Blackpool FC Supporters' Liaison Officer column: Meeting the biggest challenge ever to face football

For sure the national league was suspended during both world wars, with Blackpool famously top of Division One (played three, won three) when the competition was halted in September 1939.

However, football continued to be played on a regional basis all though those conflicts and when the league resumed, especially after World War Two, it was to bumper crowds eager for a return to normality.

Clearly, when we emerge to some sort of normality in the months to come, league football may well be changed significantly as a result of this pandemic, certainly in the short term as the 2020/21 season gets under way.

For a start, there will be no bumper crowds, desperate though we all are to get back inside Bloomfield Road. It is possible that the early games of the next campaign may be played behind closed doors.

And when fans finally are permitted to attend sporting events again (maybe in October?), even a one-metre social-distancing rule will restrict the numbers permitted through the turnstiles, how they will be allowed to move around inside the concourses and the stands, how the seating will be allocated and how we as spectators must dress (masked?), queue to enter, deport ourselves inside and queue to leave.

Not only is it a logistical headache for clubs to implement those changes, it also has unfortunate revenue implications in terms of increased cost to put in place and loss of income from fewer seats being filled.

That’s a problem that won’t really see much improvement – because of fears of a second spike – before a proven vaccine is certified and widely available, and the best estimates on that are sometime in the first half of next year.

Meanwhile, the EFL has proposed the new campaign should start on August 29 or September 12, weeks later than would normally have been the case.

Many lower league clubs favour deferring the start of the season for as long as the Government’s furlough scheme is in place. That financial intervention has been a lifeline to them, just as it has been to thousands of businesses.

The longer the Government goes on paying a significant percentage of a club’s wage bill, the better chance the clubs believe they have of being able to survive the financial implications of the crisis, and the more likely they are to figure out ways of implementing other revenue streams, other ways of their supporters being able to watch next season’s games.

Preparations for that new season have started already at Blackpool and if anyone wanted further proof of new owner Simon Sadler’s dedication to the cause, look no further than the three signings he’s agreed to already, bringing in 25-year-old forward Keshi Anderson from League Two champions Swindon Town, Marvin Ekpiteta, a 24-year-old centre-back from Leyton Orient, and Oliver Sarkic, a 22-year-old attacking midfielder recently at Burton Albion.

They are all on two-year contracts, with an option to extend. The new manager has been tracking their progress for some time.

It’s a positive sign of the new regime that Blackpool is doing some transfer business early in the summer instead of the old custom of holding off as long as possible.

It will be fascinating to see how Neil Critchley, now reunited with assistant coach Mike Garrity from Liverpool days, sets about shaping up his squad in his first full season in charge.

Additional permanent signings and some loan deals may well follow once the transfer window for the top flights opens at the end of this month.

One other significant break with the recent past comes in the shape of our new kit partnership with German sportswear manufacturers Puma on a three-year deal.

Although the physical club shop is still closed, some of the new range of training wear is already available from the online store and the eagerly-awaited home and away kits will be unveiled in the near future.

There is still a lot to be sorted before the new season begins, possibly in as little as six weeks’ time.

We’ve got to be really excited about the Seasiders’ prospects, even if the manner in which it all gets under way is a little strange.

In the interim, stay safe and if you wish or need to contact me for any reason, with concerns, queries or suggestions, my email is: [email protected] and my Twitter is @BFCSLO. That handle will also find my SLO page on Facebook and it’s worth following that for updates.