Hello readers,
We hope you and those close to you have kept safe and well during the lockdown.
When football was universally halted, we hastily hatched a plan to go back and tactically review momentous Bees matches from the Championship era.
This project would try to help fill the void left in our lives as the football cycle dispersed into nothingness.
Lots of outlets were going down the nostalgic route, looking back on happier times and reliving great moments of the past as a distraction to the present.
As we began our own nostalgic project we quickly realised our hearts just weren’t in it. We were too distracted with the landscape and new working norms quickly formed into new routines and football rapidly moving to the bottom of the list.
Almost two months have passed since lockdown was imposed, and currently, the football discourse consists of tedious daily leaks to The Athletic and a sports news cycle craving some substance.
Germany and Bundesliga are a shining light to the rest of Europe. They will soon announce a return of competitive matches and non-cancelled leagues in the zone will likely follow three weeks behind with their own restart dates.
In England, cash has been made available to clubs in the short term, with much more needed and again more on top of that when games do start up again. This has to come from broadcasters harnessing fans who are unable to attend matches plus clubs re-cutting their cloth to fit within a new financial framework that accounts for supporters only watching via screens.
It doesn’t have to cost the earth to safely broadcast matches. A crude feed of all games can find its way to every interested party whether that be via TV, website or online platform.
Alongside these broadcasts can be a button to donate money directly to your club, money supporters may have spent going to the game to help keep institutions swimming above water.
English Football, in whatever form it will now take isn't too far away. As we’ve briefly touched upon, it’s money that talks, not death tolls. This in itself is one of the reasons we’ve found it hard to drown out what is currently happening by overcompensating with what went on before.
As we approach the slowing of the pandemic and agreements are made to benefit the majority and future of the game, there should be something left to review, forecast, analyse and scrutinize.
But most of all, something other than key workers to cheer.
When that moment comes we’ll be back.
BeesTactical