Saints fans will still see Saturday football (From Daily Echo)
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Saints fans will still see Saturday football
6:20am Thursday 5th July 2012 in Sport
By Adam Leitch, Chief Sports Writer
St Mary's will be rocking on Saturdays
SAINTS fans could enjoy just as many traditional Saturday afternoon kick-offs in the Premier League as they did in the Championship.
Many supporters have voiced concerns that promotion to the top flight with the extra TV scheduling and juggling of fixtures for sides in Europe will lead to a lack of Saturday 3pm kick-offs which have become the norm for Saints over recent seasons in the lower reaches of English football.
However, statistics compiled by The Daily Echo show that may not necessarily be the case.
Saints do start from a relatively low comparison base having had a total of just ten home Saturday 3pm kick-offs in the league last season – and that from a campaign that contained four more St Mary’s matches than will be played in the top flight next term.
The Premier League average for last season was eight games per club to be staged at home at Saturday 3pm.
But that figure rises to nine matches per club when you look at the sides who were not involved in European competition.
If that were repeated for Saints next season they would have almost the same number of Saturday 3pm kick-offs as they did last season, despite playing fewer games, with just under half of the club’s home games having the traditional slot.
Overall figures for Saturday 3pm kick-offs, both home and away, are almost 16 games per club across the Premier League and almost 19 for clubs not in Europe. Last season Saints had a total of 22, but played an extra eight league matches over the course of the campaign.
Wigan played the largest number of Saturday 3pm games in the Premier League last season with 25 while Tottenham had the fewest with just six.
The biggest change will be in the number of midweek games.
Saints had a whopping 12 league games in the Tuesday- Friday category last season.
The average in the Premier League is between four and five.
There is also not much difference in Monday fixtures.
Saints had three last season and the Premier League average was virtually the same.
The major change will come in Sunday matches, partly because of the televised Sky matches they will have, and also because teams competing in Europe, particularly the Europa League, have fixtures switched to that day as they play on Thursday nights.
Saints had just one match on a Sunday last season but the Premier League average was nine games per club.
Due to television and fixture scheduling Saints had three Saturday lunchtime kick-offs last season, compared to a top flight average of almost the same, though seven clubs had one or none.
The number of Saturday night games they have could well fall with Saints having six last season against a top flight average of around two.
Each Premier League club is guaranteed ten live TV games a season, none of which can be held in the Saturday 3pm slot.
Comments(24)
bully0046
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7:42am Thu 5 Jul 12
george chivers
says...
7:54am Thu 5 Jul 12
Sussex Saint
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8:03am Thu 5 Jul 12
St Retford
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8:15am Thu 5 Jul 12
Portswood wrote:Yeah, imagine a newspaper wanting people to buy the newspaper.
'...statistics compiled by The Daily Echo show that may not necessarily be the case.'
You really know how to tease us fans! But we know you just want us to part with our hard-earned dosh and buy the paper today. All those advertisers to keep sweet, eh?
Anyway, if you're stats are not at the 5-sigma level, I'm not interested. You hear me, corporate owners of the Daily Echo?!
Beer Monster
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8:33am Thu 5 Jul 12
I'm holding out on my return to Scotland in September from down south, as I want to go to the Arsenal away game, but I reckon that one could be likely given the other games that weekend...
olddellsaint
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8:44am Thu 5 Jul 12
City Saint
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9:02am Thu 5 Jul 12
Teams like Saints will struggle to build past the 30,000 attendance mark without a wider catchment area for fans. And heavy midweek scheduling basically limits the catchment area to within an hour's drove from work.
These days that about as far as The Avenue....
grumpy and middle aged
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9:07am Thu 5 Jul 12
Alicesdad
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9:50am Thu 5 Jul 12
The TV revenues dictate the kick off times. The bigger the club the worse it is.
The higher you go in the league the more likely it is.
A club playing on Saturday at 3pm for most fixtures is likely to be a struggling one.
Clubs will therefore always accept odd kick off times in order to get the revenue in.
It's a pain for fans who yearn for the traditional 3pm Kick off.
But thats the Premier League for you. While the big money comes from TV games the traditional pattern of 3pm Saturday will take second place.
Nothing in these stats disproves any of this. But it's a good talking point.
Condor Man
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10:20am Thu 5 Jul 12
dopplershift
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10:26am Thu 5 Jul 12
sisaydo
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10:40am Thu 5 Jul 12
OSPREYSAINT
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11:02am Thu 5 Jul 12
OSPREYSAINT
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11:10am Thu 5 Jul 12
dopplershift wrote:see the new thread for details!
Will this article be withdrawn when the stats are torn to shreds at 11am today?
Alicesdad
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11:14am Thu 5 Jul 12
What I'm really waiting for is news of signings though. Same as everyone else.
But as we all know, we will be told when NC decides we will be told.
In the meantime we will have to discuss any titbits that come up from time to time. This one was as good as any.
