How to complete the season

[Wallop]

Annoying for clubs such as ours in still having to pay half a million quid for the pleasure of not playing in our empty, three-sided stadium presumably.

But yes, I think you’re right on this. Can’t see mass gatherings like football being allowed until a vaccine is in use, which could be a year or so, once all of the necessary testing has been done.

Fleetwood’s chairman certainly seems to agree with you on the streaming element (albeit for concluding this season, rather than necessarily next).

“Streaming has got to come into play. Let’s face it, the content on television right now is somewhat exhausted. It will be somewhat surreal but these are extraordinary circumstances and if you love your football club you’ll tune in and watch. I think that will help.”

Football 'must think creatively' to survive

Football in England must think creatively or risk dire consequences, including potential civil war within clubs, says Fleetwood chairman Andy Pilley.

www.bbc.co.uk

Where would we play our home games but in the current stadium?

 

[oufc1991]

The problem with streaming live games as most now know ifollow struggles to work most weeks with a few watching imagine what it would be like if every fan had to watch on it wouldn’t it be easier if sky or BT picked up the steaming of all live EFL and premier league matches for one season abit like they do with mid week championship matches

 

[MJB]

Where would we play our home games but in the current stadium?

Sorry, I phrased it incorrectly. I meant...

“Annoying for clubs such as ours in still having to pay half a million quid for the pleasure of not watching us play in our empty, three-sided stadium presumably.”

Ie: we’d presumably save on costs of policing and security etc, but still have a significant outlay in stadium rent. No idea how many other League One clubs pay a rent as high as ours, but it’s still a large chunk of any money we’d make back from streaming.

 

[werthersoriginal]

Sorry, I phrased it incorrectly. I meant...

“Annoying for clubs such as ours in still having to pay half a million quid for the pleasure of not watching us play in our empty, three-sided stadium presumably.”

Ie: we’d presumably save on costs of policing and security etc, but still have a significant outlay in stadium rent. No idea how many other League One clubs pay a rent as high as ours, but it’s still a large chunk of any money we’d make back from streaming.

We could go and play at Oxford City if we didn’t need to accommodate a crowd. Though Kassam would still demand we stuck to our lease

 

[Marked Ox]

We could go and play at Oxford City if we didn’t need to accommodate a crowd. Though Kassam would still demand we stuck to our lease

Couldn't play at City because of the artificial pitch.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Annoying for clubs such as ours in still having to pay half a million quid for the pleasure of not watching us play in our empty, three-sided stadium presumably.

No, no, dearest Matthew, you’re looking at this the wrong way...

We pay the rent anyway, and our only revenue is from match tickets. Firoz Kassam is the one who loses with a season behind closed doors. The club could make as much money as it normally would have, if not more, through online streaming, but he can’t. No kiosks in the concourses, no quad bar, no hospitality services, no burger vans paying rent, no people in the hotels on match day, or the other units he rents to people... he’s the one who misses out. We pay the money to play matches and use internal office space - that is our lot. Our only revenue is selling tickets for the match. He takes everything else. If we don’t choose to sell tickets, or aren’t able to, there’s nothing he can do about that. He loses match day revenue - ours simply moves online. We take our money because in a world where all focus and revenue comes from viewing the game digitally, it’s the only side to the match day experience that possesses any demand. That pesky lease of his completely flips on its head in a world where people don’t physically go to the stadium. In that world, Oxford United controls 100% of revenue. Pay him his rent - fine. Whatever. That’s his only money. He’s lost a fortune.

The only way his lease becomes a disaster, rather than a total master stroke, is in the event of some sort of global pandemic where society grinds to a halt and people don’t leave their houses.

Well. Lookie here.

 

[MalaysiaYellow]

No, no, dearest Matthew, you’re looking at this the wrong way...

We pay the rent anyway, and our only revenue is from match tickets. Firoz Kassam is the one who loses with a season behind closed doors. The club could make as much money as it normally would have, if not more, through online streaming, but he can’t. No kiosks in the concourses, no quad bar, no hospitality services, no burger vans paying rent, no people in the hotels on match day, or the other units he rents to people... he’s the one who misses out. We pay the money to play matches and use internal office space - that is our lot. Our only revenue is selling tickets for the match. He takes everything else. If we don’t choose to sell tickets, or aren’t able to, there’s nothing he can do about that. He loses match day revenue - ours simply moves online. We take our money because in a world where all focus and revenue comes from viewing the game digitally, it’s the only side to the match day experience that possesses any demand. That pesky lease of his completely flips on its head in a world where people don’t physically go to the stadium. In that world, Oxford United controls 100% of revenue. Pay him his rent - fine. Whatever. That’s his only money. He’s lost a fortune.

