Topic: Premier League games to be played on Friday nights from 2016-17

[Tom_B]

Breaking news from ESPN that Premier League games will be played on Friday nights starting from 2016-2017.

Load of shite that. Just creates even more potential disruption to fixtures.

[Barneylfc∗]

What a load of fucking wank. FA, Clubs, TV. None of them give a flying fuck about fans do they 

[Luke 17]

I don't actually mind that to be honest... friday night tele is shite

[Trev20]

I doubt I'll be interested in football by the time i reach my dad's age.

The commeriisalsaiiton of a once working-class, community game is ruining it.

[Bjinxi]

Will there still be the occasional monday game or will that be cancelled then?

In Germany there has been a friday night game for years. I actually like those games more than the monday epl ones...

[tonysleft]

It started out with the money following the game, now the game is following the money.

[livesound]

Off to drink some cyanide then.

Fuck everything.

[Trev20]

It started out with the money following the game, now the game is following the money.

Highlighted no more than by the ridiculous 'auctioning' of screening rights and the ensuing battle between Sky and BT...

[B0151?]

Good stuff

[redgriffin73]

Would probably prefer it to a Monday night to be honest, but still a load of shite, especially for aways.

[Chakan]

who fucking thought this was a good idea?!

[Giovanni]

It's 100 times better than playing on a monday night

[Redman0151]

It's been decided because other European nations do it to give teams an extra 1-2 days to prepare for European competition, no?


It's crazy ATM how Real may have had since Friday night to prepare, whilst we've played saturday-sunday. Those kind of things can end up having a huge effect

[Surprise me.]

That means there will be a game on everyday of the week sometimes.

Monday - Premier league
Tuesday  - CL/FACUP/LeagueCup
Wednesday - CL/FACUP/LeagueCup
Thrusday - Europa League
Friday - Premier League
Sat - Premier league
Sun - Premier League

I don't mind it overall, I assume it'll by like Monday with only one game. Haven't really thought about it properly yet, just more football on TV is as far as I've thought about it.

[Chris~]

Martyn Ziegler @martynziegler  ·  2h 2 hours ago
Up to 10 Friday night PL games. 168 live matches in total - 14 more than currently - split into seven packages for 2016-19.

[Chris~]

It's been decided because other European nations do it to give teams an extra 1-2 days to prepare for European competition, no?

Also more money for the Premier League as they get to sell another set of games.

[CHOPPER]

What is the Cure to this mayhem?.......................

[Popcorn]

Don't see why Friday night games so bad.. Much rather go to a game on a friday night rather than having a Monday night game with work in the morning.

[LiverLuke]

fine with me as an armchair fan, or sounds quite fun to watch a game out at the pub on a friday night. can imagine annoying complications for match goers though.

[hollger]

What a load of fucking wank. FA, Clubs, TV. None of them give a flying fuck about fans do they 

Nope, absolutely not.

Thing is, until more of us "customers" vote with our wallets and stop subscribing to Sky/BT it isn't going to get any better. I thought there was a bit of momentum building this season with ticket prices being in the news a fair bit, but it doesn't look like there'll be an end to the obscene money in the game any time soon.

[Walshy nMe®]

If it is replacing Monday it is a brilliant idea.  Fucking Monday nights are a pain in the arse.  At least this is a Friday night, end of the week and good way to start the weekend.

They do it in the Championship now and it seems to work well.

[Smudgester]

It has nothing to do with getting an advantage on European competition though that will be the reason peddled out to tge gullible.

It is all about the money and just proves once again that the clubs, but primarily, the Premier League don't give a flying fuck about the fans.

And from a travel perspective, Friday night games are far worse than Monday night ones

[Red Sea]

Right that's it, the gigs up, football's fucked. Between gormlessly bent officials, Jose Mourinho, oil money and now all-powerful companies like Sky-  football itself has been relegated to the back seat

[hollger]

If it is replacing Monday it is a brilliant idea.

Not quite "replacing" in the sense of the word... sort of "shifting around a bit":

They will be drawn from the package that covers Monday night matches, so the broadcaster that wins that particular package will have up to 10 Friday night games and 18 Monday night games over the course of the season at their disposal.

[Steve O]

Better than a Mon and not the first time we've played a league game on a Fri

Frozen pitch
Yellow kit
Ian Rush Hat-trick

[AB LFC]

Can't say I'm too bothered, will iven Friday nghts up a bit. Will be a shit weekend if Liverpool play on a Friday and lose though.

