Saints fans facing a long haul up to Stoke for tonight's game are not alone, every other travelling supporter for the round of midweek games faces just as long a trip.
Not one fixture offers away fans the chance to return home by train, and not one involves a round trip of less than 260 miles. Those traveling back by car will arrive home well after midnight.
That is included in the findings of research conducted by the Supporters Trusts of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur who have been looking into the effects of fixture rescheduling for the travelling supporter alongside the Football Supporters Federation.
Analysis of fixtures rearranged for the 2016/17 season to the end of January, (most for TV, some because of European fixtures) revealed that:
- In 21 of 99 games rescheduled, away supporters cannot get home by scheduled train;
- In only 31 cases do drivers have a return trip of under 200 miles;
- Away fans can get scheduled trains home for just three of the 10 Monday and Friday night games announced until the end of January;
- Scheduled train services home for away fans are available in just six out of the 30 planned midweek fixtures — with TV selections for the second two midweek slots yet to be announced.
Those findings relate just to this season’s fixtures. But the two Trusts carried out longer-term analysis of the effect of fixture rescheduling on their own club’s fixtures. Between the 2011/12 and 2015/16 seasons, 41.5% of Tottenham Hotspur’s games were rescheduled for TV, with a further 26% rearranged due to cup commitments. Just 32.5% of the club’s games were played as scheduled at the start of the season.
For Chelsea, over the seasons 2012/13 — 2015/16, just 31.6% of games kicked off on Saturday at 3pm, with only 20 of 76 away games (26.3%) starting at that time.
These issues and more were raised when Trusts from Spurs, Chelsea and Liverpool met senior Sky TV executives last month — a meeting organised after an initial request from the Football Supporters Federation, which was also present. Fan reps said the discussion was constructive, with their research and perspective helping Sky understand the full impact of fixture rescheduling.
Although the Football Supporters Federation and fans groups have taken a big step in getting not only Sky TV but the likes of the Premier League around the table this season on top of a successful campaign that saw Premier League clubs agree to a £30 price cap for away tickets, there is clearly a long way to go.
Latest fixtures rearranged for TV in February show that so far the TV companies take no account of the distance needed to be travelled and timing of the game when selecting a fixture.
Arsenal v Hull at 12.30pm Saturday — fans will be leaving Hull at 06:40;
Liverpool v Spurs at 5.30pm Saturday — the last train leaves at 19:48 so there are no train options back to London;
Bournemouth v Man City at 8pm Monday — the last train leaves at 18:45 so there are no train options back to Manchester;
Spurs v Stoke at midday Sunday — there’s only one train option that morning that arrives in Euston 58 minutes before kick off, allowing no time for delays and a rush up to White Hart Lane. Kick-off time also not confirmed yet meaning fans still can’t book travel;
Leicester v Liverpool 8pm Monday — the last train leaves at 21:16 so no train options back to Liverpool.
Whilst it does have to be acknowledged that football has changed in the past couple of decades and that live games and kick off changes are part and parcel of the game now, there is still a lot of scope for the TV companies to take an attitude that shows that fans are more than just an afterthought.
Without those fans who attend games the "product" the likes of Sky are trying to sell not only in the UK but around the World would be a lot less attractive, it is the full stadiums that make the Premier League look exciting, the TV companies know it is all about presentation.