The only way his lease becomes a disaster, rather than a total master stroke, is in the event of some sort of global pandemic where society grinds to a halt and people don’t leave their houses.

Well. Lookie here.

If I was the club I would also be reviewing the lease contract to see if the current situation gives us a chance to back out.

 

[MalaysiaYellow]

Couldn't play at City because of the artificial pitch.

I would counter that and say all the current rules could be out.

 

[MalaysiaYellow]

Families will share streams, of course, but the number of households versus number of individual ST holders in the flesh will be vastly higher. If it’s the only way to view, the numbers will come. Especially when you combine domestic and overseas into one number paying a flat rate, and issue a call to action - if people don’t sign up then the club and the sport itself dies. Fans will come. Clubs won’t have a choice anyway is my bet, so they can plan now and use the time they’ve got wisely, or they can stumble into a mess. I know what I expect, but I hope for different. This is a definitive and clear way through the next season. Anything else is a gamble. Try to get the sport going again as it was, sell physical tickets to in person spectators and then close it down all over again, and it’s an even bigger mess than we have now. Unless they are 100% certain crowds can come back and stay back for the whole season - which they can’t be - they have to be proactive. This is the best chance football has to get through this with stability and certainty.

The UK live events industry - concerts and festivals etc - are discussing the very possible reality of having zero ticketed events until vaccination. That isn’t coming before August / September, or realistically any point before next summer. If gigs and festivals are potentially off the table, thousands of football fans in stadiums isn’t going to happen. And if it does, and then it gets shut down all over again, it’s catastrophic.

Good post Ryan. I will add a couple of points though. There is an argument that whether football and other sports, without crowds, is less of a spectacle and would dent appeal.

Also, we haven't really started to feel the economic impact of the virus yet, when it does people will look to minimize their expense.

We are starting to see a drop in transfer prices as clubs simply won't be able to pay the wage costs.

 

[BigCrompy]

Good post Ryan. I will add a couple of points though. There is an argument that whether football and other sports, without crowds, is less of a spectacle and would dent appeal.

Six of one, half a dozen the other.

The National Rugby League had a round behind closed doors before the inevitable lockdown arrived, and I yummed up all eight games.

But conversely, the MK Dons have played without fans for years and have absolutely zero appeal.

 

[chuckbert]

I'm in, but only if the away games at Rochdale,Accrington & Fleetwood come with fish & chips ?

I’m sure the efl could cook up a deal with Uber eats to provide delivery of cold, leathery recooked chips, balti pies, and slightly warm s**t bottled lager, all in packaging that retains an odour of P**s. And if you order for halftime delivery you can choose between the video feed turning off for the last 4 mins of the 1st half, or the first 4 mins of the second half. Oh yes and when the deliverer hands you your beer they will be sure to jostle you so that some of it spills on your shoes.

 

[PottersRightBoot]

Think we should dig into the finances of your interesting proposal a bit more Ryan .

Quite a lot of our fan base won’t be able to go to football for a long long time whatever transpires. . Oufc have more than our fair share of over seventies supporters.


But how much revenue will streaming really generate for our club? Football for thousands of our supporters is all about the day, the pubs, the laughs, the match day routine , the live emotion, the arguments. Sure of course watching football remotely on your computer may be ‘safe ‘ but when push come to shove with a very weakened economy how many punters will actually sign up to this rather different experience?

To me the elephant in the room is players wages. If they don’t significantly reduce to reflect the new realities it’s a huge problem for the lower leagues . Whose economic reliance on the paying live spectator is far greater than Abu Dhabi City and Oligarch Stamford Bridge .

This is all arrant speculation of course as we still need to find out far more about this dreadful virus.

it is too early to go balls out for full streaming solution though.

 

[Northstandboy]

Restart this season, stream all games for £10+ additional "donations" like "buy a programme".

The smaller clubs seem keen to cancel the season, but why? When they could make some money from streaming.

