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2021/22 fixtures to be released 24th June

edited May 2021 in Football

Managed to miss this but yeah, not long to wait to find out we're away to Fleetwood on the opening day... We haven't started the season away since 2016, so we are overdue.

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  • I am guessing a slightly shorter trip so that they can give us that beauty on a Tuesday.

    Shrewsbury, either home or away.

  • Home ideally - as everyone will want to be - but Charlton or Wimbledon away in summer would be great.

  • Fingers crossed away fans are allowed back in sooner rather than later.

  • @MindlessDrugHoover said:
    Fingers crossed away fans are allowed back in sooner rather than later.

    Won't they be allowed in from the first day? Assuming everything is 'unlocked' by then.

  • Who knows - I've given up assuming things will go to plan lately.

  • @MindlessDrugHoover said:
    Who knows - I've given up assuming things will go to plan lately.

    I don't blame you

  • Presumably we'll be back to only the midweek aways being on ifollow?

    Probably the only good thing in the last year was the ability to watch every game on tv/laptop.

    Did wonder if the virus had brought forward the inevitable breaking of the 3pm sat ban permanently, but haven't seen anything about it, so presumably not.

  • @ReturnToSenda said:

    @MindlessDrugHoover said:
    Fingers crossed away fans are allowed back in sooner rather than later.

    Won't they be allowed in from the first day? Assuming everything is 'unlocked' by then.

    Would take a disastrous turn for the worse for no fans to be allowed in, in 2.5 - 3 months time.

  • That’s pretty much what I though last October @Malone!

  • @Malone said:
    Presumably we'll be back to only the midweek aways being on ifollow?

    Probably the only good thing in the last year was the ability to watch every game on tv/laptop.

    Did wonder if the virus had brought forward the inevitable breaking of the 3pm sat ban permanently, but haven't seen anything about it, so presumably not.

    Personally I think the blackout is gone for good now. The club are keen as far as I know - as I'm sure most clubs will be - and this season's EFL fan survey was partly to canvas opinion on that.

  • @bookertease said:
    That’s pretty much what I though last October @Malone!

    We've had a massive vaccination programme since.
    Autumn was always leading to a big breakdown again.

  • @ReturnToSenda said:

    @Malone said:
    Presumably we'll be back to only the midweek aways being on ifollow?

    Probably the only good thing in the last year was the ability to watch every game on tv/laptop.

    Did wonder if the virus had brought forward the inevitable breaking of the 3pm sat ban permanently, but haven't seen anything about it, so presumably not.

    Personally I think the blackout is gone for good now. The club are keen as far as I know - as I'm sure most clubs will be - and this season's EFL fan survey was partly to canvas opinion on that.

    I'm sure most people who go to games will still go.
    It's those of us who go to the occasional away that really appreciate the ability to just plug the game in, and it still helping the club out a bit.

  • @Malone said:

    @ReturnToSenda said:

    @Malone said:
    Presumably we'll be back to only the midweek aways being on ifollow?

    Probably the only good thing in the last year was the ability to watch every game on tv/laptop.

    Did wonder if the virus had brought forward the inevitable breaking of the 3pm sat ban permanently, but haven't seen anything about it, so presumably not.

    Personally I think the blackout is gone for good now. The club are keen as far as I know - as I'm sure most clubs will be - and this season's EFL fan survey was partly to canvas opinion on that.

    I'm sure most people who go to games will still go.
    It's those of us who go to the occasional away that really appreciate the ability to just plug the game in, and it still helping the club out a bit.

    Definitely - and exiled fans who otherwise have no guaranteed means of watching any game.

  • I'm sure I read around a week ago, that once all restrictions on home and away fans going to games were lifted, then iFollow on Saturday afternoons would end.
    Can't remember where I saw it though.

  • edited May 2021

    “The match by match streaming and season ticket offer is a TEMPORARY measure that has only been put in place whilst Clubs operate at a zero or reduced capacity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and will be subject to regular review with the first set for early October.”

