[The Red Darreners]

Couldn't agree more, your lordship. I have to say, notwithstanding the presence of the infantile inflatable protuberance, from my seat in the Jack Barrett stand the Clayton End looked full and made a fantastic racket throughout. But the stand opposite was all but empty: why? Summer holidays and Burnley at home may have had something to do with it but I suspect it's more to do with the residual social anxiety the pandemic has caused. The wife and i could never forego Stanley but we've been very reluctant to take part in other social events - possibly because we've had the bloody lurgy and despite being double vaxxed we're very wary of a repeat. It's certainly going to be a worry for folk older than us. I was however really reassured by the club's very visible approach to fan safety and hopefully over time this will filter through and persuade those wavering to turn up. I worry about the effect an empty stand has on the motivation of our newcomers, and then I remind myself how brilliantly a team brimming with newcomers did last season, in a completely empty stadium. And if the excellent Mr Pell was underwhelmed by the modest crowd on Saturday, it didn't come across in his terrific post match interview. Let's hope for his sake and that of our other newbies that the crowds improve, starting tomorrow. A good win will certainly help too.