 

[Obstructed view]

Furthermore, they should take the steps right now to say that no fans will be able to attend next season.

3.4 million people use the London Underground every day I don’t see that being banned until next summer.

I can see vulnerable groups being excluded from mass gatherings for longer than the rest of the population and there might be an opportunity there.

If all matches were streamed for a long period of time it is hard to imagine the rights owners or PL and EFL football wanting to maintain their level of funding which would have big implications for club financing

 

[werthersoriginal]

Restart this season, stream all games for £10+ additional "donations" like "buy a programme".

The smaller clubs seem keen to cancel the season, but why? When they could make some money from streaming.

This season is over. What is being discussed is whether next season can take place

 

[Essexyellows]

No, no, dearest Matthew, you’re looking at this the wrong way...

We pay the rent anyway, and our only revenue is from match tickets. Firoz Kassam is the one who loses with a season behind closed doors. The club could make as much money as it normally would have, if not more, through online streaming, but he can’t. No kiosks in the concourses, no quad bar, no hospitality services, no burger vans paying rent, no people in the hotels on match day, or the other units he rents to people... he’s the one who misses out. We pay the money to play matches and use internal office space - that is our lot. Our only revenue is selling tickets for the match. He takes everything else. If we don’t choose to sell tickets, or aren’t able to, there’s nothing he can do about that. He loses match day revenue - ours simply moves online. We take our money because in a world where all focus and revenue comes from viewing the game digitally, it’s the only side to the match day experience that possesses any demand. That pesky lease of his completely flips on its head in a world where people don’t physically go to the stadium. In that world, Oxford United controls 100% of revenue. Pay him his rent - fine. Whatever. That’s his only money. He’s lost a fortune.

The only way his lease becomes a disaster, rather than a total master stroke, is in the event of some sort of global pandemic where society grinds to a halt and people don’t leave their houses.

Well. Lookie here.

The best post on here ..........ever. Needs printing and framing!!

 

[Essexyellows]

Restart this season, stream all games for £10+ additional "donations" like "buy a programme".

The smaller clubs seem keen to cancel the season, but why? When they could make some money from streaming.

Its not just the players on the pitch, its all the facilities staff and the support network needed. TV cameras, operators, equipment etc etc

This season is finished, they just need to sort out the end play.
It has to finish before it has a greater knock on consequence for next season.
We can`t re-start some fudge/play off mini league in late July/August when a new season is due to start in early/mid August.

 

[werthersoriginal]

No, no, dearest Matthew, you’re looking at this the wrong way...

We pay the rent anyway, and our only revenue is from match tickets. Firoz Kassam is the one who loses with a season behind closed doors. The club could make as much money as it normally would have, if not more, through online streaming, but he can’t. No kiosks in the concourses, no quad bar, no hospitality services, no burger vans paying rent, no people in the hotels on match day, or the other units he rents to people... he’s the one who misses out. We pay the money to play matches and use internal office space - that is our lot. Our only revenue is selling tickets for the match. He takes everything else. If we don’t choose to sell tickets, or aren’t able to, there’s nothing he can do about that. He loses match day revenue - ours simply moves online. We take our money because in a world where all focus and revenue comes from viewing the game digitally, it’s the only side to the match day experience that possesses any demand. That pesky lease of his completely flips on its head in a world where people don’t physically go to the stadium. In that world, Oxford United controls 100% of revenue. Pay him his rent - fine. Whatever. That’s his only money. He’s lost a fortune.

The only way his lease becomes a disaster, rather than a total master stroke, is in the event of some sort of global pandemic where society grinds to a halt and people don’t leave their houses.

Well. Lookie here.

Are you sure there isn't small print in his favour?

 

[Yellow River]

Heythrop Park has had to close temporarily because of Covid-19.

Uncle Firoz’s income slowly drying up?

 

[bazzer9461]

Its not just the players on the pitch, its all the facilities staff and the support network needed. TV cameras, operators, equipment etc etc

This season is finished, they just need to sort out the end play.
It has to finish before it has a greater knock on consequence for next season.
We can`t re-start some fudge/play off mini league in late July/August when a new season is due to start in early/mid August.

Apparently the L2 clubs are having a video conference today to see whether they should end the season and if they do the knock on affect will have ramifications for the rest of the EFL.