There is a first hand account of what the experience at Brighton was like for a fan here -

https://news.sky.com/story/pies-pints-a ... e-12059423

excessbee wrote:

faerun exile wrote:Accrington Stanley FC has announced details of timescales for fans returning.

First 2 home games of season on 08/09/20 (EFL Trophy) and 12/09/20 (EFL1) will be behind closed doors.
A trial with 770 fans will be made on 26/09/20 (EFL1).
Should trial go well then 1,535 fans will be allowed from 06/10/20 (EFL1) for every game until EFL / Govt restrictions are lifted. That's about 30% of capacity. Same % applied to RP would equate to approx 2,000.

I'm not sure I understand the situation here. Has Accrington Stanley gone independent on this by declaring a 'test match'? Surely every club/stadium needs a test of its procedures. They aren't testing to find out if fans in stadiums produces an upsurge in infection, that's something that would be apparent after a time lag. A successful outcome at Accrington is not an indication that it would be successful everywhere else. What are they testing? I'd say the stadium management ; turnstiles, stewarding, catering, toilets, entry and exit procedures and fans' understanding /cooperation with all of these. Every club needs this trial run and it can only be the first match, as and when stipulated by the EFL, under government guidance. I'd hate to think if it went badly at Accrington, it would have a bearing on the timescale for opening up at Rodney Parade.

Info is taken from ASFC website so I guess they have permission to proceed on this basis.
Btw their STs go on sale on 1st September. The first 770 purchasers only will be able to go to the trial game and the total number of STs sold will be 1,535 until restrictions are lifted.

This still may cause Accrington a headache. Presumably to confirm the success or otherwise of their trial match, they must have the stated 770 in the ground. If some of the first 770 applicants can't attend, I suppose they then have to go through the list contacting and inviting others until the magic figure is reached.

excessbee wrote:

faerun exile wrote:Accrington Stanley FC has announced details of timescales for fans returning.

First 2 home games of season on 08/09/20 (EFL Trophy) and 12/09/20 (EFL1) will be behind closed doors.
A trial with 770 fans will be made on 26/09/20 (EFL1).
Should trial go well then 1,535 fans will be allowed from 06/10/20 (EFL1) for every game until EFL / Govt restrictions are lifted. That's about 30% of capacity. Same % applied to RP would equate to approx 2,000.

I'm not sure I understand the situation here. Has Accrington Stanley gone independent on this by declaring a 'test match'? Surely every club/stadium needs a test of its procedures. They aren't testing to find out if fans in stadiums produces an upsurge in infection, that's something that would be apparent after a time lag. A successful outcome at Accrington is not an indication that it would be successful everywhere else. What are they testing? I'd say the stadium management ; turnstiles, stewarding, catering, toilets, entry and exit procedures and fans' understanding /cooperation with all of these. Every club needs this trial run and it can only be the first match, as and when stipulated by the EFL, under government guidance. I'd hate to think if it went badly at Accrington, it would have a bearing on the timescale for opening up at Rodney Parade.

Carlisle CEO has stated that they had been planning on their EFL2 home game v Barrow on 3rd October as being the first of the season with some fans in attendance. He has now updated this saying that this may be brought forward to the EFL2 game v Southend on 19th September so a week earlier than Stanley's trial match. Apparently each club must submit their Covid procedures to the EFL for approval. I also wonder how long it will take Drakeford to give the green light as presumably WAG permission is necessary.

Sounds like the tail is trying to wag the dog. Nothing moves without government say so, followed by EFL go ahead. If it's OK for Accrington then Carlisle is no different. Every club has to arrange and test run their own procedures. That test run must be a proper fixture. Everything is fluid, the suggestion of October for fans was put forward four or five weeks ago, like so much 'advice', it's not written in tablets of stone. A successful trial run at Accrington is not a predictor for how things will pan out anywhere else.

Celtic were hoping for some fans to be allowed into Parkhead for Sunday's match against Motherwell, however this request was turned down by the Scottish Government. As a result frustrations were expressed that rugby had been allowed to hold such an event before football fans were allowed back.

Leading to Nicola Sturgen saying - “What we are testing is how you can operate within a stadium with spectators and maintaining and complying with all the physical distancing and other hygiene rules.

