Government play down hopes of fans at the stadium and an increase in crowd capacity

Government play down hopes of fans at the stadium and an increase in crowd capacity.

Some good news, some bad news (depending on which way you look at it).  No fans for a bit longer (boo!) and bigger capacity for the tourists; fly-by-nights, sightseers etc. (I don't know if that is a boo or a hurray!).

Culture secretary Oliver Dowden has said that now is not the time to consider allowing fans back into stadiums. I had previously reported that the Government was considering allowing supporters to return to grounds at the start of October. Still, with the virus on the rise again, this appears to have been put on the back burner for now.

Our club has been very active in requesting for our supporters to be allowed to return, even proposing a test event at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for 31,000 fans last month, only to be turned down by the powers that be. On top of that, we (that is the club) have shown support for 'Let Fans In' campaign which called for football fans across the country to be allowed to attend matches at all levels.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Dowden said: "That was the plan, and that's something we ideally wanted to happen and had been working towards. We'd gone through this phased reopening of football. For example, very early on, football was one of the first sports to return behind closed doors, we facilitated that with games free-to-view on the BBC and others. The next stage was due to be on October 1 to enjoy fans back in socially-distanced circumstances. We worked very closely with the clubs to mitigate the risks surrounding that. Ultimately, though, against this backdrop of rapidly rising infections, I think people will appreciate now is not the time to do that, to add to the risk of infection spreading by making further easements." He also acknowledged that fans are unlikely to be allowed back into football grounds unless the case numbers drop again.

My thoughts on the matter

Unless we find a cure soon (that is for the virus, not boredom), then this could go on for another year and a half. Can clubs afford to be that long without fans? I understand where the Government is coming from (being cautious). Nevertheless, there has been events and places where mass gatherings seemed to be allowed, which makes the comments by the minister seem duplicitous. Then there is the mental health of everybody being caged up like animals. Allowing supporters to come back from the depths of despair can work wonders for their emotional well being. You could help one way but do damage another. Take me; a life long Spurs supporter that has been to home, away and abroad and now being caged like an animal isn't doing my nerves any good… even though I am only 21 (ok… a bit older… Yes, I get your point… 65… but I do feel 21… on occasions… I was talking from the mind, and that has seen many strange things).

Now that we've discussed the virus and fans not being let into Daniel Levy’s money-making apparatus… we move on to our stadium and crowd capacity (see the irony here; no fans!).

Yes, the capacity to increase the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been approved by Haringey Council. Of course, increasing the capacity must look odd at the moment as not even one fan can venture forth and enjoy the wonders of our team's rise to great heights, let alone 62,850.

The council have approved the clubs latest application to increase the capacity at the stadium by 547 seats, pushing it up from 62,303 to 62,850. Just think of all those extra sightseers buying tickets so that money can be spent purchasing even more excellent players (is that singular or plural?). Maybe we should put a gravestone (sorry, a plaque) up to thank those sightseers for helping the club's wealth pot. Just a thought!

As you all know, unless you are a tourist, we have the second-biggest stadium capacity in the Premier League, with only the crumbling Old Trafford stadium being bigger (and it is a shit hole).

According to Haringey Council documents, Spurs' newly 62,850 capacity, approved on Friday, is “the total amount that they can achieve without significant alterations”.

The additional seats will be located across lower, mid and upper tiers and in the vast south stand.

The report clarifies that "the additional seats will be accommodated through minor modifications to the south-west and south-east tunnels, the insertion of seats in areas such as the lateral gangway in front of the media tribune, through reconfigured access points and the introduction of some demountable terracing to allow greater flexibility between wheelchair platform and standard seating configurations".

There were no objections from the Transport and Highways Authority or the council itself, for the extra seats, but one local resident did raise a complaint. He or she was taken out and whipped with a cat-of-nine-tails until she concurred (only joking!).

The interruption to local residents caused by this enormous multi-use stadium is immense. It would bring the capacity to 2,146 more significant than the Emirates. To be fair on Arsenal (or not), their stadium is a shit hole and shouldn't be compared to our magnificent and glorious work fo art—one of the great wonders of the footballing world.

My thoughts in a pea size nutshell:

When our fans can return to our glorious stadium it will mean that even more will be able to fit in; which equates to more Lollie for Levy and co and maybe part purchase of a player for Mourinho… the future is looking good, the future is wealth.

I have no doubt that next up will be the fans demanding a statue to Levy and a room beneath it with a prayer room, with mats so one can pay homage to one of the modern Prometheus’s’.  Talking about Prometheus, has anybody read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein? Just a thought! Oh, you would rather read a book on the history of Tottenham Hotspur… yes, I  agree… however, the Mary Shelley book is a continuation of our history (it seems Mary was a soothsayer and predicted the future). No doubt it will take some an instance to work that out (what I am on about), while others will need a bit longer, then there will be others who will just see the madness in my words (you can’t please everybody!).

Best Regards, Glenn