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With the Premier League set to restart on June 17th with no fans allowed within the stands, we assess the reasons why the supporters are so crucial to the beautiful game and the success of the sport.
The importance of the 12th man to a soccer game can not be ignored - and a football and finance expert has attempted to analyse the influence of the fans.
Recent statistics in research provided by Betway indicate that almost 677m GBP of revenue is brought in on match day, can you imagine the impact of this on football clubs during the Corona virus crisis? With clubs only able to agree salary reductions with players on a piecemeal basis, and Tottenham applying for a massive loan to cover their extensive costs post-stadium build, many believe several clubs will go bankrupt over the coming year. Statistics from last year indicate a total of 14.5 million people visited a football match.
When football restarts, that revenue is sure to be back in the hands of the top football clubs again. The Premier League is set to kick off again on June 17th.
The enormous amount of decibels that football fans can generate can be louder than a live rock concert or standing next to a pneumatic drill – easily loud enough to hurt your eardrums and damage your hearing.
Fans will be missing from the games onward in the Premier League, a bitter blow for Liverpool fans indeed, who were looking forward to their inevitable first ever Premier League title success.
It is a new normal that will take some getting used to.
Taking place in a cavernous bowl of empty seats, it is a version of competitive football that has been akin to an art gallery without any paintings – you recognise the setting but something important is missing.
“To go from playing in a full stadium to playing behind closed doors is eerie,” says former West Ham captain Alvin Martin.
“The atmosphere that you’re reliant on isn’t there and you can’t feed off the energy of the crowd.”
One time in Spain, West Ham fans were not allowed to attend the game and Martin was able to describe the impact of that incident on the outcome of the game against Spanish side Castilla.
“You could hear every word that was being said.
In fact, we even got a knock on the dressing room door during our half-time team talk with John Lyall.
“It was one of the directors who had been sent down to ask if we could keep the industrial language to a minimum," quipped Martin.
It is easy to understand how supporters can play a major role in the performance of their team. The impact of the noise and presence of supporters adds so much to the possible outcome of a game. Just look at the Kop's supporters during Liverpool's successful decade.
The fans give the team that vocal support and additional game input that is so crucial for Premier League success.
“Those big atmospheres help give you an extra five or 10 per cent that you can’t replicate in training,” says Martin.
The hectic schedule of a professional footballer means they are normally required to play over 50 games a season and sometimes juggle both weekend and midweek fixtures. However, the buzz a crowd brings helps players push through the anxiety and nervousness key games often brings.
The influence of match-going fans isn’t just limited to matters on the pitch either.
The £677m generated by matchday income in the Premier League in 2018/19 works out at 13 per cent of the overall turnover for all 20 clubs.
Lest we forget the various sponsorships, the TV revenue and other means of funding that is likely to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Clubs (and the Premier League) may be entitled to pay back enormous chunks of their income; sure to create a huge issue to finances.
“If you talk to anybody – it doesn't matter the nature of their business – if you’re getting these regular streams of revenue, then you would be foolhardy to throw any of those away,” says football finance expert Kieran Maguire.
Of course, the total sum is not distributed evenly between each Premier League club – the bigger teams with bigger stadiums make more than the smaller teams.
Written by Ketan Patel
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