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Recently there's been some debate re the drop in attendances at Premiership matches this season. Most everyone involved blames the formations many teams are playing and of course the prices at many grounds but has anyone ever thought it might be down to the times games kick off these days. Man City play Everton this weekend - Sunday 11.15am kick off!!! Its bad enough City's next Saturday home match 3pm KO isn't til November but 11.15am???? On a fucking Sunday morning??? Its ridiculous. Why don't Sky leave the kick off times to the FA (i.e. Saturday 3pm and maybe a match on Sunday afternoon) They can still show a live match anyway regardless. I just think this would suit everyone.

jimmy068 wrote:

Why don't Sky
> leave the kick off times to the FA (i.e. Saturday 3pm and maybe
> a match on Sunday afternoon) They can still show a live match
> anyway regardless. I just think this would suit everyone.

Sky pay over a billion quid to show football, so they'll want to get every single bit of exposure for that price. Any club disagreeing with that should just give back their share of the millions, then kick off whenever they like!

Yeah I understand that but there should be some sort of point where the league can have a say on kick off times. Its the cheapest tv anyway. What do they do? Stick a few cameras around the grounds? Don't you just hate 'em!

I was watching that match of the day dvd (60s - 80s one) and just remembered how exciting it used to be to go to the match on a saturday.Even until recent years really. At least the first derby this season was actually played on a saturday at 3 (first time in ages)

No wonder attendances are falling. This Sunday Sky are showing
these three live matches:

Man City v Everton, 11:15
Arsenal v Birmingham, 13:30
Liverpool v Chelsea, 16:00

Why would I want to spend ?20 or ?30 pounds just for myself to
go to one live match (more if I take my son).

When for my ?40.00 a month I can see all 3 of these matches, plus
the ones on every other Saturday, Sunday and Monday this month.

Plus my son watches the rugby, wrestling, cricket, US football and
other sports.

Plus for that ?40.00 I also get about 12 movie channels, plus about
200 other channel I never watch.

I don't think it has jack shit to do with tv coverage. The reason for falling attendances is that a lot of fans are waking up to the fact they're getting ripped off, too many mediocre players earning more in a week than most fans in a year, fans have to pay a fortune for tickets to supply these mediocre players with flash cars and coke money. Then add the fact that there are too many foreign players, clubs are losing there identities and fans are sick of it not seeing any passionate local players getting through. To top it all off, teams are so bloody negative, the whole point of football is to score goals, goals win games not clean sheets, but too many teams have the 'must'nt lose' attitude instead of the 'win at all costs' attitude. Arsene Wenger (even though I dislike the man) has the right idea when he says award more points for goals, he reckons teams should get an extra point for a 3 goal winning margin and that's a great idea but i'd go further than that, my plan to improve things would be

1- limit on foreign players, maximum of 3 per squad.

2- salary cap, or better still a performance related structure.

3- scrap the off-side rule.

4- bring in a sin bin, players sent off for 5 minutes each time they commit a foul.

5- points bonus as Wenger suggest, extra point for a 3 goal winning margin.

6- teams losing 2 consecutive games have to refund the fans, if you went for a meal and were served food that was off you'd not expect to pay.

That would guarantee the excitement back into football and win over the fans. Oh and while we're at it that Swede needs to go, we should never have appointed a foreign coach as national manager, it should not be allowed, give the job to Peter Taylor (he won't be afraid to drop muppets like Gerrard and Ash Cole and give youth a chance).

I've made my feelings known previously about the way some teams play and the lack of entertainment in that style but maybe the saturation coverage of the game hasn't helped either.

On average there's 4 live games every weekend and that's too many. I don't blame Sky but maybe somebody got it wrong at the FA when they put that amount of games out to tender but then they did so at the request of the clubs who were scared that the TV money would drop.

So who's fault is it? Catch 22.

I totally agree with you. Its just my bone of contention is the days and times matches are played nowadays. I mean 11.15am on Sunday is bloody ridiculous. The police and FA used to do this in the old days as a sort of warning to a club if they let the hooligans get well out of line - ie play the match before the pubs open. Not that it ever completely worked even for that.

I just think some sort of thought for fans who actually still bother to go and support their clubs wouldn't go amiss. And that includes the clubs themselves. Maybe football's on the wane?

Unfortunately Football is a business so giving fans some thought only comes into the equation when the business is losing money.

I was a huge football fan in the true sense of the word and watched my team home and away + went to England games but just stopped I'd had enough.

Paying silly prices, being branded a troublemaker by the Police at away games just for being an away fan etc.

Nothing to do with tactics or being boring I started watching the games more on TV and it was a better atmosphere, cheaper and more comfortable.

I don't think I'd go to a live game now even if I was paid.

However the answer to the problem of falling attendances as you put will only change if the fans stop going and the clubs stop getting their money - crap for smaller clubs but it's the only way 'they' will take notice.

Andy

He who pays the piper calls the tune.

Everyone was on about how great the Sky coverage was when they first won the football. The money's great---fantastic.

But playing big matches with kick-off times before noon is taking the piss. Having prostituted themselves, however, the clubs have no way of arguing, and the fans either have to show up whenever the broadcaster dictates, or forgo their loyal support and do stuff normal folk do on Sunday mornings.

There are only three problems in what you've put Andy.

On point three. The offside rule was introduced years ago believe it or not to stop teams being boring.

A striker would stand outside the opponents box and just wait for the defence or goalkeeper to launch it to them. No skill, no passing, just the long ball game which was boring as hell.

In point 4 if this happened you be stopping the game every five minutes to take players off or bring them back on and the classic Derby matches would be ruined.

On point 5

How would would of the smaller teams and by that I mean the weaker teams survive if they had to give money back - they wouldn't.

Imagine a club starting off with Chelsea then Man Utd.

If teams were about to lose a packet if they lost the next game it would just make them even more negative.

I totally agree with the limit on Foreign players for the reasons you gave and in a way with your comments about Peter Taylor.