Irresponsible Sky Shaft Travelling Gooners Again
Feb 28th, 2017 by 'holic
As if we needed reminding that the television companies give not a damn for travelling supporters, the latest batch of fixture changes will have come as affirmation of that fact.
Arsenal v Manchester City being switched to a Sunday at 4pm is understandable, I suppose. It is one of the bigger fixtures of the season. At least City fans will be able to get back to Manchester by train after the match. A knock on from this is Arsenal putting their home fixture with West Ham United back 24 hours from the following Tuesday to Wednesday.
The trip to Crystal Palace is now the first of consecutive Monday night fixtures for the Gunners on April 10th. Hopefully most will be able to make South London and back on the night, although I do know some who won’t. Sky stored up a real beauty for the following week.
On Easter Monday we now travel to Middlesbrough, yes Middlesbrough, for an 8pm kick-off. That makes train travel much more expensive and will involve a stopover for those who won’t make the tortuous journey by road. Why on earth could they not bring the kick-off forward to give the travelling faithful an opportunity to get home by rail? Thoughtless in the extreme by Sky there.
They couldn’t have done anything to compare with that, could they? How about move the last north London derby at the current incarnation of the swamp back to 4.30 on a Bank Holiday Sunday. I cannot believe the police didn’t veto that. Sky know full well what the atmosphere will be like once the two tribes have been on the lash for four hours before the renewal of acquaintances. I suspect they will have as many cameras outside the ground as in. Irresponsible doesn’t begin to cover it.
And yet we know the counter arguments. Television is paying absurd sums of money for the privilege to show matches and they will manipulate the fixtures for their benefit. That wouldn’t hurt quite so much if supporters were getting something in return. Instead the clubs trouser the cash and use it to further fuel transfer and salary inflation. The supporters are well and truly screwed with nobody to protect their interests.
What a week. It has brought out the Meldrew in me. I’ll try and cheer up in time for the Liverpool preview, and thanks for letting me rant on.
57 Responses to “Irresponsible Sky Shaft Travelling Gooners Again”
1st!
Sky and BT Sports are See You Next Tuesday of the highest order.
Not once do they think about fans.
Cheers H! And Hazza!
Fucking good post mate. Bang on about the TV companies. And the clubs themselves.
As soon as football jumped into bed with the TV companies the fans became very much second best. Sadly, penultimate paragraph sums it all up very nicely. When clubs are making hundreds of millions and the game is watched by similar amounts all over the globe are Sky, BT Sport or whoever bothered in the slightest about 3000 travelling fans? Not in the slightest.
The greed of the clubs is one thing that is rapidly turning me away from football. The figures are just now ridiculous. Earlier on in the season I read an article that said if every single season ticket holder in the Premier League had been given their ticket for that season, the clubs would still make considerably more money than the year before.
The ridiculous sums of money is the reason that many foreign investors want in it is a cash cow. A money making exercise. The average fan who turns up, come rain or shine is very much an after thought. The constant TV schedules just provide more evidence to support that.
Great post Steve, feeling very much the same meself these days.
But I’m still going to the Lincoln game, even though I aint got a ticket to the game. Still loads of people I need to see and have beer with at least occasionally.
Hope I’ll always feel that way. I always though i would. Not so sure about that now.
Hey ‘holic. Thanks for cheering us up. 🙂
By the way, you are right and the ? execs are wrong.
Cheers Esso. I feel very much the same as you. Unfortunately, I fear we are very much a dying breed. It genuinely saddens me the way it’s going.
See you at Lincoln.
?
If we hadn’t been so shit at that European football thing, we’d be prepping for a CL tie that week, so…. 😉
Has all the new money improved the product? Of course not. It’s made it even less of a competition with fewer elite clubs owning more of the best players. It’s turned players into puppets of mercenary agents owing allegiance to no club. And players who once had to work hard for 10-15 years to ensure their futures can now relax with a single 5-year contract – which, once signed, guarantees more of life’s comforts than workers in other fields could dream of in a 50-year working life.