[dundeered]

We have Friday night games , handy if you are at home but not for away fans , the down side is having a free Saturday and the missus dragging you off shopping or DIY , and a defeat makes the whole weekend ruined before it's started .

[Smudgester]

Not quite "replacing" in the sense of the word... sort of "shifting around a bit":

So the same broadcaster will show both the Friday and the Monday games??

In which case what is the point? I could sort of understand if they were to become 2 seperate packages but they are not. So why do it - either move all 28 games to Friday ( if you really are doing it for the English teams in Europe but then that would mean you would only show the CL/EL teams on a Friday in a week when they are not in Europe ) or leave them where they are.

[4pool]

The point is, the more they can spread the matches out away from each other, the more the broadcasters can charge for adverts.

Moving a match to Friday, means less competition at the 3pm kickoffs.
Now you have 8pm Friday, 12:45pm, 3pm and 5:30pm Saturdays, 1:30pm, 4PM Sundays, and some 8pm Mondays.
So that becomes 7 featured matches instead of 6 for some weekends.

So expect the big teams to be moved there or rotated there.

I'd expect opening weekend that season for 2 good teams to feature on the first ever Friday night broadcast. Don't think they'd have a derby there but something like Arsenal v Liverpool is what i'm talking about.

[goalspaytherent]

What is the Cure to this mayhem?.......................

Empty stadia and not paying subscription ....oh and boycotting grounds in order to get them to listen to fans about prices ......sadly there is not a fucking chance of any of this happening soon

[Smudgester]

The point is, the more they can spread the matches out away from each other, the more the broadcasters can charge for adverts.

Moving a match to Friday, means less competition at the 3pm kickoffs.
Now you have 8pm Friday, 12:45pm, 3pm and 5:30pm Saturdays, 1:30pm, 4PM Sundays, and some 8pm Mondays.
So that becomes 7 featured matches instead of 6 for some weekends.

But that isn't what package offers though ... there won't be a weekend with a live game on Friday AND Monday but rather one or the other.

This season there are 28 games on BT Sport on a Monday night. In 2016/17 these 28 will become 10 on Friday and 18 on Monday. If the winning bidder does games on both days then they won't be showing any game for over half the season.

As for the first Friday night game being a big fixture ... are you suggesting the fixture list is rigged? And you are also assuming the winning bidder would have 'first pick' for the first weekend.

[Jake]

What a load of bollocks.

Another day off work for the loyal fans who follow their team around the world, just so chairmen can have an extra speedboat.

Football is shit

[4pool]

But that isn't what package offers though ... there won't be a weekend with a live game on Friday AND Monday but rather one or the other.

This season there are 28 games on BT Sport on a Monday night. In 2016/17 these 28 will become 10 on Friday and 18 on Monday. If the winning bidder does games on both days then they won't be showing any game for over half the season.

As for the first Friday night game being a big fixture ... are you suggesting the fixture list is rigged? And you are also assuming the winning bidder would have 'first pick' for the first weekend.

Rigged?..nah.....


Didn't have time to read the facts on the deal. But the jist stands. It's done to spread the fixtures out for commercial reasons. Same reason the other kickoff times on Saturday and Sunday.

Remember when there was just one fixture on Sundays, the 4pm kickoff? Usually a decent set of teams.

Now it's spread the matches out.

[Mark Walters]

Fuck me, we do like a good moan around here don't we?

It's 10 games over the course of 9 months FFS! Stop whinging.

[HighSix]

Like the idea. Hope England adopt the Spanish staggering games soon as well.

[Sir Psycho Sexy]

Fuck me, we do like a good moan around here don't we?

It's 10 games over the course of 9 months FFS! Stop whinging.

yeah the reaction is a bit OTT in here ... not that bad

[LFCsupporter]

Fuck me, we do like a good moan around here don't we?

It's 10 games over the course of 9 months FFS! Stop whinging.

Small step at a time

[GreatEx]

I think it's a good idea. I get more into Friday night AFL (Aussie Rules) games more than any other fixture, and from a purely selfish standpoint, having games take place Saturday morning my time rather than 2am on a Monday will be fuckin' sweet. For the locals, we all know that European nights have the best atmosphere; why should Friday nights not hold the same potential? Everyone's happy because another shitty working week is over, and unlike those godawful Monday night games you can get a few pints in without consequences. But of course, it's change! It's commercial! It's bad!!

[Twelfth Man]

I hope we get a match on the moon soon.

[GreatEx]

What is the Cure to this mayhem?.......................

Here's the Cure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGT4V6JmINA

And here's the Mayhem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y84gW_5ZFKE