Steve Madeley: West Brom fans get rough ride from Sky Sports after fixture changes
The Athletic’s Steve Madeley has shared his verdict on the festive fixture list after West Brom learned their fate on Monday afternoon.
West Brom announced via their official website that their Christmas away days at Barnsley and Derby County have been selected for live TV broadcast by Sky Sports.
As a result, the club’s home fixtures against Preston North End and Cardiff City will now be played a day later than originally scheduled.
Reacting to the news via his personal Twitter profile, Madeley, West Brom correspondent for The Athletic, called it a “rough deal” for Albion supporters.
He wrote: “No Boxing Day football, no New Year’s Day football and another Friday night away trip just before Christmas. Albion fans getting a rough deal from TV fixture changes yet again.”
Afterthought
No one expects broadcasters to keep supporters in mind anymore, but nevertheless, the fixture list is still a big disappointment to many match-going fans.
The Boxing-Day fixture tradition is one that is widely celebrated in the UK, but Albion supporters will be deprived of that this year as they will have to wait until December 27 to face Derby.
Another blow is the 19:45pm kick-off at Barnsley on December 17 – away fans heading straight back from the Friday night clash to the West Midlands are unlikely to return until the early hours of the Saturday.
To compound it, there will be no New Year’s Day football for Baggies to enjoy, another UK tradition.
Will anyone ever think of the supporters?
Unlikely, and West Brom’s status as one of the top dogs in the Championship means this will likely continue for the rest of the season.
In other West Brom news, Jeff Stelling has shared his honest verdict on this major Albion player controversy against Fulham.
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