The latest announcements of televised matches feature a Friday night trip to Bournemouth for Man United fans and an early morning trip to Brighton for Liverpool supporters.
Rasmus Hjølund scored Manchester United’s equalizer at Bournemouth in April…this season’s game will be played on Friday night (Image: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
It will be interesting to see what happens at the meeting between Premier League and television executives who will decide on the match schedule for the tournament. After they are chauffeured to a luxurious London office, it must be some kind of game in itself. Like Top Trump.
Bournemouth vs Manchester United on Friday night at 8pm? Hold on to your beers and how about Bournemouth v Sunderland on Saturday at 12.30pm?
Delay Manchester United’s kick-off at Newcastle to 8.15pm so the rest of the night’s games will be played at 7.30pm. We don’t want troublesome away fans who think they can take the last train home.
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Hey, has anyone noticed that Brighton supporters are looking forward to the 8pm kick-off at Anfield for the FA Cup? Well, Liverpool fans, don’t laugh. Introducing the away match at Brighton on Saturday at 12:30pm.
Any pretense that there is any concern for traveling supporters of Premier League clubs in the schedule of televised fixtures has long been abandoned. Simply put, the logistical problems faced by avid travel fans have no impact whatsoever when television schedule changes are made.
It’s pointless for anyone in the Premier League to argue otherwise. However, remember that the Premier League is a private members’ club and only 20 members sign broadcast contracts.
Essentially, they have a choice. They can either agree to contracts with television companies that have a decisive influence on the timing of matches, or they can give broadcasters nearly unfettered licenses and receive as much money as possible.
Liverpool’s traveling supporters will have to leave early for Premier League matches in Brighton in March (Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
They do the latter every time, offering huge payouts as some kind of victory. Hooray, we got £6.7 billion. Well done.
But for that £6.7 billion, broadcasters decide when the matches will take place. The manager may complain, the fans may complain, but so what? Their concerns are of no concern to TV executives.
And it’s hard to detect such interest from the Premier League and its members. That’s because the stadium is still full for most games.
Crowd demographics may be changing, but the crowds are still coming. The excitement level may be down – there have been more goalless draws this season than all of last season, and there are still 16 game days left – but the crowds are still coming.
Sunderland fans must leave early for their team’s 12.30pm kick-off at Bournemouth (Image: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Despite the constant moaning about VAR and the constant stoppage of play, the crowds still turn out. As such, the club feels empowered to take supporters, and more specifically sellouts, for granted.
Even if there’s a 700-mile round trip that requires a 4 a.m. departure, or a nine-hour round trip where fans get home at 3 a.m. Such an inconvenience is no longer relevant to the club, as they knew it would happen as a result of selling the Premier League rights, shares and barrels to a television company.
Unfortunately, this is why fan groups are wasting their time complaining about the ridiculous timing of matches. Loyal traveling fans have been sold out by club owners. It’s simple.
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