PELE

The ticket categories, as some have already mentioned, are purely down to cost. Category 1 tickets are the most expensive (usually in the central part of the main stands). Category 2 are usually near the corner flag area and category 3 behind the goals or the seats with the poorer view (which is less of a factor in most of the big grounds nowadays). The ticket application opened from about last March onwards if I remember correctly. Like most UEFA tournaments. You normally have to buy them before you know who will be playing in the matches and often a year in advance. Although for this tournament you knew which games the host nations would be involved in at the group stage if they qualified, more so as the qualifying progressed. Again, like some have mentioned. The 'home' team have approx 19% of the tickets and the away team approx 16%. I think Scotland are the home team for the Czech game and the away team for the Croatia game (and also the England game). If Scotland win the group, the round of 16 game will be in Dublin. If they are second, the game will be in Copenhagen (capacity of only 38,000). If they are third and one of the four best third place teams, the game might be at Hampden on June 29th. Depends on position in list of best third place teams. If they were at Hampden for this, they would likely be up against Spain. All the standard neutral tickets, bar possibly a small quantity (some which have been returned) are sold. There may be a small number of standard tickets on sale early next year on the UEFA portal, as anyone deciding to cancel their tickets due to the uncertainty of the games being played when they were supposed to be had until June this year to do so. Although, from experience, when a game is in Scotland or involves Scotland or a Scottish club side, the neutral tickets for these games are usually the hardest tickets to get hold off, so I wouldn't bet on many tickets being returned. We seem more determined than any other nationality to go irrespective of who might be playing. The only tickets still to be sold/allocated are what's left of the hospitality tickets and of course the home and away fans allocation. I would guess that the SFA will offer the fan allocation to those with the most points in the official supporters club. So, if you are in it and have a reasonable amount of points, you will be more or less guaranteed the option to buy a ticket. There will actually be more chance of a ticket for the Wembley game than the Hampden games because of the capacity. If you desperately want tickets for the England v Scotland game and you are loaded, you can buy them right now (although I suspect these will be gone in a day or so, maybe longer), as UEFA are still selling the hospitality tickets. This is unusual. Normally they would be all sold out quickly. All the Hampden and Copenhagen hospitality tickets are already sold out, but almost every other game is still available, including all the Wembley games. The cheaper hospitality tickets for England v Scotland are sold out, but there are still lots available at 1500 and 1900 euro's a ticket, plus vat. For the 1500 option, you can buy 1 ticket. For the 1900 option, you have to buy all 12 tickets! They are in a private box with food and drink included. If you have the money, you can guarantee yourself some tickets. The venue ticket option is also still available. This ranges from 800 euro's upwards, plus vat, per game. The 'cheap' option is 4 games. England's 3 group games, plus the round of 16 game at Wembley. You can buy from 1 person upwards (so 3600 euro's plus vat each). There are a range of other options for first 4 Wembley games, or just 2 semi's and final, or for all 7 games. These cost all the way up to 23200 euro's a person! The latter one gets you tickets for all the Wembley games, but you have to buy for 2 people. For some options you can buy for 1 person. There are various private box ticket options for first 4 Wembley games (8, 12 or 20 people), or the knockout games, or all 7 Wembley games. Pricing depends on where the seats are located in the ground. Also, accommodation is reasonably priced just now in Central London for the game next June. Premier Inn is around £100 for a double/twin room and you can slum it for around about £30, but I wouldn't advise it. If you can afford these tickets though, I doubt you would need to slum it.

That was my original point. Fans are discussing what format the leagues should or could be going forward, but as long as we have social distancing there won't be any football. I don't think it's a matter of 'if' we go into 2021 without football. It looks like a definite based on current policy and it's more a matter of if we will have any clubs left, other than the very top leagues. They may be able to play in empty stadiums for TV money. The powers that be are arguing over how to close off this season in order to be ready for next season, but what's going to change to allow next season to commence? I don't disagree with you re football or people's lives, but the discussion was about football.

Sorry, but it is. I see the failed scientific advisor to the government has just resigned as well. The whole lockdown policy was based on his mathematical modelling which has been wildly inaccurate on previous occasions as well.

