The Verdict: Behind closed doors in the Bundesliga - our team discuss new way of watching football in coronavirus crisis

• Watch: Erling Haaland back with a bang, scoring first goal behind closed doors since Bundesliga's return

Joe Townsend (@JoesterT)

I found it quite a tough watch. Did I go into the weekend with too much optimism? Probably.

While no football was being played, like everyone I’ve had to find ways to fill that void and essentially put it out of mind for long periods of time.

In the week building up to the grand return of the Bundesliga it was suddenly exciting again. Previews, research, speculation, features: we were back to the normal structure of a football journalist’s (and football fan’s) week.

The return itself was anything but grand. It was anticlimactic, with that build-up proving to be the climax.

To me it felt like every game was a boring 0-0 draw, like when Sky Sports goes HUGE on a clash between the top two, and they inevitably play out the dampest of damp-squib stalemates.

The main reason I felt like this, I’m sure, was the behind-closed-doors element.

Although we knew there wouldn’t be any fans, and the last game I watched was Manchester United away at LASK in the Europa League which was the same story, it just didn’t feel right.

Hopefully now one round of fixtures has been completed under the current conditions, the Bundesliga, clubs and broadcasters can come up with a way to better compensate for the lack of atmosphere.

It would be interesting to know how German football fans found it, having a skin in the game. If I had a strong affiliation for one of the clubs taking part then the absence of fans would surely have had far less of an impact on my enjoyment level.

Well, depending on the result I suppose.

But as an outsider, merely watching to try and get my football fix, it just wasn’t for me. Maybe that will be different when it’s British football as even without the partisan element, there will be a greater sense of connection. I certainly hope so.

What I did find to be a real tonic, and far more enjoyable than actually watching, was simply following the scores. Having some scores to follow – what a novelty!

Once I was out walking in the countryside, keeping an eye on the games that I had a stake in, the fact that the stadiums were empty was an utter irrelevance. I was back in the habit.

And I actually knew it was Saturday.

I mean, honestly, it’s been tricky to keep track of days, with the only yardstick being when wheelie bins start appearing at the end of driveways.

If my neighbours had started getting their days wrong though, I would never have known.

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Dale Tempest (@SkyBet_Dale)

'Dystopian'. That was the word used in pretty much every Sunday paper review of the return of football in Germany this weekend.

The definition of dystopian is that it describes an imaginary society that is as dehumanising and as unpleasant as possible, or a society where there is great suffering and injustice. I can’t honestly say any of those thoughts were in my head as I enjoyed the Bundesliga action over the wonderfully warm and sunny weekend.

But if there's one thing the British media have perfected over the duration of the pandemic is the ability to find the most negative angle they can, in any story, and shout it from the rooftops.

Yes it’s horrible watching football played in a huge empty stadium and it does seem really weird seeing the benches littered with coaches wearing masks, but all I can say is thank God for the Germans.

There is an understandable global fear engulfing the world while we try to work out how we are all going to live with and function alongside the coronavirus. At the moment there are only really two choices: stay locked down for a further extended period or try everything you can to return and function in the safest possible manner.

The German Football Association have done an amazing job to not only logistically put all the safety protocols in place to make a restart but most importantly to be brave enough to effectively go first, at least in terms of high-profile leagues.

Following others after you’ve studied all the relevant outcomes is the easy thing but to be the initial country to start back, to be the first to take that giant leap, that takes balls. I salute you Germany.

We live in a super sensitive world where everyone wants to be offended by something, or be the victim of other people’s actions, words or thoughts. The Bundesliga, in such difficult circumstances, has done world football a huge service in getting things going again. Yes it isn’t perfect - any game without fans just doesn’t feel real or you could argue worth it - but world football is a massive industry and many people’s livelihoods depend on it.

Football structures around the globe could easily disappear forever if the cash tap of TV football income isn’t turned back on as soon as possible.

Every country will have their own decisions to make on this issue but for now I simply want to thank Germany. The precedent has been set, a complicated structure of safety rules put in place, and everything seems to have functioned smoothly.

