Posted on 5th March 2010
This is a story from the FSF archive – the FSF and SD merged to become the FSA in 2019.
Newcastle fans have been contacting us in their droves after hearing that their game against Plymouth Argyle in April has been shifted to a Monday night kick-off for the purposes of Sky TV. Originally scheduled for Saturday 17th April, the two sides will now kick off at 7.45pm on Monday 19th April.
In a season where fixture rescheduling has been rife for the Toon Army, as one of the biggest draws in the Championship, we have to say we’re not surprised, although we are disappointed that TV chiefs have taken the decision to put this game back to a Monday night.
One of the longest away trips in any division this season (an 800+ miles round trip), it is most definitely ‘a long old poke’ as Paul Whitehouse has been describing it in his famous TV advert. Fans will now have to make that trip on a Monday, and for many that will mean missing work and other commitments, or missing the match.
As one fan commented to us "even an amended kick off time on the original date of Saturday 17th would have been tolerable, and allowed fans to travel over the weekend, but [moving it to Monday] shows a callous disregard for the lives and finances of fans. Quite simply, they couldn’t make it more difficult if they tried."
We couldn’t have put it any better ourselves, and while Sky and the Football League will say that this switch is within their rules, we’ve long been campaigning for more common sense when deciding which matches are moved, and when. The fans, as is so often the case, seem to be given scant consideration.
Join us today, and help us fight for a better deal for all fans.
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