Watching amateur football made me realise that Premier League stars are just like the rest of us

Lockdown has normalised footballers and made the experience of a Premier League football match more relatable, stripped back to its bare bones, writes Lawrence Ostlere

Cystal Palace striker Wilfried Zaha scores from the spot against Brighton at the weekend (Getty Images)

At Selhurst Park on Sunday, covering Crystal Palace vs Brighton, I bumped into a Premier League footballer in the toilets. In came substitute Aaron Connolly, Brighton’s Irish forward, who like me was taking a pitstop during a pretty tedious first half.

After considering the flaw that could allow a player to share the same facilities as a reporter and, for that matter, anyone else knocking around the stadium, I got thinking about just how noticeable the lack of fans in a stadium can be.

Connolly’s boots made the familiar clacking sound of studs on concrete, which conjured memories not of Premier League football but of weekend amateur games, and it was a similar feeling pitchside hearing every word the players shouted. A bingo card of amateur cliches would have been filled in no time – “Man on!”; “I got the ball!”; “Open your eyes ref, you’re missing a good game” – just like any Sunday League game.

Oddly, the experience was very similar to the real amateur football I watched on Saturday. More by chance than anything else, I came across a match in the Southern Counties East Premier Division between Corinthian and Sheppey United, and what followed was an extraordinary game full of drama that ended 3-3. Of the two matches I saw this weekend that was by far the more entertaining, even if it was played at a slightly less ferocious pace than the Premier League.

So perhaps what football behind closed doors has reminded me is that footballers may be recognisable millionaires starring on TV, but they are, really, just people running around a football pitch like so many do on a weekend. Lockdown has normalised them a little, and made the entire experience of a Premier League football match more relatable, stripped back to its bare bones. 

Still, we need the stadiums full again. The fans provide the atmosphere, which brings tension and emotion, and elevates the occasion from a mere football match to something more. Until the game and the government find a safe way to bring supporters back to stadiums, the Premier League will continue to assume a certain Sunday League feel.

Yours,

Lawrence Ostlere

Assistant sports editor