Sky Sports at it again as Newcastle fans come last...again

A new season, same old issues. The 2024/25 season kicked off over the weekend and we have a chance to make it back-to-back wins this Sunday as we travel to Bournemouth on the south coast.

It came as no surprise - but understandable frustration - to the regular away following that there was no way to travel same-day via train. So supporters have once again faced the decision between an expensive overnight stay or a 16-hour round trip via coach.

Following a season where, a mere two days after we unfurled a banner criticising the nightmare kickoff times, Chelsea away was moved to a Monday night, it seems our words have gotten nowhere. At the very first opportunity, we’ve been shafted.

As a regular away-day match-goer, I’m both seething and completely exhausted by it. Sighing at the continued ignorance that we have the furthest to travel in the league by quite some considerable distance.

There’s no denying that some supporters will inevitably be shafted by a TV fixture time - the Monday 8pm kickoff is a nightmare for a lot of supporters - but considering our added distance and a lack of routes to choose from, you’d hope they’d take that into account. But apparently not.

I’ve no doubt they’ll do this for both Brighton and Southampton away this season too, when it would be so easy to just keep these fixtures on the Saturday. Wolves away, which is now inexplicably a five-hour train journey, at least gives us the option of trains back.

It feels like we’re shouting into the void about these kickoff times. That said, we should keep shouting. The more noise, the better.

Maybe one day, they’ll listen.