We are told the safety of players and supporters is paramount but that is demonstrably untrue in the Premier League
Two cases. In the beginning that was all it took. First Mikel Arteta at Arsenal. Then Callum Hudson-Odoi at Chelsea. And, although a few other clubs had seen some cough-like symptoms and were beginning to fear the worst, it feels vaguely surreal now to recall that back in March 2020, the entire professional footballing apparatus in England and Scotland was brought to a halt on the basis of two positive tests.
Over time, just like the rest of us, football moved on. It hardened and desensitised. Our concept of suffering and loss began to fracture and diffuse; it stopped being something happening to us in the compound and became something that happened to us as individuals. The days when we all fixated on national mortality rates and watched severe news reports from intensive care units are gone. Big numbers stopped meaning anything to us.
Continue reading...