The return of fans at Hartlepool United: What the figures suggest and the protocols that could be in place following National League meeting

The National League held a meeting with its member clubs on Tuesday, December 1 to discuss the return of spectators into grounds.

Pools are one of nine clubs in the division who will continue to play home matches behind closed doors due to the town’s tier three status. The remaining 14 clubs full under tier two restrictions and are therefore permitted to allow up to 2,000 fans to attend according to the latest Government guidance.

The return of fans is welcome but it will be very different from before with no away fans permitted and supporters required to wear face masks at all times while also encouraged to refrain from shouting or singing.

Hartlepool have sold 1,500 season tickets but 10 games into the season and supporters are still yet to see their team in the flesh as they are forced to watch matches via online live streams. And that will remain the case while the town is in tier three.

But with a two-week review in place on tier restrictions, there is some reason to be hopeful over the return of supporters to Victoria Park.

What the figures show

Hartlepool had been under tier two ‘high alert’ restrictions when the United Kingdom entered a second national lockdown on November 5.

On that day, the town recorded 49 cases of coronavirus and had a rolling seven-day daily case average of 61.6.

Daily case numbers continued to rise before reaching a peak of 99 on November 9. The following day saw a peak of 81.1 for the daily case average.

Since then, case numbers have been falling steadily with 45 daily cases reported in the town on December 1, the last day of lockdown before Hartlepool enters tier three.

The rolling case average has also dropped considerably to 36.1 cases per day, showing the lockdown has clearly helped reduce the rate of infection in the town and guide the town back towards tier two.

For comparison, York enters tier two with a rolling case average of 25 cases per day.

Keeping up the hard work

If and when fans are allowed back in The Vic, it will still be a sterile, face mask wearing matchday experience to begin with – but it’s a much-needed step in the right direction.

It’s also important to realise Pools’ coronavirus protocol is likely to be different from Government guidelines. The club have adopted a blanket 14-day timeframe for those who have come into contact with the virus as a safety measure.

So even if you’re not self-isolating, you may not be allowed back into Victoria Park unless you’ve been clear of Covid-19 for two whole weeks.

It’s a safety measure that will require 2,000 fans to be sensible and honest in order to protect others and keep things moving forward.

The end of lockdown on Wednesday won’t change an awful lot in Hartlepool to begin with. The pubs are still closed and you still can’t go to watch Pools at The Vic on a Saturday afternoon.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel and while the rate of cases continues to fall, we get another day closer to fans finally getting back in the stands.

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