Yesterday the Premier League fixtures for the months of August and September were confirmed. As is the norm these days, no thought has been given to those that attend the game. Yet again the affluent football cartel has shown their usual disregard for the match going fans.
There is no reason at all to move a 3pm fixture between Liverpool FC and Bournemouth to 8pm on a Monday night. It simply happens to make all those involved yet more money. Never mind the Bournemouth fans that will have to make the 530 mile round trip on a work night. Never mind the fact that these fans will probably need to take annual leave to be able to attend and not mentioning the extortionate prices they will be expected to pay for a match ticket.
Southampton fans are expected to travel 330 miles to Newcastle for a 13.30 kick off on a Sunday. Everton fans to North London for a 17.30 kick off on a Saturday and Newcastle fans to the Boleyn Ground for 8pm on a Monday night. These are to name but a few of the fixtures that have been moved. Do the people that make these ridiculous decisions have any idea of how limited public transport is for early afternoon and night time/evening kicks offs and just how much these changes impact the match going fan?
A fixture that stands out for Liverpool fans in particular is the away game at the Emirates. As a Category A fixture, tickets for our fans will be priced at £65.50. Add to that the cost of transport, a potential overnight stay in the capital and not to mention the need to potentially take annual leave on the Monday and maybe the Tuesday, this fixture will more than likely be a non-starter for many.
With this in mind we, along with Spion Kop 1906, The Black Scarf Movement and Arsenal Supporters’ Trust will be contacting officials at both clubs to request that they enter in to a reciprocal arrangement where the tickets for the travelling fans for each club will be categorised as C rather than A. We would also ask that this is funded by the clubs and not taken from the £200,000 that has been set aside to support away fans.
This initiative would make a significant difference to those in attendance and would be welcomed by both sets of fans. We have seen in the past what a difference such a move can make.
http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/monday-night-football