Saintjock
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11:57am Thu 5 Jul 12
COYR
Strasbourg Saint
says...
12:24pm Thu 5 Jul 12
Maybe the Echo could write an article providing stats for which kind of article attracts the most moans. Is it articles about ticket pricing, car park charges, new kits, new players, lack of signings/investment, rumours of signings or schedule changes introduced by Sky? Or is there a larger number, evenly spread, not moaning about the subject but about the Echo itself?
Oh, and whilst talking about moaning at the Echo, there hasn't been a new thread for more than an hour!!!! On the back of the next thread detailing what Saints games have been chosen for Sky, why haven't you yet written another article showing how close (or not) this article is to the reality? Tish! Tish! lunchtime-moan-finge
r-your-moan-out-get-
etc.-moan.......
OSPREYSAINT
says...
1:18pm Thu 5 Jul 12
Strasbourg Saint wrote:It's enough to make you want to complain isn't it? If there is one thing I cannot stand, it is intolerance.
I would just like to moan about all the moaners who moan about the moaners. Trouble is, I don't now know if I'm moaning about me moaning, or about me moaning about the moaners, or about me moaning about the moaners who are moaning about the moaners.
Maybe the Echo could write an article providing stats for which kind of article attracts the most moans. Is it articles about ticket pricing, car park charges, new kits, new players, lack of signings/investment, rumours of signings or schedule changes introduced by Sky? Or is there a larger number, evenly spread, not moaning about the subject but about the Echo itself?
Oh, and whilst talking about moaning at the Echo, there hasn't been a new thread for more than an hour!!!! On the back of the next thread detailing what Saints games have been chosen for Sky, why haven't you yet written another article showing how close (or not) this article is to the reality? Tish! Tish! lunchtime-moan-finge
r-your-moan-out-get-
etc.-moan.......
Strasbourg Saint
says...
1:31pm Thu 5 Jul 12
OSPREYSAINT wrote:Spot on. If I were me, I'd shoot the lot of us!
Strasbourg Saint wrote:It's enough to make you want to complain isn't it? If there is one thing I cannot stand, it is intolerance.
I would just like to moan about all the moaners who moan about the moaners. Trouble is, I don't now know if I'm moaning about me moaning, or about me moaning about the moaners, or about me moaning about the moaners who are moaning about the moaners.
Maybe the Echo could write an article providing stats for which kind of article attracts the most moans. Is it articles about ticket pricing, car park charges, new kits, new players, lack of signings/investment, rumours of signings or schedule changes introduced by Sky? Or is there a larger number, evenly spread, not moaning about the subject but about the Echo itself?
Oh, and whilst talking about moaning at the Echo, there hasn't been a new thread for more than an hour!!!! On the back of the next thread detailing what Saints games have been chosen for Sky, why haven't you yet written another article showing how close (or not) this article is to the reality? Tish! Tish! lunchtime-moan-finge
r-your-moan-out-get-
etc.-moan.......
ShakeyWiffles
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1:59pm Thu 5 Jul 12
ShakeyWiffles
says...
2:04pm Thu 5 Jul 12
Condor Man wrote:Well your point was wrong!
games against Wigan, Swansea, Fulham, WBA, Norwich, Stoke and any other unfashionable team will all be on a Saturday at 3pm
City Saint
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3:11pm Thu 5 Jul 12
sisaydo wrote:What he said.
I just wish that the people who slag off this site would keep off! This is in fact good journalism, and informative. No I do not work for the Echo or claim to be the fan who goes to the most games blah blah blah! My point if you do not like this site KEEP OFF! And let those who enjoy it, enjoy it in peace.
City Saint
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3:15pm Thu 5 Jul 12
Saintjock wrote:I think the club is missing a trick here. You make some excellent points about the Saints Player interviews. Maybe they don't own the rights to the Saints Player stuff? I notice that it is some much bigger media company behind all of that (they run players for all league websites)
Not connected with this at all, but watched the official SFC DVD of the back to back promotion seasons last night. Have to say it was disappointing, given they were two of our best and exciting seasons in living memory. Had the feel of having been put together on a laptop for a school project, with goal clips just strung together (unless the match had been televised in which case they reran a goal 4 or 5 times even it wasn't worth seeing again once), nondescript commentary, no interspersed interviews, as-it-stands league tables, or any attempt to build up atmosphere or excitement. Felt a bit like "is that it?" rather than "wow what a fantastic time to be a Saints fan!". Could have used some Saints Player interviews to generate the mood of the moment. In everything else he's done or commissioned NC's professionalism has shone through. Maybe new production company now we're in the prem? Just a little gripe, and offered constructively! COYR
Portswood says...
6:37am Thu 5 Jul 12
You really know how to tease us fans! But we know you just want us to part with our hard-earned dosh and buy the paper today. All those advertisers to keep sweet, eh?
Anyway, if you're stats are not at the 5-sigma level, I'm not interested. You hear me, corporate owners of the Daily Echo?!