Covid 19 and the October start to the season.

Looks highly unlikely to be any fans allowed in grounds after yesterday's announcement. The National League have said they won't resume without fans in grounds. Appears a pretty grim outlook.

Simply, if competition is suspended then the Governments furloughed scheme needs to be extended, alongside rent and tax breaks otherwise many clubs will not survive

The key point is that the National league need to take some responsibility. This needs to be co-ordinated by the league and the link up with an established broadcaster initiated and a pay wall introduced. This is the only viable alternative to the suspension of the competition and an extension of the furloughed scheme.

An emergency plan by the NL should have already been put in place. Yes fans were to be allowed back in at the start of October, but there was a good chance this wasn't going to last
if infection rates increased as forecast during the winter months. Surely this has been looked at by the league, and a what if scenario was looked at if football at this level was
going to be able to continue, and the season completed without fans being admitted.

My opinion is that the season must start with or without fans. Without meaningful games to watch and debate then I fear interest will wane and it will be a battle to get them to ever return. Not to mention the lads have been in training and playing pre season matches, so it would be a massive shame if all that was for nothing and effectively we have to start pre season again at an undefined point in time. Agree with the points above that it would be fantastic if the league could come up with a co-ordinated approach so that fans of all clubs have the right to access the same quality service for the same price etc. The thought of the club just bumbling along without playing games is just unthinkable and will be the death of us - at least with the money from streaming it will provide a revenue stream which is more than what we have now. I accept there may be a cost for setting up the platform but hopefully we can price games accordingly and I guess there may be savings to be made on matchdays to offset that such as no bills for stewarding/policing, reduced water/electricity use, programme printing etc.

And despite all of the above being a huge headache, you also have to take into account testing and potential breaks/fixture congestion due to local lockdowns. If this season ever starts it's going to be a dogs dinner, but I guess we have to adjust expectations for one season (hopefully!) and be thankful if we do have some competitive football to watch, however that may be. Sad times.

Streaming will not provide sufficient income for many clubs to be viable without significant external financial support from the Government or the FA.

I am afraid what you are suggesting would be certain bankruptcy for Chester FC and a number of other clubs.

But what's the alternative? No games, which means no revenue at all? I just don't know how long Chester FC can survive without playing football matches, especially if there is no furlough scheme to put the players on because then we'll be incurring sizable staffing bills with an ever dwindling pot of money for it to derive from. With or without fans, I suspect we'll need to FA/Government assistance to cover the shortfall - hopefully calculated via a transparent methodology like previous year accounts showing matchday income to go with forecasting for potential streaming revenue. I think people who don't understand football or sport in general will be annoyed that the government are potentially propping clubs like ourselves up, but sport is the lifeblood of communities and the effects of a generation of people suffering lack of identity/connection and the economical downfalls of no sport would be hugely damaging, so the government really does need to step up and protect communities and the jobs involved in the game.

Alternative is to mothball everything for a season.

Less expenditure than playing without crowds. Streaming won't raise enough to anywhere near cover ongoing costs. 

Only hope is a government hand out.  NL board have been worse than useless so far. Can the clubs give them a vote of no confidence?

Anthony Johnson -

"I have my fingers crossed that the government will help out and, if not, they have to reclassify what elite sport is."

www.cheshire-live.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/chester-fc-boss-calls-government-18984027

I know photo angles can be deceptive but it didn't look like there was much, if any, social distancing in place at VM last night. People appeared to be standing shoulder to shoulder around the pitch perimeter. It's actually easier to organise in better grounds where you have graded terracing. Anyone who was there last night able to elaborate? The problem is that when you are in familiar surroundings, old habits kick in. 

I have no idea about terms and clauses in contracts, be that for playing or non playing staff, or whether this season has significantly reduced wages either. As things stand, I am sure we will go bust if this season’s contracts are anywhere near last seasons. I’ve seen a suggestion about freezing this season. I doubt we can freeze the ageing process of our older players. It may well transpire that we start with no fans and can only pay expenses, at most. Any club that has signed players up on contracts similar to last season deserve all they get.
We have to live within our means and if that means playing for nothing, or managing for nothing then so be it. As I said to begin with, I have no idea of contract terms so don’t know what options we have.

Excellent measured response.

No, I’ve been out all day.

September 18th. Forever Blue - “I want to make this clear my frustration comes from the fact that any related player information should be released by the club first and not by the local press, end off.”

I’m interested in your view of Andrew Morris’ interview release in the local press, rather than by the club first.