THE PUTTDOWN

  Getting you ready for… FOOTBALL This is the first in a series of blogs to get you ready for upcoming sporting events, first up, the return of the English Premier League. Clearly, without fans in the stadium, that also means no going to the pub before or after the game. Obviously, we can’t be having football fans suffering from alcohol deprivation, so here is a handy game to keep by your side. Depending on how rowdy you’re feeling on that particular day, it can either be a traditional game of BINGO, or a drinking game. Easy peasy. 

The first year of VAR being used in the Premier League has been an up and down affair. Controversy has shrouded its use leading to many fans demanding its exclusion from the league.   After a long first season, The Puttdown has been told that VAR has decided that it is time to hang up its video recorder. We were able to get an unprecedented interview with VAR to get their thoughts and feelings on what has been a tumultuous first (and final) year in the league.   The following interview has been edited for clarity.   The Puttdown (TPD): How do you think your year has gone?   VAR: Not great, if I was being truthful.   TPD: Why do you think that?   VAR: Every day has been very stressful. I turn up to work hoping for a pleasant day, but I can barely go a game now without something going wrong. It gives me anxiety attacks; pretty sure I’m losing all my hair, I’ve got wrinkles on my face that weren’t there last year.   TPD: When did you start to notice thing...

The Premier League is looking more and more likely to be going ahead. When it does restart, stadiums will be empty, a far cry from what fans would hope for. But in time, fans will start to be allowed back into the stadiums. Teams won't be permitted to allow full attendances, more likely starting off around the 30% mark, which means if the league isn’t careful, true diehard fans may miss out on tickets. Here at the Puttdown, we have come up with an exhaustive list of criteria to stop the fair-weather fans from attendance, and to make sure only the true fans are in the stadium when they return. Not Permitted Half and Half scarfs. Clearly, people who wear these pieces of attire only buy them so when friends and family come to visit, they can show the scarves to prove they were at the game. They don’t really care about the club; a die-hard fan would only have their own clubs emblem on their scarf. One of their last 10 photos on their camera roll is a selfie. These people...