Manchester United ‘objected’ to a proposed kick-off time in what is the latest in a long line of ‘really unpopular’ decisions for fans. And Jurgen Klopp.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have left Manchester United staff ‘disgruntled’ with some of their calls since taking full control of all football matters in February.
But the club’s latest decision is rooted more in player welfare than unnecessary cost-cutting as a noon kick-off time has been rejected in favour of an evening one.
Manchester United travel to Fulham on January 26, three days after they host Rangers in the Europa League, and it was decided with player recovery in mind that a 7pm kick-off time suited them more than broadcaster TNT Sports’ only other available slot of 12pm.
Had the Fulham game been at lunchtime, the turnaround between matches would have been just 62 hours; the minimum gap Premier League teams hope for is 72 hours, which even this arrangement falls slightly short of.
With Sky Sports claiming both the 2pm and 4.30pm slots on that day for games between Crystal Palace and Brentford and Aston Villa and West Ham respectively, Manchester United may feel their hands were tied by those pesky broadcast deals.
And Klopp might be interested to see that Manchester United were given the option not to face a lunchtime kick-off after a European game.
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Chelsea and Spurs were both given the same sort of decision this weekend. The former travel to Astana on Thursday and will host Brentford at 7pm on Sunday, while the latter visit Rangers so could fall back on the contingency of an evening kick-off three days later against Southampton.
That is a result of the need to balance the increased schedule of the expanded European competitions, with the Premier League advising clubs that the 7pm slot exists only as a contingency option and not something which will ever become ‘regular’.
It has nevertheless raised the question of the focus given to match-going fans. The issues for any supporters hoping to travel back from Craven Cottage on a Sunday evening – yes, yes, your joke about it being a short trip because Manchester United fans aren’t from Manchester is very funny – are obvious.
The club will provide subsidised travel options, and it should also be noted that while fans will not be able to travel back by train after the game on Sunday evening, a lunchtime kick-off would have precluded them from arriving in time.
A spokesman for the Football Supporters’ Association has laid into the broadcasters rather than the teams.
“The Sunday evening kick-off slot is really unpopular with match-goers as public transport options are limited and it’s no good for families with young kids,” they said.
“When the general slot was announced the Premier League told us it was a ‘contingency’ – but it seems to be getting used an awful lot for such a provision.
“A big part of the problem is allowing broadcasters to choose ‘conditional’ picks which are then moved when a team progresses in Europe.
“The Premier League puts broadcasters first by allowing them to select such games knowing full well conditional picks are very likely to be rescheduled again.”
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