By
Colin Payne
This became an all too common scene at Vicarage Road because of the pandemic. Picture: Action Images
The Watford Observer has again teamed up with its friends at The Watford Treasury to share stories from its new book, Coming Home.
In this piece titled Space - The Final Frontier, Colin Payne explains why a half-empty stadium is a wonderful thing.
If the current ‘situation’ has taught me something, and of course it has, it is that I am quite an unsociable person. Although that is probably a fact most people who know me would already have deduced. It’s not that I don’t like company, I just prefer my own! This simple fact would no doubt go a long way in explaining why I would rather watch my football in sparsely populated stadiums. Watching games played out in front of empty stands has reinforced that. How I would love to be in one of those seats, not just to exclusively see the proceedings first-hand, but bask in the wonderful sheer open space. No stranger next to me stinking of lager and devouring a sloppy pie with their fingers, no queuing for a wee, no shuffling as we inch along Occupation Road following the final whistle. Space and room for all. Ah bliss.