    This was from pre-season last season but presumably the key point on ‘reduced capacity’ would apply this forthcoming season? However, I would expect us to be back at full capacity when the new season commences.

  • Sounds like it'll be back off then.

    But clearly far better being back to normal life (touch wood!)

  • I was glad of it and actually paid for more away games than I would normally but always assumed it would end once Boris and Matt had singlehandedly saved the nation.

  • edited May 2021

    I guess we'll find out soon enough, but I hope we don't go back to the 3pm blackout - made sense before technology allowed for clubs to stream games, but not anymore. Maybe do it so the home club gets the bigger cut of the revenue from away fans streaming Saturday 3pm games, but otherwise it shouldn't be an issue.

  • It'd be interesting to know the figures that clubs earn from it.
    And see how they compare to the gate receipts.

    The second clubs see it as a significant loss not having ifollow income, you can be sure they'll start making a noise about it.

  • I know at least one person involved in the running of Wycombe is very firmly against the blackout, so that might say something about our stance.

  • I think it would be a disaster for clubs like ours to remove the blackout.

    Even if you priced TV access to be the equivalent of matchday tickets (and in practice, I think it would be cheaper), you are writing off attendance of a proportion of those whose decision is in the balance - due to travel distance or complexity, or other calls on their time, or the weather, or the relative discomfort of watching the match in the ground as opposed to from the sofa. So then we are faced with all the costs of putting the match on, but smaller crowds. I'd then expect less atmosphere in the stadium, in turn making attendance less attractive.

    It also seems odd to me that the club should apparently support continued TV coverage when part of its strategy to sustainability seems to revolve around increasing the spend of those who attend on beer and burgers. If I choose not to come, that's also lost revenue.

    I guess my view is that clubs like ours, in a competitive football market, can only compete on the basis of having a relatively accessible, LIVE football experience. But maybe I'm missing something.

  • edited May 2021

    The thing is, if the Premier League were to go to La Liga-style scheduling (games all kicking off at different times), the 3pm game would never be a particularly alluring one for the neutral because that's not a prime-time slot. Would someone umming and ahhing about coming down to Adams Park have their mind made up by Brighton v Burnley on the telly? I'm not sure - and I expect the Couhigs are banking on the enhanced 'matchday experience' if the blackout does get lifted permanently. Floating fans are the key ones here.

  • The problem is, a ‘regular’ STH such as myself may, if coverage were available, be tempted to become the floating supporter of the future. I’m not saying I will, it just puts me in that category of possibility which a tv blackout would prevent.

  • Exactly. Floating fans are only the key ones if you complacently assume we can keep the ones we've already got, surely.

  • It’s interesting seeing the different opinions on this.

    My assumption would be floating fans wouldn’t bother watching on Ifollow, they’d either go or not, and that only people who would watch on Ifollow wouldn’t have been able to get to the game so gives them the means to watch.

    Guess that is heavily influenced by my personal views - I’d love a Season ticket option with the flexibility to watch all games on Ifollow if can’t attend, and would be able to justify buying one then.

    Long term not sure what is best for the sustainability of smaller clubs in terms of generating new supporters.

  • Biggest impact on local non league sides I would have thought - people with season tickets at Watford and Wycombe who don’t go away etc

  • Ifollow wouldn't stop me going to home games, but it might make me pay and watch some away games that I wouldn't go to

  • I’d be fine with the 3pm games being streamed. Actually think it would be good.

    At £10-15 per game, I can see many people at all choosing to watch online instead of attending in person. But for people that wouldn’t attend the game anyway, I’d see it as a positive to allow them to watch online.

    As long as there aren’t games broadcast of Sky at 3pm - clearly it becomes bad for attendances if United-Liverpool is on at the same time we are playing Newport at home

  • I can’t edit that but was supposed to be italicised

  • edited May 2021

    I think Amazon would probably get the 3pm slot - assuming we go back to multiple kick-offs at that time - but the biggest games will never be played then even if they're allowed to be broadcast.

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