Fans at the football seems a long way off but it will all change if one of these vaccines works. In the meantime the interminable wait continues.
I can't see football clubs voluntarily subsidising fellow clubs. The reason why Germany and other countries are authorising football to return is because without the fans it's de-risked for the rest of the country although the points about players safety are real.
If you started to open up the high st, pubs, hairdressers etc then the epidemic might return. Football is a highly visible industry but without the fans I don't think the Government is really increasing our collective risk if it authorises its return.
Some people are naturally against any forms of regulation in the game and want to leave it to football but I agree with you. Football needs to be re-organised and the income and revenue should be more equitably divided but I can't see that happening. The game has been stratified for a long time and the influx of foreign owners threatened to break it up a little but it's still a very unequal arrangement.
As you say, having games behind closed doors probably won't affect the spread of the virus too much, my concern is that it will take medical staff away from places that they are needed more urgently at the moment.
Even if they do the few games in one day plan then there will still be one or two ambulances at each stadium with attendant paramedics and whoever else. At this time they can definitely by better employed elsewhere. People seem to only be thinking about the covid situation when they talk about the pressures on the NHS but even when we hopefully get a handle on it there's a huge backlog of non life threating operations and procedures that have been delayed due to medical staff being drafted in to deal with the virus. These medical personnel not only need to get back to their normal jobs and start whittling down waiting lists but they also deserve a break, they've been working ridiculous shifts for 7 days a week for some time now. I'd much prefer they be allowed a few days off rather than sending them off to support football games, however, when next season starts again in August/September/whenever it won't seem as selfish drafting them in to do the entertainment stuff (football/rugby/concerts/festivals/etc).
That's why I don't really see what the rush is to get this season finished, we're in May now and getting close to when the season should have ended anyway. The longer they faff about trying to get this season finished then the bigger impact it will have on next season, if they call this season off and done then we can start getting next season ready and not using the precious manhours of NHS staff and coppers.
By the time the 20-21 season starts then the country as a whole will be in a much better place (hopefully) and we can spare medical staff and people may be able to get their heads round an entire behind closed doors season for one year.
I really don't know how this will help the lower league clubs who don't really get any money from TV though, maybe their crowds will be boosted by people that have been turned off this season's VAR manipulation and covid related money grubbing farce.
Putting everything behind getting the Premier League finished just seems like it's to the detriment of all but two or three clubs in the English football pyramid whereas getting next season sorted out would be of benefit to the vast majority.
Media money could be an issue that would need to be sorted out but it's not as if Sky and BT don't get anything in return from the FA so it's in their interests to do what they can to help football survive too.