Sky and the slow death of Midweek football

[Harry's Game]

Seeing the inevitable downside of Sky televising every midweek game last night, the official attendance given of 25k was way out I reckon there was no more than 20-22k there last night, large rows of what I know are season ticket seats on the Kop empty last night, hardly surprising that when there are two home evening games in one week and it’s freezing cold that a lot of people thought.. “you know I’ll give this one the swerve and watch it in a warm living room”

I am not one to criticise atmosphere in these days of all seater stadia but last night has to be the flattest since the Adkins days, like a league cup 1st round game.

You have to praise Oxford for bringing so many to such a fixture, but it is their first season back at this level for many years so it’s a bit of a novelty trip in a way.. if they stay up and we are still in this division next season and it’s midweek once again I reckon they might not bring 100 when they too can sit at home and watch it.

 

[Crafty Blade]

It's not just about numbers, an early goal and no jeopardy wont have helped the atmosphere

 

[elgoog44]

I agree and Disagree in equal measure, if i was still living in Sheffield and not down south i would have gone, but i am glad to have the option to watch on the box midweek and Weekends, as i can only get up to Sheffield now and again as it is not something my wages allow with the cost of living so paying the now TV @ £22 pounds a month to be able to watch the blades is a life saver and means i can still feel like i get my fill of the blades.

But nothing beats being there live and having a couple of jars on route and making a night of it, its the one thing i miss most from Sheffield, but life is life and takes you where it takes you.

 

[Geordie Blade]

It's not just about numbers, an early goal and no jeopardy wont have helped the atmosphere

I reckon it would have been even worse if we hadn’t got an early goal.

 

[Harry's Game]

I agree and Disagree in equal measure, if i was still living in Sheffield and not down south i would have gone, but i am glad to have the option to watch on the box midweek and Weekends, as i can only get up to Sheffield now and again as it is not something my wages allow with the cost of living so paying the now TV @ £22 pounds a month to be able to watch the blades is a life saver and means i can still feel like i get my fill of the blades.

But nothing beats being there live and having a couple of jars on route and making a night of it, its the one thing i miss most from Sheffield, but life is life and takes you where it takes you.

Yes there are upsides to the TV coverage expansion.. but last night showed the downside .. maybe they need to look at what fixtures are scheduled for evenings .. I reckon it will be jumping on Friday night when it’s a big game.

 

[Keen Blade]

Re the size of crowd , clubs have taken the money so can't really complain.
Re the atmosphere , that can be generated by lower numbers - depends on the game and last night was an unusual situation for us , being so superior , under no threat and then deciding to conserve energy in view of Friday.

 

[Berkshire Blade]

25k for a midweek game is hardly football on its knees let's get some perspective pre Warnock that's a big crowd!

 

[Harry's Game]

25k for a midweek game is hardly football on its knees let's get some perspective pre Warnock that's a big crowd!

A lot of the 25k weren’t there though..

 

[Bladesman101]

The atmosphere last night was akin to a friendly game, you can actually hear shouts from the players it’s that quiet, and remember this game sent us top for the first time this season.

I think they’re a lot of factors to consider, I think the numbers are decent, but you can’t honestly expect United fans to be making a racket at the prospect of getting promoted. If you added up our points total from our last 2 prem seasons we’d still get relegated. Hamer will be in the exact same contract situation Ndiaye and Berge was in when we got promoted and you have got to be out of your mind if you don’t think that situation is going to repeat itself if we go up.

We are going in the right direction but you can’t expect 6 5-0s, 3 4-0s and an 0-8 to not leave a mark so quickly after the season has finished.

 

[Crafty Blade]

I reckon it would have been even worse if we hadn’t got an early goal.

all depends how the game pans out over the 90 mins.

 

[More Bladier than thou]

What puts me off is having to wait around 25 mins for a tram. But when wendy play they put more trams on. Didnt get home till 10.45 last night. Cant be arsed with that when i can watch it on tv

 

[Berkshire Blade]

A lot of the 25k weren’t there though..

That'll be season ticket holders who for whatever reason didn't fancy it. Not a huge deal

 

[SW12 to S12 to S18]

I was asked by the bloke sitting behind me what I thought the crowd was. I estimated about 22k but told him it would be announced as 25k. It was very a very flat atmosphere last night, very much like a league cup first round match.
Still, happy with the outcome, onwards and upwards.

 

[Harry's Game]

That'll be season ticket holders who for whatever reason didn't fancy it. Not a huge deal

All opinions but See my original OP as why I think that is a big deal going forward, it’s a slow death.

 

[crazyblade1889]

Moaning about a 25k attendance for a mid week fixture. We’ve come a long way from when we used to get less than 9k pre Warnock!
The attendances aren’t a problem. The atmosphere is. It stinks! Entitled fans just going through the motions. The Oxford chant of “is this a library?” was pretty spot on.

 

[s4-blade]

Anybody who lives relatively locally and decides to watch it on the TV instead should receive a stadium ban. Absolute scrotes.

 

[Fitzpatrick’s head cover]

I struggle to believe that the ones that stay at home because it's too cold are the ones that bring the atmosphere when they do turn up.

I think the main reason the ground was quiet was because it was men against boys.

 

[Grey Blade]

Anyone know how much clubs are paid for being a main game and an x game?

 

[Bladesman]

I am with Wilder and his complaint about this weeks schedule. Saturday, Tuesday, Friday is a piss take. I know we will have over week off before the away game at WBA but still. As Wilder said last night we have the shortest period of time between these round of fixtures than anyone else and its all to accommodate Sky Sports.

