Sky Sports' Johnny Phillips: Fair? Maybe not, but having any fans at football is a win

Of course, the vast majority of fans are still excluded which has raised questions of fairness. In the strictest sense, there is no longer a level playing field for clubs to operate in.

“It’s not fair, that’s the bottom line, nobody can say it is,” said Cardiff City manager Neil Harris last week, ahead of his team’s trip to Watford last weekend where supporters were welcomed back to Vicarage Road while fans in Wales are still excluded.

“There’s definitely a gain to be had with your fans in the stadium, without a shadow of a doubt.”

It is possible to agree with Harris yet be totally behind the decision to allow fans to return. The Covid-19 pandemic has ridden roughshod over what is and is not fair. Some children have been sent home from school while others have remained in the classrooms. Parents have lost their jobs while others stay employed. Businesses have gone bankrupt while others fight on. And, most brutally of all, some have died while others have survived.

To raise issue with the decision to allow only certain supporters to return to the game is to display a parochial attitude to something of far greater significance.

Now is the time to take every step possible to move forward, where restrictions allow. As more fans fall further out of love with the game by the week – and VAR may have plenty to do with that – the importance of bringing supporters back into the stadiums cannot be over-stated.

The first wave of fixtures a week Tuesday proved to be an emotional experience for many who attended. Wycombe Wanderers were able to accommodate just half of the permitted 2,000 spectators. It was forty weeks and four days since supporters had set foot inside Adams Park. Fans were spread out over three stands, with the terracing being one of the goals left empty, for what felt like a real homecoming.

It was the first opportunity for Wycombe supporters to see their team since winning a first promotion to the Championship in their history in the play-offs last season. When the players came out to warm-up 45 minutes before kick-off the reception was incredible and genuinely moving.

Manager Gareth Ainsworth went out early, too, in order to thank the fans for their support. The home side clearly benefited from such support, but visiting Stoke City manager Michael O’Neill was clear in his belief that having fans inside the ground is better for away teams than playing in front of nobody.

“I think it was a positive, at least there was a bit of an atmosphere,” he explained.

“The thousand people that were in here did make an atmosphere and for me that’s positive, I don’t think it gives any particular advantage to the home team or the away team, I think it’s just good that we have supporters back in the grounds.”

Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo agreed, ahead of his team’s trip to Anfield last Sunday. “I am happy, really happy, even though they are not Wolves fans, they are football fans and this is what the game needs,” he added.

“Honestly, I think it is only positive energy for all the players involved on the pitch. There will be 2,000 and it will be 2,000 with lots of positive energy. What players enjoy is to play in front of fans. Having no fans doesn’t make sense. I am so happy they are returning step by step.”

Both O’Neill and Nuno emphasised the positive energy created. The drab amphitheatres of months gone by had finally been given life.

There may only have been a fraction of the capacity taken up at both Wycombe and Liverpool but the soul of football had returned. The reunion of supporters in the stands was an emotional and symbolic moment.

Those left on the outside will be envious. It is particularly difficult for many fans to accept their exclusion when in so many other walks of life there have been a relaxation of the restrictions. Even before the latest lockdown ended, London’s South Bank was alive and thriving with Christmas stalls, food and drink outlets; a scene repeated in other towns and cities. The seemingly arbitrary nature of the tier system is doubly frustrating for many who are missing out on so much of normal life.

Match-going supporters are angry that each weekend passes without their football fix while high street shops burst at the seams with foot fall.

As Wycombe and Liverpool proved, these fixtures are carefully regulated outdoor events, not a scrum for shopping bargains indoors.

The Christmas period could well bring another wave of infections and the possibility of further setbacks to the return of fans to our grounds.

Until all the stadiums are operating at full capacity, choosing who can or cannot watch their team will be unfair. But, for now, every fan who walks through the turnstiles represents a small victory for the game.