Kevin Pullein: watching football without any fans is fine by me

Football would be nothing without fans, they said. Football at the highest level has shown that it can get by without fans in stadiums.

It would prefer to have them. And I would rather they were there – fans want to go to matches and I like people to be able to do what they want. But watching on television I find football as enjoyable with stadiums empty as I did when they were full. I tune in to watch the players. I do not need to see spectators.

Opinions will differ. And I realise mine is eccentric. Usually I watch with the sound turned off – not because commentary bores me but because it can interest me and therefore distract me. In the last few weeks, though, I have sometimes turned on the sound to try to hear the shouts of players and coaches as well. I wait until I have got to the channel without canned cheering.

Some players may perform better in empty stadiums and others worse. The jury should still be out but probably is not. The popular verdict that there is no home advantage without fans in grounds was delivered two weeks after the Bundesliga resumed, and no appeal has been allowed even though since then different evidence has emerged from the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A - though not the Championship.

But even if there has been a shift in the balance of play I still find the games themselves as enjoyable as before. And when VAR spoils a game – this happens just as often – I do the same as I did before: I switch off.

Best bet of the day

Blackburn to take most corners
0.5pt 23-10 BoyleSports

Back Blackburn to take most corners in their Sky Bet Championship game at home to West Bromwich Albion. The hosts are less likely than the visitors to flight most flag-kicks but their prospects might be better than the 23-10 quoted by BoyleSports.

First things first. What sort of match should we anticipate?

West Brom have everything to play for. They are in the second automatic promotion spot with four games to go. Blackburn have done well this season but are unlikely now to reach the playoffs. They cannot be relegated.

The result-related markets imply something like a 19 per cent chance of a home win, a 27 per cent chance of a draw and a 54 per cent chance of an away win, and they seem about right.

West Brom are most likely to score most goals, which means they should do most of the attacking, which in turn means they are also most likely to take most of the corners.

Over the past two decades in EFL games with similar result expectations the home team took most corners 34 per cent of the time. Odds of 23-10 imply a 30 per cent chance of a bet being successful.

The number of corners West Brom have taken and faced this season is absolutely standard for a team who have scored so many goals and conceded so few. So there is nothing in their team-specific stats to raise our estimate of the chance of them taking most corners today at Ewood Park.

Blackburn have performed slightly better in corners-splits markets than is usual for a team with their won/drawn/lost record, but really the difference is neither here nor there. Certainly, though, there is nothing in their team-specific stats that should lower our estimate of the chance of them taking most corners against Albion.

The longer scores are level, or if West Brom fall behind, the more determinedly they will have to attack and the less likely it will become that Blackburn will take most corners. But the opposite is also true. WBA are favourites to win the game, and if and when they do go in front the balance of play should sway in the other direction, with Blackburn then doing more attacking and becoming more likely to take most corners.

Any bet outcome is possible with either of those scenarios. All things considered, though, it does seem possible that the chance of Blackburn taking most corners may be better than 23-10.

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