phantom

Without sounding daft, it is naturally much easier to support and get behind a winning team

Something very random I know, but has anyone heard of any matchday officials testing positive?

I'm sure everyone wishes him well in his upcoming battle

Talk of rearranging league fixtures now

Order of play announced now Friday January 29 (1900 GMT) First Round x8 First Round - Best of 11 legs Ian White v Mensur Suljovic Glen Durrant v Mervyn King Dimitri Van den Bergh v Chris Dobey Krzysztof Ratajski v Simon Whitlock Michael Smith v Adrian Lewis Daryl Gurney v Jeffrey de Zwaan Jose de Sousa v Jonny Clayton Joe Cullen v Stephen Bunting Saturday January 30 Afternoon Session (1245 GMT) Second Round x4 - Second Round - Best of 19 legs Rob Cross v Durrant/King James Wade v Van den Bergh/Dobey Nathan Aspinall v White/Suljovic Dave Chisnall v Gurney/De Zwaan Evening Session (1900 GMT) Second Round x4 - Second Round - Best of 19 legs Gary Anderson v Smith/Lewis Peter Wright v Ratajski/Whitlock Gerwyn Price v Cullen/Bunting Michael van Gerwen v De Sousa/Clayton Sunday January 31 Afternoon Session (1245 GMT) Quarter-Finals - Quarter-Finals - Best of 19 legs Evening Session (1900 GMT) Semi-Finals - Best of 21 legs Final - Best of 21 legs

What did he say, I didn't see the game as don't have access to BT Sport? One thing I noticed on the games on Channel 4 a few weeks back was how much stick the players do give the ref, but suspect we couldn't hear it before because of crowd noise. It is not always as polite as made to believe

Just a reminder of the numbers that are available for those who need help and support, or want to talk to someone

Bugger, forgot about the time difference. This is very true, why I'm always amazed so many people would be happy watching on TV

Don't know if anyone uses Gilbert for anything, I've got a 20% off code (minimum spend £20) Enter Code: GILBERTBARBARIANS at the checkout https://www.gilbertrugby.com/

I've never been so glad for a test series to be starting soon

Personally it is the only thing I have in my life outside of working at the moment Before this season I couldn't care less about anything outside Bristol City, but I have taken an interest in other teams all around the country and god forbid found myself watching the Premier League games recently too My one frustration about football is how some players carry on with life as if there is nothing going on I appreciate that this is selfish but I would personally really struggle without having sport on TV at the moment.

Fair play to Tanya Oxtoby she is on Sky sports news asking that exact question Why were we made to play when Man City and Arsenal have been allowed to postpone their fixtures

Hopefully the EFL follow suit with a similar message to what has just been issued to Premier League; These are the full protocols now in use, that have been sent to all Premier League clubs: TRAINING GROUND Maintain social distancing at all times. Avoid unnecessary contact at all times. Employ a one-way system inside training ground buildings. Limit further potential 'meeting points'. If not done already, clubs should introduce a 'red zone' for areas used exclusively by first team players and staff. Encourage players and staff to eat off-site as much as possible. Ensure regular hand washing by all. Every piece of gym equipment to be wiped down after each individual use. Indoor pitches may remain open, so long as they are well ventilated and a risk assessment has been carried out. Physio and other 'contact rehab' is banned, apart from essential use only. In these cases, sessions are limited to a max of 15 minutes. Contractors are banned from the training ground when the first team are in. TRAVEL Use three coaches for the squad instead of two. Clubs must ensure any employee who comes into contact with the squad has tested negative, before they are allowed to do so. Compliance officers are allowed to inspect coaches, trains and aircraft for compliance before squads use them, or on arrival at a game. MATCHDAY OPERATIONS Face masks to be worn by everyone at all times. The only exceptions are players and immediate coaching staff, during warm up and the game itself. All subs sitting on the bench will now be obliged to wear a mask. Avoid all unnecessary contact on matchday - especially between players and staff from different clubs. Compliance officers are empowered to enter changing rooms to ensure protocols, and all other areas of the stadium (for example to check squad members on the bench are properly socially distanced).

Works out 3.19% of people tested came back positive Indeed the EFL have stated that the majority of clubs have no positive cases and these figures all relate to a very small handful of clubs Works out 1.77% of people tested came back positive @markcarter as you have been consistently telling us for a while now that there are going to be horrific figures in the footballing world that would result in leagues being postponed Do you honestly think these numbers are that bad, or that there will be a massive increase when full testing kicks off next week? Not sure why it shouldn't? What you keep forgetting to account for these footballers and staff that have up to now have initially testing positive, at present the number of these that have died is NONE

Fear not it was blue for NHS

Mark Kelly has confirmed that the club is in a position to keep the South Stand seperate and still operate the stadium with neither impacted

