Timing of away match

[League 2 Away Days]

I run the Twitter account League 2 Away Days and I am writing an article for the Football Supporters' Federation regarding the timings of some of the play-off matches. Your game on Sunday seems to be one of the most problematic, so I was wondering if any of you could give me some quotations for the article about how you have been inconvenienced by the timing, especially if it has proved to be prohibitive.

Thanks

 

[Jai]

Fortunately Stevenage is an hour and a half away so not too inconvenient, but had it been Plymouth, very few of our fans would have been able to go.

Sky seem to have total control over kick off times for these matches, which is much the same as with the Premier League.

 

[londonblue]

I live closer to Stevenage than I do to Southend so for me it's only about half an hour's drive.

That said I still think it is a ridiculous time for a match and means I can't get my usual Sunday evening take away with the wife!

 

[OldBlueLady]

Typical disregard for lower league supporters. As it goes, Sunday evening is a good time for us personally, but I know plenty of people for whom the opposite is true. As Jai said, if we'd have had Plymouth it would have been an entirely different story.

 

[rlb999]

I'd like to know how much financial reward the club gets from their SKY appearance. If it's substantial, I can accept that we all get messed around with a silly kick off time. If it's nominal, I'd sooner take a 3pm kick off on Saturday and not have it televised.

 

[Supernaut]

I'd normally be having my tea right in the middle of the first half. Not happy at all.

 

[Mick]

Typical disregard for lower league supporters. As it goes, Sunday evening is a good time for us personally, but I know plenty of people for whom the opposite is true. As Jai said, if we'd have had Plymouth it would have been an entirely different story.

At the risk of repeating myself, I really don't see what the issue is.

I am assuming we want it to be televised live to benefit the vast majority of lower league supporters who don't travel to away games - if we don't, there is obviously no reason why it couldn't be 3:00 pm on Saturday or Sunday.

As the least attractive matches for TV viewers, the League Two playoffs are going to get the least attractive slots.

Friday night and early Saturday lunchtime are Championship playoffs on Sky. Early evening is the Premiership match (no matches can be televised live on Saturday afternoon).

Sunday is League One playoff followed by the two Premiership matches.

That leaves late Saturday night and not quite so late Sunday night and in that respect we have drawn the long straw.

Their "total disregard" for lower league supporters is allowing 100% of our support base the opportunity to watch the match live instead of, say, 20%.

 

[Pubey]

At the risk of repeating myself, I really don't see what the issue is.

I am assuming we want it to be televised live to benefit the vast majority of lower league supporters who don't travel to away games - if we don't, there is obviously no reason why it couldn't be 3:00 pm on Saturday or Sunday.

As the least attractive matches for TV viewers, the League Two playoffs are going to get the least attractive slots.

Friday night and early Saturday lunchtime are Championship playoffs on Sky. Early evening is the Premiership match (no matches can be televised live on Saturday afternoon).

Sunday is League One playoff followed by the two Premiership matches.

That leaves late Saturday night and not quite so late Sunday night and in that respect we have drawn the long straw.

Their "total disregard" for lower league supporters is allowing 100% of our support base the opportunity to watch the match live instead of, say, 20%.

It's not popular because if it was Plymouth, it'd be impossible to use public transport to get home from a weekend game, and many people (including me) don't think that's particularly fair and acceptable for travelling football fans.

As it happens, it's Stevenage and therefore it's a bit better. Southend-based fans can get there and back. But I can't (from Sheffield).

It should have been one of the 12, 2, 4pm Sunday slots. or 1, 3, 5 on a Sat.

 

[rigsby]

I'd like to know how much financial reward the club gets from their SKY appearance. If it's substantial, I can accept that we all get messed around with a silly kick off time. If it's nominal, I'd sooner take a 3pm kick off on Saturday and not have it televised.

I'm told the sky money is not a lot. BBC and ITV pay much more for a cup game. Another set back for us is that the away team take 45% of the gate money. I know that works both ways but it means we will obviously give more to Stevenage than they give to us.

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

it's so infuriating I'm not going to be able to watch Songs of praise at my normal time. Damn these blasted playoffs I wish were were not in with a chance of going up as I spoils my normal Sunday afternoon.

