Saddlers Social: Walsall fans have their say after football's suspension

Nick Etheridge

The Football League have been in a really difficult situation, partially by the government sitting in the biggest fence in the world, but I feel that they have come to the most fair and sensible decision for all parties. Playing fixtures behind closed doors is not ideal for anyone. Although midweek European games have been fascinating to watch due to their being no spectators, it’s not really something I’d like to see in the long run. At times though, it must be said, our home support can feel like we’re playing in an empty ground anyway.

In terms of the club itself, the postponement of fixtures couldn’t have come at a worse time as we are now finally playing well, putting results together and have played our way into a bit of form. Players like Rory Holden and Elijah Adebayo were showing signs of consistency, no doubt they’ll be striving to maintain current form whenever the season re-convenes.

A situation like this will show exactly how much of a well run club we really are. I do fear for many who rely on a home gate to prevent the club from slipping into financial obscurity. You’d like to feel that there will be some finances that find their way down the lower leagues from the top flight, but I wouldn’t at all be surprised if it didn’t.

Walsall will be in a better position than most due to our commercial ventures and spending within our means. This won’t be the case for many others.

Ian Newbold

Didn’t think I’d actually find time or the inclination to write this week, all seems a little pointless in these unprecedented and uncertain times.

However, we’re going to need positive distractions in the coming days and weeks.

With there going to be very little current sport to really write about, I wonder if it would be a good time to write stuff about better times at the club.

Have some positive distraction for fans, fans and readers who may end up with more time on their hands at some point. The Saddlers Social crew could contribute by writing about favourite games, players, managers or times etc?

Anyway, might be a pointless suggestion, but I thought I’d share it all the same.

Jon Taylor

We now face a minimum of three weekends without football following the announcement of no football in the EFL until April 4 due to the threat of Coronavirus. On the whole I feel it’s the right call to put a temporary hold on the season while we allow for further investigations to continue on the infection. With the likelihood of thousands of infections in the coming weeks it feels like a sensible approach as already numerous families have been impacted by the virus.

The question now is if we don’t play again should the season be voided? Should we play games behind closed doors? Or will something more radical be put in place.

I am against playing behind closed doors simply because the atmosphere in a stadium can impact the game. If the season is voided how do we deal with promotion and relegation? We are over two thirds through the season so it’s not like the season is in it’s infancy. Do players appearances, goals etc still count if the season is voided?

There are so many questions which will need to be answered in the coming weeks by the footballing bosses.

Hope everyone stays safe and think of others before you buy your 15th pack of loo roll.

Chris Saunders

The football season being postponed in regards to recent events feels like absolutely the right course of action to take. As frustrating as it is there is really a bigger picture to think of currently. The club have handled it well and hearing off the chairman was re-assuring with his words.

Aside from the frustration with no match days for the foreseeable future we all just need to remember to look after each other and especially our vulnerable in society, some of the things happening with shortages of goods are just hitting these people hardest.

Hopefully we all start pulling together come out of the other side of things ready for an assault on League Two, get a return to the division above all as one big happy Saddlers family.

Rob Harvey

With all elite level football being postponed until April 3 at the very least it's going to be a bit surreal over the next few weeks whilst the country tries to deal with the coronavirus.

Personally I have mixed views on the football being postponed and I can see both sides of the argument.

On one side of the argument it could be argued that football should continue to be played until the country is in lockdown. There are still mass gatherings of people taking place all over the country and people are free to walk about outside and do as they please meaning that there is every likelihood the virus will be passed on that way, so while people are free to go about their daily business why should the football stop? Players contracting it has a lot to do with why it has reached this stage, but you don't see games being postponed because a player is out with flu, or similar.

On the other side of the argument, and in direct opposition to the argument above, the coronvirus is something that the world as a whole has no idea about in terms of eliminating it or controlling it at this point, so by suspending all football (and other sports) there is less likelihood of players and staff contracting it, and also less chance of mass crowds being in the same place. The break should hopefully allow the virus to be contained as much as possible and affect the least amount of people possible.

I've managed to find football matches to attend, and will continue to do so but I do believe we could end up in a lockdown situation similar to that in Italy, and in the back of my mind I am wondering whether we might even reach a situation of martial law which would be interesting to say the least. It doesn't look like the coronavirus is going to go away any time soon and it might possibly be causing havoc into the summer so I would encourage everyone to take positive steps to keeping clean and doing what they can to prevent the virus spreading.

Look after each other, especially the older people you know and those with existing respiratory problems and focus on that. Nothing else really matters. Football is football, it will be back. When? Who knows.

Robert Dearn

It was always going to happen, but when the news broke that Mikel Arteta had contracted the virus, we knew it was the endgame for football for a while.

It is completely understandable, with the list of players who either have coronavirus, or are self-isolating, increasing by the hour, it makes sense to delay matches.

It also means that the fans stay safe, no club will want fans to fall ill because of this and, although extremely difficult and painful, the clubs have made the tough decision. We were also on a very good spell, and fans were really starting to enjoy being Walsall fans once again, we had our team back.

It is a time for unity. Fans want the club to not suffer financially, so buying early-birds, or buying merchandise will help ease the financial loss that the club will be feeling.

Stuart Cox

That felt like a very empty Saturday! I had been fully expecting the announcement to come, was just a question of when really.

Where do the EFL go from here? If they were to end the season now, there would be a number of clubs who thought they could 'get out of trouble' or 'sneak into the play-offs' and I just can't see how it could be fair to all. I hope that they decide to move Euro 2020 to next year and attempt to complete the leagues in May/June/July.

Some players' contracts only run until June 30 so again, not sure how they would get around that should it run into July. As this situation is unprecedented I don't think anyone including the Premier League and the EFL really know what to do.

Unless there is some help given to clubs I can also see many ending up in financial trouble over the next few months. Players and staff still have to be paid, budgets have been set based on revenue coming in and if this doesn't happen clubs are going to be in a mess.

It's such a period of uncertainty, not just for football and sport but for the country and the rest of the world. Let's pray that we get through this worrying time together as a nation and look forward to better times ahead.

James Kenealey

I fully understand that people are frustrated about the suspension because of course, I am. Believe me, there’s nothing I’d rather be doing of a Saturday afternoon, especially recently when things seem to have gotten so much more interesting again.

That said, this is not the normal flu, people. I’ve seen supporters of clubs near and far on social media treating this issue in a seriously selfish and flippant way, bemoaning the fact that their Saturday afternoon has been inconvenienced to try and prevent the spread of a potentially fatal illness.

Sure, at 28 I’m not in the high risk group and neither were most of the people making these comments. But that’s not the point. What happens if I were to go to a football match, pick up the virus and then unknowingly pass it on to a family member who is in their 80’s and already ill? Millions of people move around the country every weekend for the express purpose of going to the football - a concept that’s an absolute dream for a virus.

We have to remember that football is just a game. It’s a game we love, a game we happily do silly things for and a game that means so much to entire communities. But it’s only a game. Bill Shankly’s infamous line about football being more much important than a life or death situation might be amusing, but it’s not to be taken literally and we can’t underestimate this situation.

Finally, I’d like to echo other fans out there and say that if you’re in a financial position to buy an early bird season ticket or something from the club shop, please do. Clubs like ours are going to be squeezed big time by this suspension and there’s no real end in sight right now. Might be a good time to temporarily waive that rent, eh Jeff?