Why we need sport more than ever in this world of madness

No peeking! Fans may be able to watch the Spireites on TV inside the ground - but curtains will be firmly shut

But even though I’m not a die-hard Spireite, it would be a huge blow if we lost Chesterfield’s football club to the current financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

As I’ve already confessed, I’m not an expert on the subject – though as many people will tell you, that’s never stopped me from holding sway on a topic before.

And I have been to plenty of matches – both at Saltergate and the fantastic new stadium on Sheffield Road.

I’ve even been to a couple of away matches including Mansfield, which was… interesting – and Exeter (long story).

But you don’t need to be a season ticket holder to know that sport is going through a very, very difficult time right now.

Outside the Premier League, where the sums of money washing around seem as big as they are obscene, many clubs are in a battle for their very existence.

And there’s a grim irony that Spireite fans will feel that the recent takeover has left the club where they’ve always wanted it – in the hands of the people that love it the most – just when the bottom has fallen out of the sporting world.

Sport has a power to bring people together almost like nothing else.

If you’re old enough, everyone remembers what it was like to be in Chesterfield when the Spireites went on THAT FA Cup run, back in 1997.

Everybody in the town felt that sense of pride and excitement – even if they couldn’t pick Kevin Davies out of a police line-up.

All of that feels a long time ago now.

Not least because it seems that Franz Kafka is the new man in charge of the beau tiful game right now.

To help bring in some much needed revenue, Chesterfield are looking at the possibility of streaming their home matches in hospitality areas at the Technique Stadium. But if it's allowed, curtains would have to be closed to prevent fans viewing the match for real.

F ans will be sat in a room watching their team play on TV, while the ACTUAL match takes place just yards away...which they’re not allows to see.

The world has gone mad.