 

[Bolton Shrimper]

I run the Twitter account League 2 Away Days and I am writing an article for the Football Supporters' Federation regarding the timings of some of the play-off matches. Your game on Sunday seems to be one of the most problematic, so I was wondering if any of you could give me some quotations for the article about how you have been inconvenienced by the timing, especially if it has proved to be prohibitive.

Thanks

Public transport ie British Rail can get me from either of my local stations to Stevenage in plenty of time for the game but can't get me back until after "7.30am" the following morning. Comprehensively prohibitive methinks. !!!

 

[Angell Delight]

Typical disregard for lower league supporters. As it goes, Sunday evening is a good time for us personally, but I know plenty of people for whom the opposite is true. As Jai said, if we'd have had Plymouth it would have been an entirely different story.

Sums it up in a nutshell.

 

[RHB]

it's so infuriating I'm not going to be able to watch Songs of praise at my normal time. Damn these blasted playoffs I wish were were not in with a chance of going up as I spoils my normal Sunday afternoon.

You could always record it Westy, or catch up on BBC i player. No excuse for missing you favourite programs these days mate.

 

[Up the Shrimpers]

I'm told the sky money is not a lot. BBC and ITV pay much more for a cup game. Another set back for us is that the away team take 45% of the gate money. I know that works both ways but it means we will obviously give more to Stevenage than they give to us.

For play off semi finals 50% of the gate money goes to the Football League. The other 50% goes into a pot and is shared equally between all four teams. So all we get is 25% of the gate money from the 4 matches. Plymouth will loose out the most as they will get the highest home crowd out of the 4 games.

 

[spoons]

At the risk of repeating myself, I really don't see what the issue is.

I am assuming we want it to be televised live to benefit the vast majority of lower league supporters who don't travel to away games - if we don't, there is obviously no reason why it couldn't be 3:00 pm on Saturday or Sunday.

As the least attractive matches for TV viewers, the League Two playoffs are going to get the least attractive slots.

Friday night and early Saturday lunchtime are Championship playoffs on Sky. Early evening is the Premiership match (no matches can be televised live on Saturday afternoon).

Sunday is League One playoff followed by the two Premiership matches.

That leaves late Saturday night and not quite so late Sunday night and in that respect we have drawn the long straw.

Their "total disregard" for lower league supporters is allowing 100% of our support base the opportunity to watch the match live instead of, say, 20%.

Do you know how much you have to pay for Sky football?
I can't watch it as no Sky so your 100% is not accurate.
All tosh

 

[Bratislava Blue]

My reason for not being happy that the game is on Sunday at this time is that the kick off is at exactly the time that my train from the north of the Czech Republic leaves to take me back to Prague. First leg play off weekend coincides with my girlfriends fathers 60th birthday party weekend.... :thumbdown:

I will have to rely on a sketchy wifi connection on the train to get Blues Player. Now if Wycombe hadn't scored that last minute winner I'd have been able to stream the match on Saturday and watch it or listen to it on Blues Player...

So I'm not happy at all.. Especially as there is no assurance that we will be the televised 2nd leg either....:angry:

 

[Mick]

Do you know how much you have to pay for Sky football?
I can't watch it as no Sky so your 100% is not accurate.
All tosh

If I weren't going and wanted to watch it on TV and didn't have Sky, I'd find a friendly pub somewhere!

I said "allowing the opportunity" not "providing free of charge".

I said quite clearly that if you don't want it televised live, then 3pm Saturday/Sunday would be the right time.; if you do want it televised live, then it's a trade off. Hardly tosh.

 

[Stevenage Guest]

We (Stevenage) have a far worse time for the return leg. Would have really preferred the Sunday timing.

 

[Up the Shrimpers]

If you get to the play-offs its pretty certain that there will be strange kick-off days/times in all divisions. Its been like that for years. Some people can make it, some cant, that's always going to be the case with games arranged at fairly short notice.

The Sunday 6.35pm kick-off is not stopping us selling out of away tickets. By the sounds of it we could easily have taken 2,000 had they room for us. Infact even if it had been Plymouth away on the Sunday I think we would have taken 1,000+ easily.

 

[Uncle Leo]

Typical disregard for lower league supporters.

Lower league supporters aren't the only ones who get shafted like this. Hull on a Monday night wasn't exactly ideal for Arsenal fans this week.