Absolutely disgraceful from Sky Sports – Newcastle United fans shafted…yet again!

Wor Flags made a powerful statement about the thoughtless kick-off times handed out to NUFC supporters this weekend with its Gallowgate end display.

It sent a strong message: stop putting TV fixtures before supporters.

So it couldn’t be a more infuriating time for Sky Sports to confirm it’s putting our fixture at Chelsea away on TV in an 8pm Monday night slot. Are you taking the absolute ****?

Not only did we travel to Fulham with no trains home and face an 8.15pm kick-off at Aston Villa last Tuesday night, we’ll be doing it in less than three weeks’ time for Arsenal away. And with the bulk of our away fixtures in the capital taking place in this half of the season, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to hope the kick-off times would be kept sensible. Silly us.

After our display on Saturday, it feels all the more of a slap in the face. Like we’re being trolled by the rich and powerful media companies we’re continually reminded we’re at the mercy of. It’s infuriating, and I’m getting so incredibly tired of our support being taken for granted.

The way it was announced after that display and the fact that particular weekend’s fixtures should have been announced way before now would be comical if it didn’t set off a white-hot bubbling rage inside me.

Where does it end?

Man City – 8pm Saturday
Brighton – 5.30pm Saturday
Wolves – 5.30pm Saturday
Bournemouth – 5.30pm Saturday
Liverpool – 8pm Monday
Fulham – 7pm Saturday
Arsenal – 8pm Saturday
Chelsea – 8pm Monday

TV before fans #NUFC pic.twitter.com/E8ANy8znns

— Newcastle United Supporters’ Club (@Nusc2023) February 5, 2024

All of this after the performative “green football” weekend too. Let’s give you free travel to your home game this weekend (a genuinely good initiative, by the way), the powers that be said. We care about the planet. Take public transport, this one is on us. *Finger guns.*

But to want to get home from an away match on public transport instead of clogging up the roads with cars and buses or having to pay through the nose for hotels? You silly billies, why would we do that? *Raucous laughter.*

And following this “green football” weekend, Manchester City made the long and arduous trip from *checks notes* Manchester to London by flying. Kind of smacks of hypocrisy, doesn’t it?

I’m all for sustainable initiatives, but stop putting the burden on everyday supporters when players, managers and staff personnel are racking up considerably more emissions than us when there are greener options. Why not insist they stop racking up lazy air miles with domestic game travel?

And for the love of god, let supporters actually USE those more sustainable options – imagine how green we’d be if we were able to travel to Chelsea, Arsenal and Fulham and back on the train. We’re the furthest Premier League club from London, but that’s never factored into these kick-off times.

So where do we go from here? I’d personally love to see an organised boycott for this game – but I’m neither influential nor organised enough to get something like that together. I also think demand is too high, and we have too many diehard supporters, for it to actually work.

If regulars like myself don’t go, those tickets will only get snapped up by those who enter via the ballot. But I do think I’ll give this one a miss myself, and bank this completely unnecessary day off work for a European away day next season (fingers crossed).