Scottish lower league football locked down for 3 weeks

[bairn88]

This maybe should be for the covid thread, but it’s a point directly affecting our league, so I’ll stick it here.

Cases in Scotland now at a level (and falling) not seen since 25 December (deaths lag this by around 2 weeks). Given it was acceptable to play then, there can be simply no case for not restarting (at the very worst) early February, or sooner.
 

Clubs need to come together to put this to the decision makers. Drastic actions, such as shutting down a whole league, needs EXTREMELY drastic evidence to support it. That evidence is no longer there (in fact, the opposite is there). 

 

Edited January 19, 2021 by bairn88

[jagsfan57]

This maybe should be for the covid thread, but it’s a point directly affecting our league, so I’ll stick it here.
Cases in Scotland now at a level (and falling) not seen since 25 December (deaths lag this by around 2 weeks). Given it was acceptable to play then, there can be simply no case for not restarting (at the very worst) early February, or sooner.
 
Clubs need to come together to put this to the decision makers. Drastic actions, such as shutting down a whole league, needs EXTREMELY drastic evidence to support it. That evidence is no longer there (in fact, the opposite is there). 
 

Not sure I agree with you. Patients in hospital and ICU are still going up. Any indication of relaxation just now will give the wrong message. We made the mistake in the summer of easing restrictions too much. Let’s get the numbers well down and the vaccinations well up and then ease the restrictions.

[theoriginalhedge]

2 hours ago, bairn88 said:

This maybe should be for the covid thread, but it’s a point directly affecting our league, so I’ll stick it here.

Cases in Scotland now at a level (and falling) not seen since 25 December (deaths lag this by around 2 weeks). Given it was acceptable to play then, there can be simply no case for not restarting (at the very worst) early February, or sooner.
 

Clubs need to come together to put this to the decision makers. Drastic actions, such as shutting down a whole league, needs EXTREMELY drastic evidence to support it. That evidence is no longer there (in fact, the opposite is there). 

 

It was just announced today that the full lockdown restrictions are going to be extended till at least mid Feb  so I doubt very much if anything will change before then. 

[bairn88]

19 minutes ago, theoriginalhedge said:

It was just announced today that the full lockdown restrictions are going to be extended till at least mid Feb  so I doubt very much if anything will change before then. 

Lockdown restrictions do not apply to professional or semi professional (“elite”) sport. It was not a government decision to shut the leagues down. If there is no reasonable evidence or reason for why we shouldn’t be playing, why are people so willing to accept this? These shutdowns are not normal.

Edited January 19, 2021 by bairn88

[rockson]

34 minutes ago, bairn88 said:

Lockdown restrictions do not apply to professional or semi professional (“elite”) sport. It was not a government decision to shut the leagues down. If there is no reasonable evidence or reason for why we shouldn’t be playing, why are people so willing to accept this? These shutdowns are not normal.

When is a shutdown ever 'normal'?

[roman_bairn]

Lockdown restrictions do not apply to professional or semi professional (“elite”) sport. It was not a government decision to shut the leagues down. If there is no reasonable evidence or reason for why we shouldn’t be playing, why are people so willing to accept this? These shutdowns are not normal.

Can’t see us playing before mid March when the most key vaccinations should be near complete.
The government did not shut it down but I suspect the SPFL got in before they did anyway.....

[bairn88]

6 minutes ago, roman_bairn said:

Can’t see us playing before mid March when the most key vaccinations should be near complete.
The government did not shut it down but I suspect the SPFL got in before they did anyway.....

Only professional/semi professional league in Europe currently postponed due to covid. What’s more likely, all other nations are wrong in their belief that playing football with huge precautions and restrictions has little to no affect on covid spread, or that our SPFL and gov are massively over cautious? 

[roman_bairn]

Only professional/semi professional league in Europe currently postponed due to covid. What’s more likely, all other nations are wrong in their belief that playing football with huge precautions and restrictions has little to no affect on covid spread, or that our SPFL and gov are massively over cautious? 

Where we disagree is that I don’t have a problem with the Government being over cautious when we have a new variant to deal with. There’s signs of the numbers starting to head in the right direction now.

The last thing we need is another prolonged stoppage when football does get going again due to another spike, or that it’s delayed even longer due to the numbers not dropping fast enough, so getting the numbers right down just now seems like the right strategy ....

[Newbornbairn]

I'm yet to be convinced our leagues weren't shut down on the day Celtic hit the headlines for egregious breaches for no other reason than to try to show the Govt they were serious about compliance. They could re-start the leagues tomorrow if they chose and I don't think Govt would intervene. 

[O'Kelly Isley III]

Only professional/semi professional league in Europe currently postponed due to covid. What’s more likely, all other nations are wrong in their belief that playing football with huge precautions and restrictions has little to no affect on covid spread, or that our SPFL and gov are massively over cautious? 

I saw my first Scottish football match in April 1960, and I've been a fanatic since then. However, despite what Bill Shankly said, football is not a matter of life or death. But Covid-19 is, and Falkirk v whoever can wait a wee while yet.

[bairn88]

2 minutes ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

I saw my first Scottish football match in April 1960, and I've been a fanatic since then. However, despite what Bill Shankly said, football is not a matter of life or death. But Covid-19 is, and Falkirk v whoever can wait a wee while yet.