Great post Holic aka Victor. I’m known as Victor by my family because I am a moaning old git but nothing you’ve said in this article is unreasonable in the slightest
TV sees fans as background noise not an integral part of the football occasion. They are quick to point out people leaving early as a sign of disaffection but at the Middlesbrough game Gooners will have to leave before the start of the game to get home. No reasonable person could expect anyone to stay in Middlesbrough overnight. It is a place that as Ian Botham said ‘ you send your mother-in- law on a one way ticket. ‘
In other news I turned down the opportunity to go to the AST meeting last night. Two friends separately who did go report a strong consensus fuelled by some insider knowledge that Wenger will be staying for two more years. How the thought police in the Boardroom will break this if we fail to reach the Champions League, win the Cup or lose Ozil, Sanchez and Bellerin will be interesting.
My ticket for the Bayern match remains unsold on Ticket Exchange. I’ve told the club I don’t want to pay £90 to see it and it would seem nobody else does either!
My Sister and her son and my brother, are all season ticket holders at the Arse,and have been for many many years.
I’ve never heard them ever contemplate the thought of not renewing.
Following the Club has been in their blood for so long,that they cannot ever envisage life without it.
However many times Sky and their ilk fuck about with the schedule without a care for the supporters,they adjust and find a way round it.
They still manage to attend regardless.
They meet up with a lot of longtime friends at the Ground,and it is like a separate life away from the humdrum working week,an escape where you can forget about your troubles,and for a few hours immerse yourself in a tribal passion.
Even Esso,who hasn’t got a season ticket,and many like him,working class people with the Club in their blood,still go to the ground to catch up with mates,and follow the game in the Pub,just to be a part of the atmosphere.
My Brother has mates without tickets,who he meets in the pub before the game,and then catches up with them again afterwards to dissect the game,and hear about the scores from other games,and just enjoy each others company.
I liken it to an addiction that you cannot give up.
Like being addicted to smokes or alcohol,no matter how much the cost goes up,you still find the money somewhere to pay for it.
I fear it won’t be long before the TV companies deem fans to be completely redundant. They will be green screened into the broadcasts to make it look as if the stadiums are full for every game. Indeed, even stadiums will become redundant. All games will be played in a giant warehouse just outside Milton Keynes on a 24×7 rotation (it is always prime time somewhere in the world) and computer generated graphics will do the rest.
Chris. Of course it’s improved the product. The difference is the product and how we see it. With the massive increase in the whole football business the product has become the business, not just what you see on the pitch . Based on that then it’s one big success.
The fact is that if we got paid a sufficient enough sum for a game to kick off at 10pm on a Thursday night, then we will kick off at 10pm on a Thursday night. No one will care if the ground is half full if the game generates million and millions in TV revenue.
Swindon, being kind of desperate, have launched season tickets for next season. If I were 5 years older it would be tempting. Never will I not be an Arsenal man first and foremost, but season tickets at less than £400?
I know there is a reason why they cost that, in comparison. But, I can walk there, not pay GWR prices. I can get Guinness for £3.71 a pint.
But, I don’t get to meet you fuckers every other week. I don’t get to experience the club that is buried deep in my heart. No matter who is the manager, Arsenal will always be the one.
That’s fine, Steve T, if you view the product as a business. I much preferred it when it was a sport first and foremost. When my club’s players weren’t mercenaries plying their trade to the highest bidder and thinking nothing of switching their allegiance at the drop of another million quid.
I know players have changed clubs in the past, but nothing on the scale we see now. I used to watch my local side Leatherhead (Delphian League at the time) most weeks, and they fielded pretty much the same team week after week (give or take retirements and the occasional mercenary) for years on end. That was a proper football club, as were most EFL clubs for most of my life. And that was nice. Now, if your team doesn’t win stuff, no one cares if a different eleven players represent them next season. So long as ‘we’ win.
