Comment: Football feeling the effect of fans' absence

Now I know that may shock some but let me put some context behind my statement.

I know we are on a pause here locally - and it is great that we have the game we all love back.

Whether we're tuning in for Irish League games or matches from across the water, it helps us switch off from everything that's going on at present.

Mentally we need that. And what gives you more of a lift than seeing your team win a game?

But, despite this, I still am finding it hard to get excited about the matches.

One of the big things for me is the lack of fans.

Having no or limited supporters in the ground has a huge impact on the product, in my opinion.

A big game comes with a big atmosphere and does have a major impact on proceedings out on the pitch.

When there's no-one there to cheer a crunching tackle, boo a bad decision or go crazy about a last-minute winner the game suffers.

This is not a slight on the players.

I'm full of admiration for them training hard and putting in performances despite the current climate while many of us are working from home.

I have been fortunate to attend a number of games in the last few months but even though the players did all they could to put on a spectacle there was a big part of the package missing.

I'm sure if you ask any player they feel it too.

They revel in the crowd being there.

Even in the glitz and glamour of the Premier League it's plain for all to see.

You can pipe as much fake crowd noise into the TV coverage as you want, but it's no substitute for the real thing.

I personally think it has had a massive impact on certain teams. It's no surprise to me that Sheffield United's form has nose-dived since the pandemic hit.

They were a team so difficult to beat at Bramall Lane with a packed house roaring them on.

Now they are toothless without one of their main weapons - a vociferous Yorkshire crowd - getting behind them, and it's no surprise that they only managed their first Premier League win on Tuesday night.

Of course we have to be objective in all this.

People's lives have changed irrevocably since this horrible virus hit. Loved ones and livelihoods have been lost on the back of it.

So it may seem like bad form to be complaining about fans not getting to football matches.

We all need to do what's necessary to help us get through this.

Hopefully, things will improve over the next few months though with vaccines playing their part.

Getting back to normal will mean so much to us all, and getting fans back to games will be fantastic.

One thing we should take from all this though is not to take anything for granted.

The phrase 'Football Without Fans Is Nothing' certainly bears extra significance to me now anyway.

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