View: Optimistic update from PL chief could be great news for West Brom fans
At the beginning of this season, nobody could have foreseen the situation that West Brom currently find themselves in.
Left in limbo by the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the Baggies are agonisingly close to a return to the Premier League, but have had to endure a nervous wait to find out if and when they will be able to play their remaining nine matches in an effort to seal promotion.
Thankfully, an update from the EFL on Friday suggested that the likelihood of the Championship resuming is very high, with most clubs expected to vote in favour of wrapping things up on the pitch as initially planned.
But of course, even if Albion do get to play those last nine games, there will still be one crucial component missing: us, the fans.
Obviously, at this stage empty stadiums are a necessary measure because of the potential risk they represent when it comes to spreading Covid-19.
But if we do go up this term, there seems to be a fair amount of optimism that we could be allowed back to The Hawthorns to catch at least some of our Premier League campaign.
Speaking to Sky Sports, top flight chief executive Richard Masters said: “No one knows when matches will move away from the behind-closed-doors model and it is right to have contingency plans in place, but there is optimism at the Premier League and at clubs that we will see fans back in the stadiums next season and it may happen on a phased basis.
“Hopefully it will be a huge morale boost and that is what we’ve been working towards.
“We’ve got some incredible fans in this country and we all know the Premier League as we know and love it won’t be fully back until we have fans back through the turnstiles.”
Now obviously, this is a very vague update from Masters.
Nobody knows for definite when next season will start, let alone when it will end, and trying to give some kind of concrete indication on when mass public gatherings will be allowed again is all but impossible at this stage.
But the fact that the governing body are hopeful about the prospect of fans being allowed back at some point, even if it is later in the campaign, can only be a good thing.
There’s a long way to go and a lot could change, but we may be back in the stands sooner than many of us might have initially expected.
In other West Brom news, View: Reported 20y/o West Brom target has potential to be fantastic PL addition next term.
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