The atmosphere will have been a bit flat last night because a fair number of fans will be saving themselves for Friday night.

 

[Geordie Blade]

All opinions but See my original OP as why I think that is a big deal going forward, it’s a slow death.

I'm not sure of your age, but many Blades will remember the remarkable 5-4 win over Brighton in 1989 (3-0 up, then 3-4 down finally getting a last-minute winner). The attendance that day (in the same division as we're in now) was 12,653. It wasn't on TV, ticket prices were low, and we were a club very much on the up. Yet we still only managed twelve-and-a-bit thousand.

As you say, it's about opinions, but I don't agree that it's a slow death. There will be ups and downs over the decades, but a small (possibly temporary) drop to 25,000 (or even 22,000) doesn't signify a slow death.

 

[Ndiayewillalwaysloveyou]

I am with Wilder and his complaint about this weeks schedule. Saturday, Tuesday, Friday is a piss take. I know we will have over week off before the away game at WBA but still. As Wilder said last night we have the shortest period of time between these round of fixtures than anyone else and its all to accommodate Sky Sports.

The atmosphere will have been a bit flat last night because a fair number of fans will be saving themselves for Friday night.

I said same last night, if you haven't got a ST your picking Fridays game over last night anyday. Money and day.

 

[JayGreen17]

More worrying are the ridiculous splitting of weekend games.

 

[SwissBlade]

I am with Wilder and his complaint about this weeks schedule. Saturday, Tuesday, Friday is a piss take. I know we will have over week off before the away game at WBA but still. As Wilder said last night we have the shortest period of time between these round of fixtures than anyone else and its all to accommodate Sky Sports.

The atmosphere will have been a bit flat last night because a fair number of fans will be saving themselves for Friday night.

And that’s the issue, not from a fan perspective but from a player welfare and squad management perspective. Yes we have players to rotate from the squad and it’s been a significant improvement this season to improve the depth but with three key players unavailable for at least two of the three games (Anel suspended for 3?, Moore and Arblaster injured) there are fewer players available to rotate

Souttar and Souza will most likely have played 90+ mins in all 3 games by the time we get to Sunderland and this comes on the bakc of Souttar flying most of the way around the world for internationals and then playing in a side with 10 men for half the game on sat

 

[Pintor75]

Can't blame fans with just Oxford In town, I spent 1hr 3/4 getting to the ground for a journey of 30 miles, traffic heavy around and on parkway etc. Hatd to summon up the enthusiasm for games against Oxford, Bristol City, Preston, Plymouth etc on nights like last night, at least it wasn't as bad on st Mary's afterwards, but was wondering they've put all the traffic from Arundel gate onto St Mary's and clogged it up even more, could they not open Arundel say from December 1st to first week in January , hardly anyone will be sitting around enjoying the fresh air at that time of night

 

[pedro]

I agree and Disagree in equal measure, if i was still living in Sheffield and not down south i would have gone, but i am glad to have the option to watch on the box midweek and Weekends, as i can only get up to Sheffield now and again as it is not something my wages allow with the cost of living so paying the now TV @ £22 pounds a month to be able to watch the blades is a life saver and means i can still feel like i get my fill of the blades.

But nothing beats being there live and having a couple of jars on route and making a night of it, its the one thing i miss most from Sheffield, but life is life and takes you where it takes you.

It's called choice
I choose to go but I accept that some won;t

 

[ATL Recs]

The atmosphere last night was akin to a friendly game, you can actually hear shouts from the players it’s that quiet, and remember this game sent us top for the first time this season.

I think they’re a lot of factors to consider, I think the numbers are decent, but you can’t honestly expect United fans to be making a racket at the prospect of getting promoted. If you added up our points total from our last 2 prem seasons we’d still get relegated. Hamer will be in the exact same contract situation Ndiaye and Berge was in when we got promoted and you have got to be out of your mind if you don’t think that situation is going to repeat itself if we go up.

We are going in the right direction but you can’t expect 6 5-0s, 3 4-0s and an 0-8 to not leave a mark so quickly after the season has finished.

And if we don't go up and still have the Prince it will be Souza Hamer Ohare gone at least

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Times have changed.

I remember being a kid and begging my Dad to go to a midweek match once. He really didn't want to go but in the end he relented because I wouldn't stop pestering.

It was freezing cold, we were shit, and we lost 0-2 to Watford in front of about 14,000.

I didn't care, I just loved the experience of going to a game.

If I was a kid nowadays I'd be sat in my bedroom streaming it on my phone.

 

[YES Blade]

The games have been available to watch illegally for years, Sky now showing them legally has made no difference.

 

[Nesh Blade]

£36 for my partner to sit in the Westfield corner with us where our season tickets are. Pricing for one off games is just too high for most people, if you work shifts and don't know what games you will be able to make

 

[SouthStandGBlock]

I have a ST but often don't come back for midweek games, especially now it's on Sky.

I have to leave work early and don't get home until midnight, so it's often better to watch it on TV, particularly now the red button coverage is better, with summarisors and replays.

Went up last night, but I'm bollocksed tonight, and I've got to do it all again on Friday.

I genuinely can see why people wouldn't go. That said, if you've bought a ticket, then the club are ok which is the main thing.

Might be an idea for the club to make midweek games cheaper midweek to encourage more occasional supporters though.