THE LIFE OF FOOTBALL FANS, PART MLVII
For more years than Football Daily can care to remember, the Football Supporters’ Association has campaigned relentlessly to stop the Premier League and TV companies from taking liberties with matchgoing fans. It is a drum they have banged like Keith Moon on amphetamines but each time top-flight supremo Richard Masters talks of doing better, his bluster turns out to be little more than hot air. Take the scheduling of Friday night’s match between Burnley and Luton Town, which was originally supposed to be played next Monday.
As if forcing travelling Luton fans to take an afternoon off work and make a 400-plus-mile round-trip wasn’t inconsiderate enough, the Premier League chucked in a few additional caveats to make their lives just that little bit more difficult. The match would definitely be on Monday … unless Burnley made the Carling Cup semi-finals … in which case it would definitely be on Sunday … unless Luton drew with Bolton in the FA Cup last Sunday, hence what has now happened instead. The upshot? As if the prospect of spending an evening of leisure time sitting in the freezing cold at Turf Moor watching Burnley play Luton in a football match wasn’t already unpleasant enough, the Premier League and their paymasters have fallen over each other in their eagerness to make the experience a whole lot worse.
“We’ve raised this problem with leagues, broadcasters and the authorities repeatedly but little progress has been made,” sighed the FSA. “We are going to keep banging this drum. TV selections should not come with multiple caveats – supporters need to have certainty about when games are being played so they can make their arrangements in good time. If a game is at risk of being moved twice or more we don’t think it should be eligible for selection – simple as that.” While both Sky Sports and TNT have never attempted to disguise their contempt for matchgoing fans when it comes to scheduling, Masters has at least paid lip service in previous sitdowns with the FSA percussion section before doing the square root of eff all. For the Premier League, eyeballs on screens have always been far more important than bums on seats, even though this broadcast is just an exercise in contractual box-ticking and the viewing figures will be lower than a snake’s belly.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Still … join Scott Murray from 7.45pm GMT for hot minute-by-minute Premier League coverage of Burnley 0-0 Luton.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I will never, and this club will never, stop anybody singing what they want to. Everyone’s voices are super important” – Marc Skinner there with some Big Phil Neville vibes, as he defends the right of Manchester United fans to chant “we want Skinner out” in a recent friendly against PSV before the WSL season resumes.
THE TOP 100
The final votes are in and it’s a 92% overwhelming landslide in favour of a new No 1 at the top of the list this year. Hats off to the brilliant … Aitana Bonmatí. And here’s a deeper dive into this year’s full 100.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
In answer to Andy Gill’s question of whether anyone has considered winning the Milk Cup a famous victory (yesterday’s Football Daily letters), the answer is most definitely yes. As in me (at least), who considers the mighty Hatters’ 3-2 victory over Arsenal in 1988 as the peak (ignoring the last year, which I’m still not convinced is anything but a mad hallucination) of wonder. Andy Dibble’s almighty heroics, the lunacy of nominating Nigel Winterburn to take a penalty, the delights of Gus Caesar’s comedy defending and two late, late goals to win the thing. And giving my dearly departed dad unimaginable pain when I grabbed on to the only part of him I could when the crowd surged forward after Brian Stein’s winner – his armpit hair. Oof!” – Kevin Goddard.
So, male players are increasingly worried about their safety (yesterday’s News, Bits and Bobs, full email edition). While ‘educating’ fans might be one way to limit the personal and physical abuse they receive, footballers and coaches also need educating. Why should players (and managers) deem it acceptable to harangue officials but cry foul when fans turn their ire on them? A more tolerant approach on the field might be beneficial all round. It’ll be a long process given the conspiracy theories that permeate the game” – Deryck Hall.
Re: ‘England winger Steve Heighway’ (yesterday’s Memory Lane, full email edition)? Huh? Surely this is Loss of Memory Lane” – Cormac McKenna (and 1,056 others aware about the owner of 34 Republic of Ireland caps).
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Kevin Goddard.
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