deep blue

There's no guarantee how much better or worse the situation will be two weeks later. Getting back to some sort of normal is a process of advancing through a set of stages with no dates that can be set in concrete, it is trial and error. Each stage inevitably involves experimentation and people will have to accept that. Footballers are in a situation where the risk has been minimised, as opposed to the situation for most workers. People in Deeney's position have a tight to their view but, as has been inferred on here, they have the means to protect their family by self-isolating for the duration of the games. It us a sacrifice, but these are exceptional times.

Like much else in this whole unknown business, all that can be done is to take all steps to minimise risk and deal with each new situation as it occurs. There are few certainties; this is all a learning process.

Agreed, Finnegan is spot on. It may not be the same experience without fans but I would much prefer to watch a mute game than there to be no football at all.

Anyone know which clubs?

Hi Langudoc, are we twins? I too was born in Loughborough (and coincidentally, now have a house in France). Being born in Loughborough, the choice was tight between Forest, Derby and Leicester, and I guess you could throw Notts County in the mix. But my Dad was a Leicester fan so that's how I started - thank goodness. I guess it was a grimy experience at Filbo but, being a child and growing up in an age where there was a lack of sophistication and where hardship was the norm, I guess I never noticed. I do remember being with my cousin at the very front of the Pop when a scruffy little lad next to us dropped a peeled orange onto the gritty (and no doubt germ-ridden) concourse surrounding the pitch where it rolled over in the dirt. He nonchalantly reached out, picked it up and proceeded to eat it. Lack of cleankiness was no big deal then but my cousin was disgusted and screwed up his face in such distaste that I remember that look to this day. Odd how such insignificant memories stick in the mind. Other memories include taking my girlfriend to a "friendly" v Glasgow Rangers; must have been early 70s. We were in the East stand and a Rangers fan, absolutely drunk, crawled along the girder above us showering phlegm, whisky and broken glass all over us. Probably the only time I've left a match early. On reflection, times were grim. One other memory was with my sister, in the East stand again and must have been about the same era, home to Leyton Orient in an early cup round. It was so cold that both legs were completely frozen by half time, but we won 5-1 (I think), so that was OK. Happy days!

Can't be sure when I first went to Filbo, but I was certainly attending in the 1956-7 season when I was 10. We won div 2 at a canter in that season, with Arthur Rowley still banging in the goals. We (my Dad and I) went in the Pop side, where it was all standing. It was 9d (4p in today's currency) for me as a junior. I remember once arriving late, having no chance of seeing from the back, and being lifted and passed down over everyone's heads and deposited at the front. You wouldn't see that happening these days. There were many great moments over the years. Whenever there was anything exciting happening on the pitch the people sitting in the upper deck of the Spion Kop would stamp their feet on the wooden flooring and create a huge din. Hardly surprising that the atmosphere at the KP is hard to match that at Filbo, when the best assistance we can get these days is a drummer or clappers. No regrets about moving to the KP though. It had to happen, and we have already experienced some exciting times there.

This is one of the more intriguing threads furing this lockdown period, mainly because we do have so many intelligent, football-aware and leader-type players to pick from in our squad. I'm interested in why goalkeepers don't appear to make good managers because, for a start, they are able to study the patterns of play much more than outfield player and have a head start in building up an all-round awareness of the game. I see Kaspar as a possible exception to the rule. He is flatly a leader, has a passion for the game, is intelligent and considered, and would be able to communicate his ideas very clearly. I could imagine him being a quick learner, too. It will be interesting to follow their future paths. I would love to see Fuchs as a manager - it would be entertaining - but I agree with others that he sees his future evolving in different directions. How lucky we have been to have a squad containing so many outstanding characters (which illustrates Pearson's astuteness in his criteria for squad-building). A big factor in our title win and our future development.

The last match, away at Blackburn, was brilliant. Bright sunshine changed to a snowstorm at halftime. Having secured our place in the previous match we played with freedom and stuffed them. Heskey scored with a sensational strike from way out. I was lucky enough to be there. On another note, I would repeat what someone else said earlier. Heskey was amazing that season, but after one good season at Liverpool they neutered and destroyed him.

No-one can set a date for "return to normal". There is such a lack of reliable knowledge about the virus that our progress towards normality will involve alternate phases of lockdown and relaxation in various degrees, and it will be experimental with a "suck it and see" approach for everyone. Football is no different from other businesses and institutions and cannot distance itself from being part of that experiment. All of us will be at some level of risk, but footballers finishing the season will be privileged in being given a much safer working environment than most people.

A good balanced article. I agree that the process of "getting back to normal" is bound to include some elements of risk along a long, rocky road. Both government and most players appear to be in favour of finishing the season somehow and the league have the resources and the will to pull out all the stops to minimise the risk.

If "fans" on social media follow your lead and call the lad a clown, and much worse, that's not going to do his confidence much good, and it just might be that lack of confidence is one of the factors that's been adversely affecting his performance.

That's the one. Ref completely bottled it.

In his book I seem to remember him saying that Hoddle promised him chances but didn't carry through with it. He felt let down by the way he was treated and saw the Leicester offer as his chance to progress. I don't think he got on with Hoddle. Sorry that's a bit vague but my memory's not as sharp as I'd like.

He missed the one at Man U which he was forced to retake. A refereeing decision on a par with some of the Athletico ones - in the same era too. Straying a little bit - when you look at some of the diabolical pen decisions we've had against us in the last 4 years, too, I think you can say we're not exactly the luckiest team in the league.

Who wouldn't.