Calum Beattie, the Operations Director of the SPFL, is quoted in today’s press saying that “Scottish football continues to operate in an extremely challenging and uncertain environment” and that is certainly the case as far as Forfar Athletic is concerned.
Apart from the postponement of our opening competitive fixture at Dens Park last season, we have not been too badly hit player-wise by the covid pandemic until Boxing Day.
Gary Irvine was forced to re-jig his starting eleven against Stenhousemuir after three members of the side that had begun the previous fixture in Edinburgh were ruled out, two after providing positive PCR tests, one other having to self isolate after a member of his household tested positive.
That is no excuse for the one-goal defeat in an entertaining seven-goal contest, as to be fair the ‘Warriors’ were in a similar position.
It is no easy task for any management team at present, not knowing who is going to be able to train often till the last minute, then team selection at times becoming a bit of a lottery.
Hopefully, we will reach the peak of this variant quickly and a more even playing field will return to the game sooner rather than later.
Certainly, at all levels at present, teams with the stronger depth of playing pool have more chance of success in all probability than others but again only time will tell.
Buying power in the upcoming registration window may also prove to be a factor but again many clubs at our own level and the ‘Loons’ are no exception are having to keep an ‘eagle eye’ on the purse strings.
The commitment of the part-time player has also to be admired in the current climate.
Apart from their everyday work and family commitments, many are travelling a fair distance, often without any company on the journey twice a week to train and then on match day, at the same time fitting in daily supervised lateral flow testing.
Well done and a pat on the back to all, the management and backroom teams into the bargain, especially considering there is no let-up whatsoever during the busy festive period.
Moving back to the current financial position of clubs at Forfar’s level, life does not get any easier, although that is obviously the case in many areas of the business arena and football even at our level is a business these days.
The 500 crowd limitation, totally farcical as it is will not make a great deal of difference to the Athies coffers in the short term. In fact, entry to non-season ticket holders at the fixture against Stranraer on Saturday week will be by payment at the turnstile with little hope at this time of the year of that limitation being breached.
Certainly, our income from the hospitality angle will diminish with numbers reduced in line with all other entertainment venues and understandably the odd cancellation due to the pandemic.
Costs though do not diminish.
For example, we will again have to hire two 49 seat coaches for the trip to Elgin this Sunday to meet the stringent demands of player social distancing when in transit to matches.
On the subject of the Elgin fixture, the word from City perhaps not surprisingly is that no tickets will be made available at present to ‘Loons’ supporters but this will be confirmed or otherwise in the next 48 hours.
We will attempt to keep you as up to date as possible on this front, but Elgin expect to make an official announcement on their website early on Thursday.
This will be a disappointment to those who follow Forfar on their travels but is out of the control of the Station Park administration.
Worryingly it is also now beginning to look an almost certainty that our major fundraisers of the calendar year the Sportsman’s and Ladies Dinner both normally held in the Spring will have to be shelved and with it a £20,000 loss of revenue for a second year running.
We still live in hope of perhaps fitting one or another in as Autumn comes around and hopefully, the vaccination programme has the desired effect on the general population.
Forfar Athletic are far from alone in having these problems to deal with at present and rest assured we will pull through and surely there has to be some serious ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for all in the months ahead.
Certainly, on the playing front, this season to date had many a performance to savour and despite the wee setback on Boxing Day, we enter the New Year with real hope and desire that a quick return to League One football may be on the horizon.
The message to ‘Loons’ fans far and wide is a resounding thanks for all your support and best wishes over the past twenty months and more and stay safe and well as 2022 approaches.
