players good enough and skilful enough to win games? Or do we still need to rely on our fans to grind out results? We'll find out soon. COYB

I said to a mate who supports Hearts a few weeks back when the Scottish Premier League positions were decided, that most Scottish teams will end up part time or disappearing. The same will happen in the lower leagues and amateur football.

God forbid if the terrible days of unemployment from the 70s and 80s return.

At the end of the day, each to their own view... but, for me at this time, the match isn't important and won't be until the vaccine for this terrible disease is found.

Is life liveable without the match? For me, it is, but Everton Forever and ever... but the magic has waned.

Purely on the football front, I too was alarmed about that 0-4 thrashing by Chelsea. I had the same feeling in Martinez's first season when we did so well but we were thrashed midway through the season. I'm beginning to worry that we are going to blow the opportunity that Moshiri's arrival gave us.

Whatever the club have tried to do since his arrival has failed. Bad choices of manager and some awful signings have been disastrous.

I was just as excited as anyone about Carlo's arrival as his CV is unmatched but I feel that he has a massive job on his hands, unlike any other task that he has taken on in the past.

I hope my worries are misplaced and we start off next week with a victory.

COYB

I hope when football returns that I re-find some of the old enthusiasm.