Watching the Sky Sports coverage of the Arsenal v Leeds United game, the subject of kick-off times soon fell into the discussion.
The fact that the traditional 1500 hours Saturday afternoon kick-off had, all but, disappeared for some clubs, irked both of us.
Just take a look at the Hatters kick-off times in their first FIVE games of their League One campaign:
AFC Wimbledon (h) – Friday 2000
Peterborough United (a) – Saturday 1230
Bradford City (a) – Saturday 1500
Wigan Athletic (h) – Tuesday 1945
Cardiff City (h) – Saturday 1230
Just one of our five games, so far this season, or a mere 20%, have kicked off at the aforementioned traditional 1500 hours Saturday kick-off.
My friend, a Chelsea supporter, acknowledged that his season was only two games but emphasised that his club suffers from the same problem.
The two games Chelsea have played kicked off as follows:
Crystal Palace (h) – Sunday 1400
West Ham United (a) – Friday 2000
With their next three games, scheduled as thus:
Fulham (a) – Saturday 1230
Brentford (a) – Saturday 2000
Manchester United (a) – Saturday 1730
Meaning that his clubs first five games see none of the games kick-off at the traditional 1500 hours.
Now I readily accept that the above is the result of Sky Sports, and to a lesser extent, TNT Sport and readily accept that the game relies on the massive cash injection they put into the game making it the product it is now, but the raft of various kick-off times doesn’t sit comfortably with me.
Indeed, those who watch Sky Sports must be aware of the ongoing campaign whereby they are advertising the fact the number of Premier League games they are covering, this season, has increased dramatically, but it seems to have slipped under the radar that far more EFL League 1 and League 2 games are also being broadcast live, courtesy of the ‘magic’ red button.
But is this the way forward or is it something we just have to accept?
When health issues prevent me from attending away games, or being unable to get a ticket, I always tune into Soccer Saturday, to grab up to date information on how all the games being played are going.
However, in doing so, I’ve noticed that with the raft of games that have been scheduled to kick off not at the traditional 1500 hours Saturday kick-off, the content has become somewhat diluted, especially when it comes to the Premier League.
Scampering home, after the loss to Cardiff City and tuning into Soccer Saturday, it was noticeable that only THREE Premier League games were scheduled to kick-off at 1500 hours meaning only three of the four co-presenters were watching top tier games with the fourth having to be content with watching a game from the EFL Championship.
Unfortunately, the THREE Premier League games being assessed, and it has to be said, featured the lesser lights of the Premier League, with the ‘big’ clubs scheduled to be covered live, either before or after the 1500 hours Saturday fixtures.
Although many will see it as progress I cannot help but hanker for the days when the traditional kick-off was 1500 hours on a Saturday and that was sacred.
I guess getting old reveals all those traits with one of them being you are stuck in your ways, but does anybody else, out there, wish things could go back to how they were or am I just a grumpy old man?
Please feel free to have your say in the comment facility beneath this article.
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