Away fans don’t know if they are coming or going when TV keep changing kick-off times

THE WEEKEND DOSSIER

(Getty Images)

Travelling supporters have three questions when a fixture is announced: Can I get a ticket? How do I get there? When is the game?

The FA Cup fifth round was drawn last Sunday and will be played in a fortnight’s time. Fans of Manchester City, Manchester United, Leeds United, Hull City, Everton and Crystal Palace immediately knew where they were playing, and their chances of a ticket – slim in Everton’s case, given Bournemouth’s capacity, much better for Hull fans heading for the Emirates.

What they did not know was “when”. Weekend plans were put on hold. Would they have to ask for Friday afternoon off work? Could they coach their kids’ team on Saturday morning? What about Sunday lunch at the in-laws? Most inconvenienced, especially as this is half-term in most areas, are those many families where parents are separated and childcare shared.

With five matches to be televised, the clubs and television companies have been wrangling all week as to which matches will be shown live when. Friday afternoon came the first puff of white smoke as Watford revealed they will host Leeds at the increasingly exotic time of 3pm on Saturday. Leeds fans could book their rail tickets, hoping some discounts remained. Eventually the other starts were revealed.

The congested fixture list is primarily responsible for this delay, with Chelsea and Manchester City in dispute over the timing of their tie, but even without those issues, fans are constantly inconvenienced by fixture changes. On Sunday Manchester United play their 18th match this season to be re-arranged from a Saturday afternoon at the behest of the TV companies – either by a few hours or to a different day. This draws them level with Liverpool, while Arsenal and Chelsea will play their 17th re-arranged fixtures. All four have had next weekend’s games re-arranged too, Arsenal’s match with Leicester at less than three weeks’ notice, infuriating Foxes fans who had already bought rail tickets.

Given that this week’s Premier League meeting heard the TV deal that kicks in next season is worth £8.3bn over three years, the clubs are in no position to resist television’s demands. Their souls have been sold. But very little of this windfall filters down to the people who are most inconvenienced: the fans. They may watch better players, and in places enjoy improved facilities, but their attendance seems taken for granted.

This was underlined by the clubs’ refusal this week, at that same meeting, to accept a £30 cap on away-ticket prices – in itself 50 per cent more than the fans’ “Twenty’s Plenty” campaign. Further evidence of the disconnect between executives and supporters came with Arsenal bumping up prices for their Barcelona game in the Champions League, then Liverpool boasting of “turning fans into customers” before provoking calls for a walkout at Anfield this afternoon in response to a planned £77 top-priced ticket next season. This at a club that traditionally has a deep emotional link to supporters.

Like most goods, match tickets are priced according to demand. The only way the cost will be reduced is if fans stop turning up. Thus, while many clubs discount the early rounds of the Capital One Cup, and Manchester United have slashed prices for the Europa League, tickets for most games remain resolutely high-priced.

This development is contrary to expectation when television began taking a serious interest in football. Figures as diverse and senior as Brian Clough, Ken Bates and Silvio Berlusconi all thought increased coverage would lower gates, with the latter, then president of Milan, suggesting clubs would ultimately have to pay fans to attend matches to provide the backdrop TV needed.

It has not quite worked out like that, but for anyone under 40 it is hard to imagine how sparse televised football once was. In the 1970s even England internationals were rarely shown live, while in 1977 TV did not show even highlights of a cup final – the Football League Cup final first replay between Everton and Aston Villa.

Now, for those able and prepared to pay subscription charges, football is on most nights and all weekend. From 6.15am this morning, to 10pm Sunday, there are 37 live matches. Indeed, with many pubs showing games, and widespread illegal streaming, even those without subscriptions can watch most games. A Liverpool fan could have seen his team 27 times already this season without ever entering Anfield.

But if this is a golden age for the armchair fan, it is not for the army of travelling supporters who provide much of the noise and colour that make English football so attractive to TV. Next season regular Premier League Friday night football arrives and it could get even worse.

Virgin Media has filed a complaint with TV regulator Ofcom arguing for all matches to be televised live. With widespread acceptance of the blackout rule (no match is broadcast between 3-5pm on Saturdays to protect lower-league gates, which is why TV coverage of some foreign games begins mid-match) that could mean matches back-to-back at all hours, as already happens in Spain. Morning kick-offs, Sunday nights, all are possible. Maybe one day Berlusconi will be proved right.

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MOST LIVE MATCHES 2015-16

Lge FA FLC Euro Total

Liverpool 16 3 2 6 27

Arsenal 16 0 2 6 24

Manchester Utd 15 2 0 6 23

Tottenham 13 3 1 6 23

Chelsea 14 2 0 6 22

Manchester City 13 0 2 6 21

Everton 13 1 4 0 18

Newcastle 12 0 0 0 12

Derby 9 1 1 0 11

Leeds 10 1 0 0 11

West Ham 9 2 0 0 11

Southampton 7 0 1 2 10

Wolves 10 0 0 0 10

*Research by Dimitri Kondonis and Paul McNamara