It's all a matter of opinion. I don't believe that keeping a few metres apart from others make any real difference. Who says most of us haven't already been infected? People most at risk need to isolate. It's not about not enjoying it and it's not going to be a wee while either. What is going to change? Coronaviruses don't just disappear. They are also far more prevalent in the UK in wintertime. The recent advances in medical science make it more likely that new treatments will be developed, but coronaviruses are very difficult to develop vaccines for. That is why there aren't any, despite almost 60 years trying. I am not trying to come across as heartless. Losing someone close to you to any illness, health condition or accident is heartbreaking. While we have social distancing nothing will return to how it was, or even close to how it was. Most companies (if they are still in business) cannot cope with social distancing. The idea that Schools and nurseries can have social distancing is ludicrous. Most sports cannot function with social distancing. If people truly believe that social distancing is vital and a necessary step to deal with a virus like this, then football is finished. Society cannot function with social distancing. The government cannot keep printing money to sustain the status quo either and I see they are already talking about reducing the furlough to 60% and it ends in 8 weeks.

Or you could state that those clubs are two promotions from the premeirship. They still will be under a three 14 team league set up. They are just moaning because of the shit crowds they will get. They needn't worry. If the Government doesn't scrap their social distancing instruction, very little will change. There won't be any more football. Society cannot function long term with social distancing.

Kelty didn't win the league. They were awarded it. Bonnyrigg had a decent chance of winning it. Brora were worthy champions though.

I don't agree with the decision. I think it is still too early, but if it wasn't for the small band of mostly volunteers running Cowden, the club more than likely would not exist and if they think it is the right decision then I back them 100%. As for Doncaster and co. They are an utter embarrassment. They should be punted, like some of these clueless sheep in the government. How can they mismanage such a small and simple ballot? Now we may have league reconstruction (not that I am against this). However, it is not for the right reason. The sole purpose of it being to suit the Premiership, namely Hearts and rush it in. The lockdown was to stop the NHS from being overrun. This is working. A lengthy lockdown isn't realistic for all sorts of reasons. Wintertime is when respiratory viruses are at their worst in the UK and it will spread more then than now. Are we going to shutdown again then? That's why I think this season should have been given more time to be finished. It has been cut short and, judging by the efforts of our government, next season will probably involve some form of shutdown as well. If it is even allowed to start. Doncaster and co seem to think that as long as we are in place to start next season everything will be hunky-dory.

I think they need to wait a bit longer to see what happens with the lockdown. There is nothing to prevent the virus from spreading again and it will. As soon as the lockdown eases, the virus will spread again. Are the authorities going to enforce another lockdown in the winter and then the new season is goosed as well? As long as the NHS gets in a position to cope, I can't really see how the lockdown can continue for weeks and weeks.

Glad you liked it. Shame they still don't get the message. Nothing original, nothing new, nothing that doesn't make sense, but they continue with the same old failed model. Surely you must get tired of it all. They can't keep overspending. They are fast running out of ideas to keep the act going

It was a bit tongue in cheek. They are always going to have this shortfall until they wake up to reality. Their model is not sustainable and it is comical how they try to pretend that it is. Instead of buying more worthless shares, they would be better asking the gullable hoardes to buying Euro Lottery tickets on their behalf every week. Then if they win, it might delay them entering administration for another season.

The season should be finished. It is only early April and any lengthy continuation of this partial lockdown will bankrupt the country. There are already murmurings re how the lockdown can be relaxed, here and in other countries. The lockdown was introduced to help the NHS from being overrun in the short term. Not for any other reason. Is this not more to do with Doncaster panicking because they have some fancy new TV deal in place for the start of next season and they don't want anything to jeopardise it.

I thought it was McClair when he took over from Wotte as the SFA Performance Director. Sure he said it would be scrapped, but he only lasted about a year in the job.

I thought the SFA ended the performance school scheme. Once the remaining kids in the scheme hit 16 it is finished. No new kids were being placed into it.

If most of their crowd are season ticket holders, then they already have the bulk of the money from match revenue. So what massive shortfall is it that has them relying on us to bail them out.

Bonnyrigg can still win the Lowland League, so they can't promote Kelty. I don't see why the season can't start up again in the near future, assuming all the clubs survive.

Yeah. Berwick were easily the worst team in recent years.

Looks like the other teams decided it was for the best.

That may be a very long wait. Very few viruses have available treatments. The small number that do tend to just lessen the symptoms to allow our immune system to fight back. Bacterial infections are far easier to treat, or they were until we started over using antibiotics. There are many coronaviruses and there are no vaccines for any of them. That's why it is mainly frail elderly people who are affected. Their immune system struggles to fight the virus, just as it does with the common cold or influenza and pneumonia causes their death.

