I’m lucky to be watching football in person – but no crowd noise does make my job harder

However, thanks to being able to hear the players and managers, you do get a sense of who is looking to drive their team forward or influence the officials, writes Miguel Delaney

Tottenham’s Steven Bergwijn celebrates his goal against Man Utd on Friday (Getty)

The first thing to say as a journalist about “Project Restart” is that it’s a privilege to attend games that are being denied to regular match-going football fans, but that also has quite a profound effect on how we work.

When you’re reporting on a match live, it’s natural to spend as much of the second half with your eyes on the laptop screen as the pitch. It’s kind of an instinct you hone, even if a common discussion among football journalists is about what great moments you’ve actually missed because you were writing at the time.

The noise of the crowd, however, is generally your cue to look up. As well as enriching and making an occasion, the supporters soundtrack it, almost like a film score.