If we had that mentality, football would never be played again, and would never have been played before. Viruses (e.g flu) have always existed. Mixing in stadiums, stadium toilets, pubs pre game etc increases chances of getting these viruses (and deaths - lots of people die of flu in winter). We need to get over this mentality that “ah, I’m happy putting all the things in life on hold, there’s a virus going round don’t ya know!”, or we’re never getting out of this. There is zero point in just “existing”.

[Cannibal]

Enjoying the desperation from the Falkirk contingent 

[bairn88]

2 minutes ago, Cannibal said:

Enjoying the desperation from the Falkirk contingent 

Check the league table lad - Falkirk are top  

[Sergeant Wilson]

20 minutes ago, bairn88 said:

If we had that mentality, football would never be played again, and would never have been played before. Viruses (e.g flu) have always existed. Mixing in stadiums, stadium toilets, pubs pre game etc increases chances of getting these viruses (and deaths - lots of people die of flu in winter). We need to get over this mentality that “ah, I’m happy putting all the things in life on hold, there’s a virus going round don’t ya know!”, or we’re never getting out of this. There is zero point in just “existing”.

Aye, what are we like?

[ShaggerG]

1 hour ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

I saw my first Scottish football match in April 1960, and I've been a fanatic since then. However, despite what Bill Shankly said, football is not a matter of life or death. But Covid-19 is, and Falkirk v whoever can wait a wee while yet.

 

56 minutes ago, bairn88 said:

If we had that mentality, football would never be played again, and would never have been played before. Viruses (e.g flu) have always existed. Mixing in stadiums, stadium toilets, pubs pre game etc increases chances of getting these viruses (and deaths - lots of people die of flu in winter). We need to get over this mentality that “ah, I’m happy putting all the things in life on hold, there’s a virus going round don’t ya know!”, or we’re never getting out of this. There is zero point in just “existing”.

The guy's been supporting his team for 60 years and has never seen football being forced to close down before. Of course people die from all sorts of shit every year, that's life (and death), but society usually does all it can to prevent this through medical care etc. There is absolutely no point in 'just' existing, we need to have some quality of life, however, if we don't do all we can to prevent the spread of Covid, then that's exactly what we will be doing for a long time to come! If this means that we can't restart the leagues after the shutdown, then so be it.

You're right, plenty of people die of flu each year but they don't tend to be queuing up in the hospital car park to do it! 

Assuming that the vaccine can cope with the new strains then the majority of folk in the old and vulnerable groups should be vaccinated by the end of February, that, I would think will allow some of the restrictions to be progressively lifted, which may include not only football restarting, but fans being allowed back too at some level. 

[roman_bairn]

I'm yet to be convinced our leagues weren't shut down on the day Celtic hit the headlines for egregious breaches for no other reason than to try to show the Govt they were serious about compliance. They could re-start the leagues tomorrow if they chose and I don't think Govt would intervene. 

I agree that Celtic were the initiators of action being taken but the Scottish Government were actually quoted as saying in their review for the lockdown, ‘nothing is off the table and that includes Professional Sport’....

[roman_bairn]

If we had that mentality, football would never be played again, and would never have been played before. Viruses (e.g flu) have always existed. Mixing in stadiums, stadium toilets, pubs pre game etc increases chances of getting these viruses (and deaths - lots of people die of flu in winter). We need to get over this mentality that “ah, I’m happy putting all the things in life on hold, there’s a virus going round don’t ya know!”, or we’re never getting out of this. There is zero point in just “existing”.

I had to recheck there as I was convinced this was from DPB.......[emoji16]

[Newbornbairn]

3 minutes ago, roman_bairn said:

I agree that Celtic were the initiators of action being taken but the Scottish Government were actually quoted as saying in their review for the lockdown, ‘nothing is off the table and that includes Professional Sport’....

There was a real feeling they were going to shut down construction, tens of thousands of people working in the industry in Scotland moving around, mixing, spreading the virus - but they didn't. Despite all the risks they've kept construction open. If construction stayed off the table, I think 20 clubs operating sensibly with limited mixing and no fans was going to be safe. 

[roman_bairn]

There was a real feeling they were going to shut down construction, tens of thousands of people working in the industry in Scotland moving around, mixing, spreading the virus - but they didn't. Despite all the risks they've kept construction open. If construction stayed off the table, I think 20 clubs operating sensibly with limited mixing and no fans was going to be safe. 

I’m sure not everything on the table was going to be taken forward given other factors.
For example, shutting down construction would have rather more economic impact than shutting down Scottish Football so I don’t think it’s a fair comparison.
The truth is, we could debate it, but it would only be speculation.....

[bairn88]

31 minutes ago, roman_bairn said:

I had to recheck there as I was convinced this was from DPB.......

Don’t associate me with him please!

Im not for one second arguing covid isn’t awful, isn’t worse than flu etc etc (that he’ll try and argue).
 

Young athletes (and all those involved in any club) have been prevented from doing their job with, what I can see, little to zero evidence that their actions are detrimental to the fight against covid. I am genuinely shocked that people seem so happy to accept that. Banned from doing their job. Of course football isn’t life and death, I accept that, but I think that is almost by definition a straw man argument.

As previously stated, the drastic action of shutting a profession down needs some drastic evidence. There’s been a lot of point and laughs from fans of clubs who just happen to be a place or 2 above the relegation spots, but little counter evidence. Maybe this forum is not the place for reasonable debate!