Come on Harrogate

Silk - I think you'll find the hole in your argument is "the Premier League gets less money".

Cmon Ardley, got my medicated illegal popcorn ready

Good luck to Neal today.

There is enough money sloshing around the game to allow the FA to support the pyramid. All it means is that the Premier League gets less money and that gets used to support the grassroots.

I knew it couldn't just be me that talked to my kitchen utensils

If the preferred vaccine "only" has say a 70% chance of stopping COVID-19, can you combine with a second vaccine from a different family, to enhance protection?

They’ve undoubtedly stolen vaccine technology from other countries. I wouldn’t be queuing up to have their vaccine - safety presumably unproven let alone efficacy. And if it doesn’t work, they have potentially buggered up the chance of using a vaccine that actually works from elsewhere if it uses the same backbone. This is because the immune system of people already exposed to that backbone might simply just destroy the backbone in the later vaccine as it will be recognised.

Russia are saying that they will start their immunizations next month. Some are questioning whether their vaccine has been properly tested (phase 3 of clinical trials).

As we’ve seen this season, keeping top level sporting events going still makes economic sense (both for the clubs and the government) even without crowds. The Premier League is one of our biggest exports. Whether it makes similar economic sense for L1 clubs, with or without crowds is very different. Can we afford to pay for regular testing? Can we afford to open grounds with all the additional staffing and procedural requirements for just 1000 fans? Totally different scenarios. I am hopeful but not certain that L1 games will go ahead for most of next season, although suspect winter could see a shut down. Can’t see it extending to allowing crowds. Unfortunately current COVID numbers are about as good as it is likely to get, so there is no room for further easing of restrictions without trade offs being made.

I can't see the scientific advice changing, the current strategies generally work while I don't think any countries have herd immunity as a strategy. Even Sweden recommend social distancing. The good thing about sports are they are generally outside, you'd imagine they may hold less risk than the pubs if there is some social distancing involved.

Stay In!

Government will have to be careful or there will be an ageism conflict. Why should I stay while the young ignore social distancing as they have been all along!

Spit - that's what will probably happen if we reach February/March and these much promised vaccines/treatment don't work so well...

So over 50s to be grounded, more controlling shite.lets just go for herd immunity and get this shit show out the way.seems to be quite a few more medical people saying we should of stuck to the original plan.be interesting how Sweden's way end out.

Morning all. I think you can already go and watch games at very low level (seen one or two pictures of groundhopper types on Twatter at PSFs yesterday), and even with current restrictions can't see why they should be barred from doing so. FWIW the stop on test events was more to do with being seen to do something - ie politics - rather than whether it's going to lead to a massive rise in cases again

My sentiments exactly, Trig.

I don't see the government allowing crowds at specific sporting events but banning them at others. It will surely be subject to the organisation/club meeting a set of standards laid out, hopefully based on scientific evidence. If a League 2 club can meet them then they can have the appropriate sized crowd, if a Premier League club (or Twickenham) can't, then they can't have crowds. Whether we could afford to meet whatever criteria emerge will be the deciding factor.

Sounds like nonsense to me Paddington. Society needs cross sections to hold it all together. I suspect Warwick Uni hadn’t had much PR coverage for a while and felt like they needed something to get them a story.

Yet you won’t take the bet. Noted.

I’ve had more informative debates with sauce pans in my kitchen. Sigh.

Ok Kentish, makes perfect sense that you don’t think the government will prioritise getting crowds back to L1 football, yet are convinced crowds will return this season in spite of the government saying there isn’t now room to further ease restrictions, and any further changes will need to be subject to trade offs. I struggle to see how that wouldn’t require the government to prioritise L1 clubs to see crowds back.

Should have phrased that differently, but you get the idea.

Early on in all this a group of academics at Warwick University were advocating releasing the population from lock down in tranches of a decade. First the country would be run by the twenty - somethings then the thirty-somethings, and so on. Horrifying thought to this silver - haired person but what do the under - fifties here think? Not that there are many of you around at the moment. Trig? Wu? Is Simmie lurking?

Looking forward to the Y&B Discussion Series at 5 today. [Link]