Return of fans will help Robins soar in bid for play-offs
FOR all football fans, the return to watching the action live cannot come soon enough.
But for clubs in the Vanarama National League, such as Altrincham and Stockport, crowds being allowed back in could mark a turning point in their seasons, both on the pitch and in the finance department.
While it was originally thought fans could only return to matches on May 17, government guidance could allow their return at non-league level from April 12, coinciding with the opening of outdoor venues.
For Bill Waterson, co-chairman of Altrincham, the opportunity to have fans at multiple games this season is a lifeline and big boost for the club.
He said: “Our last game in front of a crowd was February last year.
“Bringing this forward has brought another two or three games into scope as long as things like the test events work well.
“By having these three or four games at home with fans, we could reduce our shortfall by about £25,000 which will help us out a lot.
“We are in a better position than a lot of other clubs with our National Lottery funding, but the unlocking is coming at a time where a lot of clubs can just hang on, but a lot wouldn’t be able to hang on past that point.
“Not only do we not have fans in the stadium, but they also aren’t buying a pint and a pie while they are here too.”
The news comes as a lot of clubs are debating their future. Every league below nonleague’s top flight has suspended their seasons and Waterson believes the league could lose viability without supporters attending matches.
He added: “The league pushed back the start of the season to October in the hope fans could return, and we obviously couldn’t have predicted it would be a year without fans at the ground.
“I think if we were in this position again, the League wouldn’t be able to start until fans could come into the stadiums.”
Altrincham had already drawn up plans for Covid-secure fan attendance in December, when it was thought supporters could be close to returning.
“We would use all areas of the stadium and prioritise only for home fans,” added Waterson.
“There would be separate turnstiles which you would go through depending upon your ticket, and you would have to keep in Covid-secure bubbles, which would reduce our ticket allocation by about 60 per cent.
“We have fans who have bought season tickets so if we are allowed 500, we know who they are, if we are allowed 1,000, we know who they are and if we are allowed 2,000, we know who they are.”
The chance for Altrincham to have fans return comes just as the club are in the midst of a battle for a play-off spot. They sit 11th but are just two points behind Eastleigh who take up the final play-off position in seventh place, although have played more games than all their rivals.
The boost fans could provide is not lost on Waterson, who believes the noise of the supporters over those last few matches could inspire the team.
He said: “We have played more away games than home games this season so we would have a run at the end of a lot more home games.
“We are in a position fighting for the play-offs and usually after Christmas, we see our crowds increase as we go into some big games.
“To potentially have some fans there when we are fighting for a play-off position will be vital.”
WHEN a manager leaves a football club, it often signals the start of a new era.
However, at Oldham Athletic, it is just a sign to remind you that nothing much has changed.
Just a day after a drab, goalless draw with Southend United, the latest Latics managerial casualty was confirmed as Harry Kewell was relieved of his duties as head coach - with Keith Curle replacing him ahead of tonight’s trip to Port Vale.
The Australian left Boundary Park with the club sitting 16th in League Two, 10 points above the relegation zone and looked to be heading for a mid-table finish. A run of just one win in his last six games appeared to be the catalyst for the decision, with concerns understood to be growing about the team’s defensive capabilities - making Kewell the seventh coach to leave the club since owner Abdallah Lemsagam took over in January 2018.
On the pitch, impressive attacking displays were often largely overshadowed by lacklustre performances at the other end.
They lead the goals against table with 56 conceded in Kewell’s 32 league games, five more than bottom-of-thetable Grimsby Town.