‘Hoiic@13: Priceless.
Some stats on player club loyalty:
http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2016/178/en/
Chris@14: you should support Roma. Totti has been in its first-team squad for 24 years.
Chris. It is a business, although I very much prefer your old version. I hate the fact that it’s all money money money.
Holic. So how many can you put up in Swindon then????? I’m sure Nrs H won’t mind one bit.
?
Ned, I see Darmstadt’s most loyal player is Mr. Sulu. Would have thought he was still with Star Trek but I must have missed the transfer news. 😉
‘hol
local football
yup fantastic iffin yer norf laandan
but i’ll be fucked if i’ll entertain
my local side
“SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL TEAM”
fuck away off !
fans brilliant
build up beers brilliant
YEEE HAAAAAAHHHH !
none the fuck o that
will turn The Dooleys into The Doors
granted we’ve lurched towards the Dooley on occasion
but at least we’re early Dooleys
the pre- sell out Dooleys
The Real Dooleys !
.
it’s all about the b-sides , chillun
all about the b-sides
Holic I am with you with the rant. I have had my application in for months for tickets with the Norfolk Arsenal Supporters Club for the two fixtures moved to Monday night. I can’t get home from Palace by train the same night let alone consider now a trip to Middlesborough .
Now both my regular travelling companions have opted out of Tuesday night’s game and there are rail replacement bus’s on the two late trains from Ely to King’s Lynn. A happy bunny I am not ! However, I will be there and if some miracle does occur Gooners Kev and Malcolm will never hear the end of it.
COYRs
voting tomorrow
am hoping dinosaurs
reap the rewards
of
getting caught with their unmentionables
in the furnace
the oul boiler s
So… after a hard week of shopping, when he was supposedly unfit to play at Sutton because of back spasms (but not so bad that he couldn’t sit on a jet or swan about town with some bird or other) Mesut Ozil may not be fit for the weekend.
He is supposedly ill.
It’s a tough life not having to play football on those wages. I mean what’s a man to do?
Delia, I’ll be going as well. These are the matches we want to see when we’re qualifying for the Champions League. Kev and Malcolm will regret missing our 7-2 win! 🙂
Whiffs of the old tactical illness for an “undroppable” player who’s getting dropped.
To me.
We shall see.
Well that’s torn it. Enrique is packing up at Barcelona in the summer.
I’m doing the opposite next week and putting my £90 ticket up for sale because I don’t want to pay £90 to see a match that is totally meaningless and because I’m driving up north at the crack of dawn the next morning.
The only issue is I don’t believe anyone will buy the ticket at that price and I will be forced to pay £90 for a match I don’t want to go to. I’ve never managed to sell a ticket on the official Exchange. I’m not sure it really exists.
Is anyone else wondering if Arsene might be off to Barcelona in the summer? It seems odd that Barcelona have already announced the departure of Luis Enriques. I hope I am wrong but was wondering if Jonkers and Ljungberg left because they actually know the writing is on the wall. Whoever comes in will obviously bring his own backroom team. I just don’t think we are ready for the big changes that will follow especially with the clear lack of realistically available talent out there. I really do feel we need Arsene here for another two years especially with numerous players contracts due to expire in a year’s time. I can’t see the club being ready to enlist a new quality manager and sort out new contracts or replacements for Ozil, Sanchez, Willsher, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gibbs and Szsezschny(total guesswork), and maybe others who become unsettled. Apologies for being a prophet of doom!
Great rant H. I concur. Meldrews of the world unite!
Is anyone else wondering if Arsene might be off to Barcelona in the summer?
I would be staggered if they gave the job to him, to be frank.
This is a team that expects to win the league every year as a minimum requirement and also expects to win the Champions League. I just can’t see them hiring a man who has never won Big Ears and cannot even get a team out of the first knockout phase, and who hasn’t won a domestic league title for more than a decade.
If they were hiring ten years ago, it would be a different story.
