Announcement of TV schedule

[oglop44]

What are the chances of the derby moved to a Sunday you reckon?

I'm hoping it goes to Monday night!

 

[ClausThomsen]

Years ago I thought we’d get to the point where stadiums would be nowhere near capacity due to online streaming - price of ticket v free online stream / few pints in the pub. To be fair that hasn’t been the case, fans still turn up in their droves , suppose nothing beats the atmosphere of a game and the loyalty is as strong as ever, but it’s sad that it’s come to this - as you say it’s no longer the working man’s sport it once was. Part of my defence mechanism when it looked like we could go down last season was that at least we’d get to sample how football should be at places like Luton etc. having said that we’d have probably been every Friday night game in that league!

The ease and availability of getting every game be it legitimately or through other means has had an effect though.

There was a time on a Saturday that I'd finish work, get showered and head down my local non-league ground for the Saturday 3pm as there was nothing to watch at home and I'd long since given up my season ticket at Goodison due to ridiculous prices. Now I have a very good and reliable "alternative provider" for 3pm games and everything else I'm much less inclined to head down to the ground after work when I can sit on the settee and watch Everton. Especially if the weather's crappy.

I'm not condemning those who support it as I'm clearly as guilty of taking the lazier option. But people only see it through the prism of top flight or even second tier games but even the relatively miniscule IPTV/dodgy stream option is having an effect at the lower rungs where crowds are the absolute financial lifeblood of clubs and many who go watching teams view them as their "other" club.

Legitimise the 3pm broadcasts and it's potentially the death knell of a lot of small clubs and large chunks of the football pyramid. That's not me saying it should never happen as there is clearly an understandable desire for it but I always take issue with the view that if everything looks hunky-dory with enough full grounds in the PL and Championship then it's doing no harm to football.

 

[Khalekan]

What are the chances of the derby moved to a Sunday you reckon?

I am hoping it is a Monday night as I am going to a birthday party in Ireland that weekend.

 

[Duncan’s Pigeon Loft]

The ease and availability of getting every game be it legitimately or through other means has had an effect though.

There was a time on a Saturday that I'd finish work, get showered and head down my local non-league ground for the Saturday 3pm as there was nothing to watch at home and I'd long since given up my season ticket at Goodison due to ridiculous prices. Now I have a very good and reliable "alternative provider" for 3pm games and everything else I'm much less inclined to head down to the ground after work when I can sit on the settee and watch Everton. Especially if the weather's crappy.

I'm not condemning those who support it as I'm clearly as guilty of taking the lazier option. But people only see it through the prism of top flight or even second tier games but even the relatively miniscule IPTV/dodgy stream option is having an effect at the lower rungs where crowds are the absolute financial lifeblood of clubs and many who go watching teams view them as their "other" club.

Legitimise the 3pm broadcasts and it's potentially the death knell of a lot of small clubs and large chunks of the football pyramid. That's not me saying it should never happen as there is clearly an understandable desire for it but I always take issue with the view that if everything looks hunky-dory with enough full grounds in the PL and Championship then it's doing no harm to football.

I certainly don’t think it makes everything hunky dory mate, merely that I thought there’d come a point where fans would vote with their feet and that hasn’t really happened in general - you are obviously an acception. The PL showed during the initial Covid outbreak that they don’t need fans money - or it’s not essential at least - but some lower league clubs really felt the pinch when their seasons got voided.

Scrapping FA Cup replays is a terrible decision - these lower league clubs thrive on the chance to get a big club down to their ground, it can be the difference between survival or not.

Be interesting to see a statistical comparison between lower league crowds pre-sky v today - when basically fans would have started ‘supporting’ bigger clubs as they’re on the telly all the time and as a result neglect their local club.