If the Premier League does return on the 8th, 12th or even later in June, when you sit down with a beer to finally watch your team do raise a toast to German football. It’ll be down to them.

Laura Woods (read her full column here)

To kick it all off the Germans laid on a very decent derby (cheers guys). It was the game the world was watching.

It was no secret this game, and all games, would be played behind closed doors. But it still didn’t prepare us for the chasm that silence created in the viewing experience. A game so familiar to the world, was suddenly unrecognisable in many ways.

Back in England an oversized Owen Hargreaves watched over the BT Sport studio like an evil emperor on a giant screen. Via Zoom from his lounge he said something that resonated with all of us: “Football without fans is hard to watch.” And he was right.

I have now found myself in the camp of the artificial crowd sound enthusiasts, spurred after seeing a tweet from a colleague of mine who did a DIY job on the Bundesliga (below).

He found a YouTube clip called: “Stadium Crowd Sound Effects…Cheering, Applause and More” and played it alongside the Dortmund v Schalke game, marvellously taking the edge off an otherwise awkward experience. Like downing a Jäger bomb before a first date, making it instantly more palatable.

On the more serious side of things the world wasn’t just watching and dissecting because it misses football. It was watching because Germany are in many ways the guinea pigs.

Whether you think the driving force is to boost morale or purely economics, what was offered and observed this weekend was a window into possibility.

Click here to read Laura's thoughts on the Bundesliga in full - and find out which team she is following

George Pitts (GeorgePitts_)

Considering the last two-and-a-bit months have pretty much felt like Groundhog Day, waking up on Saturday had that different feeling, as the others also touch upon.

From working on its return and reading Tom Carnduff's excellent previews (he started with profit on Saturday, by the way), I suddenly felt ready for the Bundesliga so the morning of prep felt much like a normal Premier League weekend.

Super 6 - check. Sporting Life Accumulator - check. Following Tom by backing Dortmund on the handicap - check.

I logged onto my shift and followed the build up with optimism - and then the players came out of the tunnel ahead of kick-off, looking around a bit confused, and it did feel a bit flat as action got back under way.

Journalist Tony Evans said on Twitter: 'Football without fans is fine during a pandemic.'

Then you think about it and he is right. It might be different but it is just great to have some live sport back.

It was bizarre but the go-to phrase at the minute is 'the new normal' and we will have to get used to it in football for what is likely to be the rest of the year.

It would be interesting to get the Bundesliga players' honest thoughts on it - whether it affected their motivation, if the game still had the same impetus. They were, of course, playing a full game for the first time in two months so it was always going to be a little lax.

If they need crowd noise in the background, I am all for it. But they've played plenty of reserve games to be used to it - although I appreciate they are also not quite as competitive. It does make you wonder though, if playing in an empty ground triggers something in their mind which makes it feel like it is not a Bundesliga match, like the previous 25 games this season.

If noise is just an issue for the viewers, I also think it is worth looking at a feature Amazon had when they showed Premier League games over Christmas. They had an option where you can mute commentators and just have crowd noise - if you could choose to add crowd noise in a similar way that might just help the view experience feel a little more ordinary.

We couldn't understand them, but being able to hear shouts of players and managers was strange and having that if and when the Premier League returns - and with the inevitable swearing - will be odd. The acoustics of the huge stadiums in England will not help it either, bouncing off all four corners of Old Trafford or Anfield for example. But, as Joe says there might be more of a connection to the game to be able to enjoy it regardless.

There is definitely a psychological aspect to watching the game without fans. I think some people already decide it isn't the same before actually giving it a chance. But what other options have we got? Adding crowd noise will be as good an option as we get and if we had to choose between that or calling off the season, it is a no brainer.

Derbies aren't quite the same as we saw in Dortmund v Schalke and we will probably see this more in Der Klassiker next week (the German Clasico, Dortmund v Bayern). But, as the players find their feet and fitness again, the crowd element will probably ease in our minds and we can just enjoy it for what it is. The beautiful game.

Watch: Erling Haaland back with a bang, scoring first goal behind closed doors since Bundesliga's return

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