@ Devon stu.. another two years for what? I use to worry about Ozil leaving but I really don’t give a rats ass if he leaves. We need to clean house. A lot of complacency has crept in over the years. Change is not a bad thing, especially if it is handled in the right way. My only fear is the clowns in the management positions.Personally am hoping and looking forward to it.
SAG
Do you support Dallas Cowboys?
Bild newspaper has extracts from Ozil’s upcoming autobiography. Mesut recounts an exchange with Mourinho ;
“You think two beautiful passes are enough? You think you’re so good that fifty percent is enough?!” Ozil writes, remembering Mourinho’s half-time fury.
” He pauses. Stares at me with his dark brown eyes. I stare back. Like two boxers at the stare-down before the first round.
“He shows no emotion. Just waits for a response from me. How much I hate him right now. And I love Mourinho actually.
Ozil goes onto admit he threw his Real Madrid shirt at the Portuguese before imploring him to play instead.
“Oh, are you giving up now? You’re such a coward. What do you want? To creep under the beautiful, warm shower? Shampoo your hair? To be alone?,” said Mourinho, according to Ozil.
“Or do you want to prove to your fellow players, the fans out there, and me, what you can do?”.
For those who have not read today’s arseblog then it’s well worth a read. How many years have I been saying this now????
http://arseblog.com/2017/03/barcelona-texas-via-london/
@ 35 – I saw that Ozil stuff earlier and thought it was a spot on assessment of what he’s like even now.
I can definitely see Barcelona wanting Arsene for a couple of years and with a younger understudy ready to move in when he finishes. His reputation and profile are higher abroad away from the ridiculous media circus in this country. SAG, I agree with you about Ozil. He can be a great passer of the ball but, in my opinion, remains something of a luxury. I have yet to see him pick the team up when things are going against us. Sanchez worries me too. Great player but full of negative vibes when things don’t go his way. I think he may be bad for team morale. I wouldn’t want him staying if he continues sulking at every reverse. I would rather cash in on both and use the money to rebuild. Tall order for any manager, especially one new to the club.
Steve T ‘s reproduction of Arseblog today @36 is worth reading because it’s profoundly true and not worth reading if you still want to believe that the ownership of this club is healthy.
It says everything really. Kroenke is a complete disaster for those of us who want to see us win the Campions League before we die. He will do everything in his power to keep We ger because Wenger’s attitude and level of achievement suits him just fine. He’s not unduly worried that Wenger’s indecision is causing everything within the club to grind to a halt according to today’s Times because after he’s reassured him that he loves him and given him another million he can carry on what he sees as stability and most fans see as decline and decay.
Still no takers for my ticket next week so I’ve got to pay Kroenke £90 for a game I don’t want to see
Clubs like Barcelona don’t need to stand still for two years while they bed someone in, they’d be far more likely to get Allegri, knowing that managers thesedays tend to stay at a club for two or three years and move on.
They’d have nothing to gain employing Wenger. They want winners, not reputations.
If it happens it would be the most surprising thing since Leicester won the league IMO.
Ozil. Riddle wrapped up in an enigma. Love the guy but odd that he’s miserable whether it’s Mou berating him or AW molly coddling him. Still don’t think it’s his fault our defence and central midfield are shite. Probably just needs top players around him who can actually read his game. Hopefully hearing Goetze’s misfortune will give him a wake up call too. Wenger to Barca, yea, right.. COYG.
Sampaoli at Seville and Valverde at Athletic Bilbao are the bookies’ favourites be the next Barca manager by a country mile so I doubt we have to fear/hope (choose your poison) that AW will be going there this summer.
The bookies also have Allegri as the favourite to take over at the Emirates at 3s.
@Solid Gooner
No I don’t support the cowboys. I don’t even support San Antonio Spurs. I guess the name gives me the creeps.. although they have been a championship team over the years.
If Allegri comes, I assume we’ll switch to his preferred 3-5-2 from AW’s 4-2-3-1. Start fitting what we have into that and it wouldn’t take too many additions to send out a team that could be a serious title contender.