I really hope that Bristol City seek clarification from the FAWSL following them sanctioning the postponement of Man City Vs West Ham game this weekend For anyone wondering why I say this. Man City have four players who have tested positive for Corona Virus, these four have all just returned from a holiday in Dubai where they are reported to have caught the virus. But the real issue, earlier in the season we had five players who were isolating following PHE advice, and the FAWSL decided that the game should go ahead

Easier to see the draw now

The Ladbrokes Masters will be expanded to feature 24 players, with this year's tournament being staged from January 29-31 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes. Peter Wright will defend his title in this year's Masters, having defeated Michael Smith in the 2020 tournament to end Michael van Gerwen's five-year reign as champion. The tournament has previously featured 16 players since being introduced in 2013, but will see the addition of an extra session this year as eight further players take to the stage, with prize money increasing to £220,000. Play will commence on Friday January 29, with the players ranked 9-24 following the World Championship playing off in the first round as the extended format begins. Clashes at that stage will include Joe Cullen's tie against Stephen Bunting, with both having impressed at the World Championship recently - with the winner progressing to play new World Champion Gerwyn Price. Premier League champion Glen Durrant will play Mervyn King, while 2020 Grand Slam winner Jose de Sousa faces Jonny Clayton, who partnered Price to World Cup glory for Wales. The world's top eight players will then enter at the second round stage on Saturday January 30, with play to be split across two sessions on the day. Alongside Price's tie with Cullen or Bunting, Wright will open his title defence against either Krzysztof Ratajski or Simon Whitlock, while five-time Masters champion Van Gerwen plays De Sousa or Clayton. 2014 Masters winner James Wade, the only other former champion in the field this year, will play either World Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh or Chris Dobey. The tournament will then conclude on Sunday January 31 with the quarter-finals in the afternoon session and the semi-finals and final in the evening session. The 2021 Ladbrokes Masters will be held behind closed doors at the Marshall Arena due to current restrictions. Worldwide coverage will be led by host broadcaster ITV4 in the UK and Ireland, as well as through RTL7 in the Netherlands and DAZN in various global territories, as well as through the PDC's global broadcasters, for PDCTV Rest of the World Subscribers and through matchroom.live. The schedule of play for the opening two days will be confirmed in due course. 2021 Ladbrokes Masters Friday January 29 (1900 GMT) First Round x8 Best of 11 legs Saturday January 30 Afternoon Session (1245 GMT) Second Round x4 Best of 19 legs Evening Session (1900 GMT) Second Round x4 Best of 19 legs Sunday January 31 Afternoon Session (1245 GMT) Quarter-Finals Best of 19 legs Evening Session (1900 GMT) Semi-Finals & Final Best of 21 legs Draw Bracket (1) Gerwyn Price v (16) Joe Cullen/(17) Stephen Bunting (8) Gary Anderson v (9) Michael Smith/(24) Adrian Lewis (4) Rob Cross v (13) Glen Durrant/(20) Mervyn King (5) Nathan Aspinall v (12) Ian White/(21) Mensur Suljovic (2) Michael van Gerwen v (15) Jose de Sousa/(18) Jonny Clayton (7) James Wade v (10) Dimitri Van den Bergh/(23) Chris Dobey (3) Peter Wright v (14) Krzysztof Ratajski/(19) Simon Whitlock (6) Dave Chisnall v (11) Daryl Gurney/(22) Jeffrey de Zwaan First Round Draw (16) Joe Cullen v (17) Stephen Bunting (9) Michael Smith v (24) Adrian Lewis (13) Glen Durrant v (20) Mervyn King (12) Ian White v (21) Mensur Suljovic (15) Jose de Sousa v (18) Jonny Clayton (10) Dimitri Van den Bergh v (23) Chris Dobey (14) Krzysztof Ratajski v (19) Simon Whitlock (11) Daryl Gurney v (22) Jeffrey de Zwaan Prize Fund Winner - £60,000 Runner-Up - £25,000 Semi-Finalists - £17,500 Quarter-Finalists - £10,000 Second Round Losers - £5,000 First Round Losers - £2,500 Total - £220,000

Valid point, a winning team will benefit, it's all the others that could struggle.

I would be interested to know how many clubs are affected by these numbers provided. Taking just the Premier League figures; Between 28 and 31 December, there were 28 new positive tests, and 12 more found between 1 and 3 January. The previous high was 18 positive results from 21 to 27 December. Are these spread over one or two clubs, or a small number over a larger number of clubs? That would indicate if the numbers are a problem withing the elite clubs spreading or not

It's the top 4 from the Order of merit below then six wildcards chosen by the PDC and/or Sky. It's not a written rule but normally any major tournament winners get in as wildcards, as only once has a major winner been left out that was Paul Nicholson after winning the 2010 Players Championship. Had Anderson won tonight Cross would not have been in the line up but Anderson lost so Cross stays top 4 which makes him safe