“So the learning from rugby will apply to football because it’s not specific to rugby versus football. The virus really doesn’t care what sport it is. It just cares about having to people to transmit from one to the other.

“The test event that will go ahead tomorrow night at Murrayfield with rugby will allow us to learn and to apply those lessons across different sports.

“Hopefully in the not too distant future we’ll be able to move into having, albeit limited numbers of spectators in stadiums for a whole variety of different sports not on a test or pilot basis but on a more general basis."

faerun exile wrote:

excessbee wrote:

faerun exile wrote:Accrington Stanley FC has announced details of timescales for fans returning.

First 2 home games of season on 08/09/20 (EFL Trophy) and 12/09/20 (EFL1) will be behind closed doors.
A trial with 770 fans will be made on 26/09/20 (EFL1).
Should trial go well then 1,535 fans will be allowed from 06/10/20 (EFL1) for every game until EFL / Govt restrictions are lifted. That's about 30% of capacity. Same % applied to RP would equate to approx 2,000.

I'm not sure I understand the situation here. Has Accrington Stanley gone independent on this by declaring a 'test match'? Surely every club/stadium needs a test of its procedures. They aren't testing to find out if fans in stadiums produces an upsurge in infection, that's something that would be apparent after a time lag. A successful outcome at Accrington is not an indication that it would be successful everywhere else. What are they testing? I'd say the stadium management ; turnstiles, stewarding, catering, toilets, entry and exit procedures and fans' understanding /cooperation with all of these. Every club needs this trial run and it can only be the first match, as and when stipulated by the EFL, under government guidance. I'd hate to think if it went badly at Accrington, it would have a bearing on the timescale for opening up at Rodney Parade.

Carlisle CEO has stated that they had been planning on their EFL2 home game v Barrow on 3rd October as being the first of the season with some fans in attendance. He has now updated this saying that this may be brought forward to the EFL2 game v Southend on 19th September so a week earlier than Stanley's trial match. Apparently each club must submit their Covid procedures to the EFL for approval. I also wonder how long it will take Drakeford to give the green light as presumably WAG permission is necessary.

I just hope this doesn’t become a serious issue. WAG have shown that they sometimes make decisions after the English authorities have changed theirs with regards to Covid. We are in an English league but social gathering rules are dictated by WAG.

If there is any time lag between fans going back to games in England and Wales we could see some clubs getting pretty peeved about this. What they will do is anyone’s guess. The first home game after October 1st should be interesting.

Hopefully the key to getting the go ahead will be that this is not just a spontaneous gathering of 1000/2000 random people. All the fans will be logged according to data supplied by season ticket applications and the event is held in an approved venue where social distancing has been applied by the club and is not just left to the 'common sense' of the audience. I very much doubt the October date was set after any scientific advice. More likely the EFL announced the start of the season so the government felt obliged to chuck in a date of their own, without being specific.

The ASFC statement reads that "Under the new EFL and Govt guidance, the Wham Stadium can, from early October, and subject to a successful test event, operate with a reduced capacity of 1,535" and "subject to final approval from the Safety Advisory Group the League One game at home to Oxford Utd on Saturday 26th September will be a test event where 770 supporters are allowed into the stadium" so it would appear that ASFC are good to go. Will be interesting to see how this develops.

I wonder how RP will make the Gents toilet under the Hazell stand Covid secure?

Blackandamber wrote:I wonder how RP will make the Gents toilet under the Hazell stand Covid secure?

Not even covid could survive in there

Exile 1976 wrote:

Blackandamber wrote:I wonder how RP will make the Gents toilet under the Hazell stand Covid secure?

Not even covid could survive in there

Exile 1976 wrote:

Blackandamber wrote:I wonder how RP will make the Gents toilet under the Hazell stand Covid secure?

Not even covid could survive in there

Everyone will be issued with a plastic bottle at the gate,which you'll have to take home with you. A tarpaulin will be hung on an empty section of terrace to preserve privacy. Bottles must be kept visible when leaving the ground and Gwent Police reserve the right to test the contents.

George Street-Bridge wrote:Everyone will be issued with a plastic bottle at the gate,which you'll have to take home with you. A tarpaulin will be hung on an empty section of terrace to preserve privacy. Bottles must be kept visible when leaving the ground and Gwent Police reserve the right to test the contents.

Surely not, that would be taking the p***.