Szczesny (having a fantastic season on loan at Roma)/Cech/Ospina (neither long-term but both good for a season or two)
Mustafi
Koscielny
Holding/Gabriel/Chambers (with one of them auditioning to be Kos’s long-term replacement in the middle)
Bellerin (made to be a wing-back)
Ramsey (the Wales midfield maestro not the Arsenal midfield misfit, as he would be playing in his optimal position)
Xhaka (again, identikit fit for the middle of the five in a 3-5-2)
Santi (if he can stay fit in the fetlock)/Ozil (if he can stay engaged)/Iwobi (if he can kick on) or, most likely, a long-term replacement bought in
A left-sided version of Hector (which neither Gibbs nor Monreal are, so we’d have to buy)
Giroud (again, 3-5-2 would suit him so much better than any formation where he is the lone striker)
Sanchez (Welbeck/Perez as back-ups)
On the bench: Martinez, Elneny, Jenkinson, Iwobi (possibly), Akpom, the Jeff (possibly)
Out the door with Gibbs and Nacho: Jack, the Ox, the Coq, Debuchy, Theo, Sanogo, Campbell
Honourable retirement: Mertesacker
Up from the kids: Mavididi, Bielik, Maitland-Niles (possibly, covering the Ramsey slot).
Have at it ‘holics.
To add to the kids who might do well in a 3-5-2: Chiori Johnson (Hector back up right wing back), Gedion Zelalem (in the 5), Julio Pleguezuelo (middle of defence), Chris Willock, Jon Toral (both for the front two) and Cohen Bramell (left-sided wing back). All works in progress in varying degrees.
Liberating feeling, this, the expectation of no longer being married to multimillionaire prima donnas.
NBN@45
New tactics, a nice thought 🙂
I mostly agree with your summary but where’s
the fun in that so……
Cech (still good for another season, then review
and buy if needed)
Mustafi/Kos/plus one of Rob/CC (buy if
neither make it)
Hector on the right
Give Kieran first shot on the left, (wing back
may suit him)
Xhaka (when not suspended)
Ox/Iwobi (for me jury is still out
on whether they can play in CM)
Ozil (I’m a believer)
Sanchez up front, give Welbz first
shot alongside him and if that
doesn’t work then pop along to
the world class CF supermarket.
Bench
Emi, RH or CC, Nacho (got another
season I think), Elneny, Rambo,
Giroud, Perez.
Out on loan in PL or equivalent EU
league
Ash M-N, Akpom, The Jeff (we need
them to get top level experience)
Sell
Szcz (I’m not a believer)
Osp (think he will go anyway and
we need to see a bit more of Emi
to make a decision)
Debuchy, Jenks, Sanogo, Theo (to
me he’s done ok over the years
but just not reliable enough)
Jack, Campbell, Le Coq, Gab
(I’ve seen enough, they’re all ok but
not the level we need).
Whatever They Want
Santi, what a footballer he is. If he
wants to give it a go, then great.
Back to his best then he walks
into the team but we can’t rely on
him next season. If he wants to go,
then our warm thanks and best
wishes.
Mert, personally I’d keep him
around as an experienced back-up.
It’s not as if he has a yard of pace
to lose.
Buy
I’d like a tough CM with better
distribution than Le Coq
Thanks NBN for making me
think 🙂
Enjoyed that poem. Lots of enjambment Osaka Matt!
*half ton moooooooooooooooooooooo*
voting
oh the surprise
and
48 o Matt
.
i like the shape of yer jib
?
been a strange day
sometimes ye fuckin just
don’t
get through
to people
.
Lefty Frizzell
always the inciteful pundit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOBgylmdz-Q
there been an outbreak
of the shut the fuck up
lurky lurgy
fuckin shower
don’t make me read out all your addresses
sss
‘ss
Evening cba. You get through to me every day! 🙂 >>>>>>>>>>>>