It's a good idea, but there will be lots of fans in danger of losing their job and more now because of the Govt advice. I know people who this afternoon were told to go home and not to return to work and they are not getting paid. Businessess are now starting to close. Some small clubs will fold if the shutdown lasts longer than 3 or 4 weeks.

Unfortunately, it will always be a guessing game. The only way to know the fatality rate of any infection is to test everyone for it and calculate the numbers based on the fatality rate of those who test positive. Something that will never happen. There will be many more people infected than is known, because they won't and can't realistically test everyone. I know of two people who were showing symptoms. One was not tested and will never know if they had this virus. The other was more poorly and was tested when at hospital. It turned out to be a bacterial infection and both are ok. It was and still is my personal opinion that temporarily isolating those with serious underlying health issues and the frail elderly people in our country would be a better course of action. What is a minor infection to the bulk of the population can be serious for people in these categories. I originally had the view that a delay to the season would be the best option and I still do. I can understand a partial shutdown (talking about society here, not football) in order to slow the transmission rate and give the health service a chance to try and cope in the short term. However, I don't believe a longer term or near full shutdown is the right course to take (again, just an opinion). This virus is unlikely to disappear. Like cold viruses, there are people all around the world infected at any given time and it will come and go, usually more often in winter months. For most of us it is not serious, but for some it is, as it is for them with many other infections. They are the people we need to help. If the bulk of us get the virus and quickly recover whilst the vulnerable are self isolating, then it reduces the chances of them getting infected and the experts have more time to try and develop antiviral treatments. I think what is different with this virus is that it is believed to have spread from animals to humans, which is not that common and it spreads rapidly, which is even more uncommon in this scenario. Anyway, best wishes to all. You know it is serious when we are discussing things like this on a football forum.

Sorry, I meant to type UK. It actually fluctuates and can be much higher and lower, probably depending on the severity of the winter. Although, not every area records stats on flu deaths. Overall, about 600,000 people die each year in the UK, roughly about 10% of this in Scotland. There are a wide range of causes and of course it is mainly elderly people. It's early days regarding this new strain of coronavirus, but if a list of causes of death were produced, this coronavirus would be well down the list. The fatality rate in Italy is much higher than elsewhere in Europe, but Italy has the oldest population in Europe.

Maybe they will move to the 3 leagues of 16 set-up. Bringing in 6 new teams and having automatic relegation at the bottom of the third league. They could try to push it through as a solution to any longer shutdown. It would mean no relegation for anyone and promotion for the top four in the Championship, promotion for the whole of League 1 and no promotion for anyone in League 2, but adding 6 teams to the league. A few teams would complain, mainly the top of League 2, but they would be in the minority if the other teams were keen. Or, maybe they could have some sort of play-off to decide some of the promoted teams. Although, if the shutdown isn't temporary, do we shut down every time the virus starts spreading again?

Any company involved in entertainment, travel and tourism is really going to struggle. I don't see the point in ending the season rather than delaying it. I can understand a temporary shut down to let the emergency services cope with an upturn in infections and also because a lot of people will be unwell in the short term. The main aim should be protecting the vulnerable. A true total lockdown isn't realistically possible and a partial lockdown isn't going to stop the virus spreading. Just delay it to help cope. China is a bit different. The sheer size of their population makes it impossible to cope if they didn't enforce a lockdown. I see there is some talk in England of maybe enlarging each league for one season, just promoting the top few and then relegating more teams than normal at the end of next season. Scrapping the League Cup to ease congestion etc.

The SFA and SPFL have stated a few times that it won't be void and of course we can always trust what they say. I think it will be a delay rather than anything else. The virus isn't going to go away and we can't live with everything in total shutdown. People will say we can survive no problem without football or other sports and in many ways we could. Life is more important, but for some people it is their livelihood. What right does anyone else have to dictate to someone that they cannot work when they themselves are going to their work? Not everyone involved in football or other sports earn fortunes. Many people earn an ordinary living from the game.

Within a heartbeat they already stated that there was no pot of cash to dish out to clubs and that clubs already have any money that they are due. If that's true, then the smaller clubs will definitely struggle in the short term. That is another reason why I think this will be a temporary delay to the season. That is the problem in China. It was relatively easy to shutdown, but far more difficult to restart the economy. 80% of the workforce are employed by smaller private companies and most of these companies couldn't survive more than a few months with no revenue. Wages and other outgoings still had to be covered. This will be the reality for smaller clubs just now Things have started kicking back into gear in China over the last week, but they are nowhere near back to normal.