HAS CORONA
SPURS HERO Football will change forever after gigantic reality check
TOTTENHAM favourite Clive Allen has revealed he has contracted coronavirus.
The former England striker, 58, has been self-isolating for more than a fortnight after testing positive.
Allen (inset), who scored a club-record 49 goals in one season for Spurs in 1986-87, said: “I just had the classic symptoms – high temperature, shivery and felt as if I had the flu.
“Over two or three days it took hold and I felt unwell for five days, one day particularly so.
“I had quite a nasty headache. It was like a vice around my head.
“After I began to feel better I had a dry cough for three days.
“Because there was information about the illness I called 111 and they said they’d call me back within two or three days.
“They came and tested me at my house. Health England arranged it and the lady came and swabbed my nose and my mouth.
“She went away and I got the positive result five days later. I isolated straight away when I started to feel unwell because of what was being said.
“I’m scared, absolutely. I would like to think I am reasonably healthy and I know how I felt. I hate to think how that would feel to somebody who is vulnerable.
“I would like to think everybody is being sensible and respectful. “There are people out there who are very susceptible should they get the disease so we all have to do the right thing.”
Allen also fears he has passed the illness to wife Lisa, who has breathing difficulties.
He added: “She is unwell at the moment.
“I think she has it, although we have spoken to 111 and they have said she has to treat the symptoms the same as everyone else.”
FOOTBALL may never be the same again.
The beautiful game has been given a wake-up call by the coronavirus crisis which simply cannot be ignored.
In fact, it may be time to press the reset button with clubs, players, agents and football authorities taking a long, hard look at themselves.
One leading figure at a top club said this week: “Is it acceptable to pay a player so much money?
“How will the public react if clubs spend hundreds of millions on a new signing, spend millions on a new contract or pay agents millions to do deals?
“Everyone thought football was safe but the reality is that it is just as vulnerable as other businesses and the days of excess might now be a thing of the past.
“One thing’s for sure, football will never be the same again after this.”
The top clubs are all nervous about spending millions on new players when there could be a public backlash with the whole nation in a desperate state following the coronavirus pandemic. They thought their assets – footballers – would only go up in value but nothing is safe and suddenly the value of contracts, players and even TV deals will be worth nothing if everything stops. There is genuine concern that even if the coronavirus goes away in the next few weeks, it may come back. The whole sport must face up to that reality ■
■ and be more frugal. You are already seeing a knock-on effect with deals and transfers on hold as uncertainty grips society.
It would be a terrible look for football if, on the back of thousands of deaths and a modern tragedy together with a global recession, wealthy clubs carry on spending regardless.
They are also facing an uncertain few months because they are desperate to resume games and make sure the huge TV deals are safeguarded – but there is in excess of £700m at stake and if another ball is not kicked the cash will have to be paid back.
Clubs at all levels are having to be more wary because they genuinely do not know what the future holds.
Of course, life goes on and it would be naive to suggest there will never be big deals again in the future.
But it the sheer scale of excess which must come down.
Premier League clubs have spent over £1bn in the last four summer transfer windows, last year reaching an eye-watering £1.4bn.
The difference in the future is likely to be a scaling back on that figure because clubs will still want to buy big-name players but this crisis will represent a moment in time for football.
It has shown that football is not indestructible, clubs must be more responsible and that is already taking shape as the coronavirus has clearly done more than just prick people’s consciences.
They have become socially aware, more socially responsible, with Manchester City manager