For Newcastle United fans, there have never been more midweek games than we are experiencing this season.
However, it’s not just that.
For Newcastle United fans, kick-off times are also at the same time and getting later.
I was talking to a friend the other day, who is younger than me and has younger children than me, mine are now adults (at least age-wise, if not adulthood!).
Anyway, we were talking about the all-night games and he said they’ve become a problem when taking his school-age kids, especially lately.
In particular, the introduction of the kick-off at 8:15 p.m., as an extreme.
I’ve never seen why the football chiefs have started doing this, BUT it’s clear that no amount of reasoning is going to benefit the fans who actually go to games.
The thing about 8.15pm is that I assume it’s all to do with broadcasters. So they now stagger kick-offs at different times up to 8.15pm, especially if there are multiple matches, to get maximum value for money.
Games end at different times, so TV audiences can jump from one end of the match to a later kickoff, and then on to even later.
We’re not blowing our trumpet BUT I think it shows what a big draw Newcastle United have as we seem to be repeatedly getting the later players.
Manchester City started ‘only’ at 8 p.m. on Tuesday evening, but it was the only big match. But before that, the night games against both Fulham (Carabao Cup) and Leeds (Premier League) were both at 8.15pm. Especially Leeds’, the broadcasters got a huge bonus, such a late kick-off AND the last ever winning goal in a match in the Premier League era!
I’m not sure what time I actually left St James’ Park after that 4-3 against Leeds, but I’m sure the sun came up!
Back in the day
All this triggered me and made me think about what it was like in the past.
In my youth, in the time of the real spotlight, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I loved night games on the terraces.
Every weekday evening match, Newcastle United always started on Wednesday at 7.30pm.
I also completely forgot that it only lasted 10 minutes at halftime.
There were no VAR delays.
Only one sub is allowed per team and I don’t even remember them being overused. Unlike now, where you often see ten subs made in total!
I don’t remember the extra time at the end of the first half making any difference at all; if it did, it certainly wasn’t for more than maybe a minute or so.
At the end of a match, it was rare for anything more than a minute or two to be added at the end of the match (unless something of major importance had happened (Peter Withe diving to catch a dog on the pitch, which comes to mind).
So you were almost certain that an evening match would end at 9.10pm (two 45-minute halves and a 10-minute half), or very shortly afterwards.
As a kid with my friends aged 12 and up (kids now can’t even get on without an adult unless they’re 14!), we would catch the bus at 9:30pm to get home from the city, after walking home from St James’ Park. I can’t remember ever missing that bus and I was probably in bed asleep by the time most midweek games in Newcastle finish these days!
On a serious note, I’ve noticed that when they have multiple games during the week now, especially in the Premier League, some of them start at 7:30pm.
There is clearly no reason why night matches cannot start then. The rest of the time it is a choice whether to start at 7:45 PM, 8:00 PM or even 8:15 PM. Who’s to say the broadcasters and the Premier League won’t expand that further? Maybe start at 9pm in the near future…?
Especially for Newcastle United fans, why don’t the home and away games start at 7.30pm mid-week like they used to? Easier to take kids to St James’ Park, plus for travelling, especially on public transport (particularly trains), which allows so many NUFC fans to go to home and away games AND return home afterwards.
#Time #bed