Brighton v Brentford 8pm Boxing Day: Now Sky really are taking the piss

One of my partner’s favourite phrases to use towards me is “You’ve done some stupid things before but this one just about takes the biscuit.” Well, take a bow Sky Sports because you have done some stupid things before, but Brighton v Brentford kicking off at 8pm on Boxing Day really does take the biscuit.

Such yule time scheduling would be unforgivable at a venue like Newcastle United where the whole town can walk to the ground (presuming the Toon owners aren’t carrying out any public beheadings) or at somewhere such as Manchester United were this ample parking around.

To do it at a stadium on the outskirts of a city and where 90 percent of supporters have to travel by public transport on a day when there is no public transport is bordering on criminal.

Boxing Day matches at the Amex have been few and far between, with only two taking place in the decade the stadium has been open. There is a reason for that and it is not just the luck of the fixtures computer.

The first of those saw Glenn Murray score twice for Reading in 2014, only for caretaker boss Nathan Jones to inspire a Brighton comeback.

Goals from Jake Forster-Caskey and a 90th minute Inigo Calderon equaliser rescued a 2-2 draw in front of 26,173 tickets sold for a 3pm kick off.

Four years later and Arsenal visited the Amex on Boxing Day 2018. Jurgen Locadia briefly put his music and Instagram influencer career on hold to actually look vaguely like a football, scoring in a 1-1 draw after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had given Arsenal a seventh minute lead. 30,608 witnessed it for a game which started at 5.15pm.

The 2016 game scheduled for Boxing Day against Queens Park Rangers was moved by Sky to midday on the 27th, saving the Albion the nightmare of trying to organise travel.

In 2012, the club simply told the Football League that the Amex could not host Boxing Day football. Millwall’s visit was therefore brought forward to Tuesday 18th December, a night when Gus Poyet He Who Must Not Be Named famously tried a back three for the first (and only) time.

Brighton were woeful for the first half hour and Lewis Dunk was hauled for Kazenga LuaLua after only 39 minutes as Poyet abandoned his new formation. Having trailed 2-0 to two Chris Wood goals, the Albion eventually rescued a point thanks to LuaLua and a late David Lopez penalty.

For that Arsenal game in 2018, the club managed to cobble together a transport plan involving lots of buses, additional park and ride sites and getting Southern Rail to put on a skeleton service on a day when normally there are no trains.

Sainsbury’s West Hove and Pyecombe Equestrian Centre on the A23 became new park and ride venues and free shuttle buses ran from Lewes Station and Brighton Station.

Going through this travel nightmare for a reasonably sensible kick off time on Boxing Day is bad enough. Getting back from the Amex for a game which will not finish until 10pm on Boxing Day is going to be tantamount to torture (insert another comment about Newcastle’s new Saudi owners here) – especially for those in the outer reaches of Sussex and beyond.

Of course, we should not be surprised. Match going football fans have always been bottom of broadcasters’ concerns, even after 18 months of playing in empty stadiums which highlighted just how important an actual atmosphere inside a stadium is to the Premier League product.

One year ago, Sky Sports and every Premier League club bar Leicester City decided that supporters whose teams were not selected for general television coverage and who could not attend stadiums because of the pandemic should pay £15 to watch on a PPV basis.

That went down like a lead balloon with football fans across the country, who instead of lining the pockets of the television companies gave £15 to their local food bank.

Over £4000 was raised for the Brighton Food Bank thanks to the PPV boycott and despite Paul Barber emailing one Albion fan justifying the fee by saying “Football fans always want everything for free”, PPV was embarrassingly dropped within a month.

Then last April the European Super League reared its ugly head. Suddenly, Sky Sports were outraged at the prospect of six English teams trying to break English football apart because of what it would mean for fans.

This faux anger of course had everything to do with what the ESL would mean for Sky rather than genuine supporters. They simply feared the devaluing of their Premier League product and the prospect of having to negotiate new broadcast rights for the ESL, over which they would not have the monopoly they currently enjoy.

If Sky really cared about fans as they claimed during the ESL debacle, they would not make football so inaccessible to actual match going supporters through ridiculous kick off times like Brighton v Brentford, 8pm on Boxing Day.

How many Brentford fans will be unable or unwilling to go, knowing that they can only travel via coach and will not be home until around midnight?

How many Brighton fans will not fancy finding a way to trek across Sussex on public transport for an 8pm start at the Amex? Or be willing to forego having a drink all Boxing Day, knowing they have to drive to football in the evening?

The club’s controversial new season ticket sharing scheme has left empty seats across the Amex for friendlier kick off times like Saturday 5.30pm as fans refuse to pay to pass on their tickets to a friend or family member.

With ticket holders who cannot attend now leaving their seat vacant, it looks likely that Brentford on Boxing Day could set a new record low attendance for a league game at the stadium – even if it will be announced as 34,674 (thank you for your fantastic support).

There are other issues to consider beyond the inconvenience to supporters. Staffing the Amex has been so chaotic at times so far in 2021-22 that Barber has been moved to write to fans and apologise.

Where on earth are the Albion going to find people willing to work between 5pm and 11pm on Boxing Day – especially when all the university students will have gone home?

How much is it going to cost the club to tempt bus and train drivers to work so late on Boxing Day, so that the levels of public transport needed to cater for getting 30,000 ticket holders in and out of Falmer can be met? The Albion face a logistical nightmare of their own.

The most stupid thing about all this of course is that how many people – other than Brighton and Brentford fans – are actually going to watch this game at 8pm on Boxing Day to justify Sky moving it?

If the Peters family in Worksop or the Jones family in Aberystwyth have the choice of rounding off their Christmas celebrations with The Muppet Christmas Carol or Love Actually on the television, nobody in their right mind is saying “Fuck that, let’s watch Brighton v Brentford on whilst we have some gammon, port and cheese”.

There will be some fans who see an 8pm Boxing Day kick off is a good thing. If you can get to the Amex and back home via public transport, it could be one hell of a drinking session.

It also avoids that awkward conversation of explaining you will not be around for family duties because you are spending the afternoon with Lewis and Shane rather than your nephews Sally and Jane. Instead, you can justify slipping off in the evening having done leftover turkey and presents with in-laws earlier in the day.

For the vast majority though, Brighton v Brentford at 8pm on Boxing Day is an absolute piss take. The worst thing – is anybody even surprised anymore?

Match going, loyal supporters do no matter to Premier League football clubs. This is just further proof of that sad fact.