West Brom suffer ‘horrific’ Middlesbrough news – ‘So it begins…’
West Brom are more than used to appearing on Sky Sports.
There has been no shortage of Baggies matches on TV in recent years, and that doesn’t look set to change anytime soon.
This comes moving into the new Championship season, where Ryan Mason looks set to take charge of Albion in front of the Sky cameras on a regular basis.
With that being said, supporters in the Black Country have been left hugely frustrated by the latest decision over a trip to face Middlesbrough.
West Brom let down by Sky Sports for Middlesbrough trip
There aren’t many longer trips in the second tier this campaign, especially with Sunderland being promoted to the Premier League.
The journey from The Hawthorns to the Riverside spans up to 180 miles, resulting in a 360-mile round trip for those travelling with the Baggies.
With a distance that could take upwards of six hours to complete, there and back, there is hope every year that it would be on a Saturday afternoon.
That is annoyingly not the case with Sky Sports confirming that the Middlesbrough clash has been moved to Friday, 19 September at 8pm.
It is fair to say that this hasn’t gone down well with the travelling Albion fans, who have been less than impressed by this fixture change.
This has seen many take to X (4 July) to vent their annoyance, with one saying, “Middlesbrough [on a] Friday night is actually horrific”.
Another described this as “a joke” while it was also questioned as to why the clash at the Riverside is “never on a weekend”.
West Brom fans right to rage at Sky Sports
It does feel as if match-going fans are slowly becoming more and more second-rate compared to those who watch from home every week.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | TV channel |
| Saturday, August 16 (ko 12.30pm) | Wrexham | SToK Racecourse | Sky Sports Football |
| Saturday, August 30 (ko 12.30pm) | Stoke City | bet365 Stadium | Sky Sports+ |
| Friday, September 19 (ko 8pm) | Middlesbrough | Riverside Stadium | Sky Sports Football |
| Friday, September 26 (ko 8pm) | Leicester City | The Hawthorns | Sky Sports Football |
To make a journey that could take over 3 hours for local supporters, a Friday at 8pm means that anyone who would typically work until 5pm will likely be forced to miss out.
This is unlikely to make for a positive atmosphere, something which Mason and Co. need to work to resolve with their performance on the pitch.
It will be interesting to see how this works out and whether star names like Josh Maja, Mikey Johnston and Tom Fellows can change the feeling around the Riverside fixture.
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