ITV
are ruining football
12/11/01 | by Chris Denman

Being a student I find it hard to travel to away games when they kick off at 6:15 on a Sunday evening. I know a lot of other people are in the same position as me. Travelling to away matches on a Sunday evening for a 6:15 kick off is ridiculous. I go to watch Forest with my Dad and two brothers. Me and my brothers have school the next day and my dad has work so Sunday games are not practical for us. I do go to many away games in midweek but Sundays are completely different. I'm not saying there shouldn't be football on a Sunday but at a realistic time like midday. If the matches were at midday then it would allow more supporters to travel to the games.
To make matters worse, finding a pub with ITV Digital is like trying to find a Derby fan with a brain - near enough impossible. I can't get ITV Digital because of where I live which I find stupid. ITV don't use a mini-dish so many people can't get it. This means I have to listen to the game on the radio and I don't get to see any of the highlights. Many people are restricted from seeing the matches because they are at stupid times on Sundays instead of Saturdays.
When Forest played Bradford a few weeks ago the viewing figures were appalling. According to Sunday Telegraph only 1000 subscribers tuned into watch the game. This is very worrying because the Bradford game should attract many more viewers than it did because it is one of the biggest games in the league. It was also pointed out that it would have been cheaper for ITV to collect all the people who watched the game at home, take them to the ground, give them a meal, let them watch the match, then put them in a hotel for the night. Now if you ask me that's a disgrace and something should be done so that more supporters can see their team. There are more supporters at a Division Three game then there was watching the Bradford game on television and it isn't good for First Division football.
There are lots of people who also feel the same way as I do. There are fans all over the country that feel the same. Football is for the real fans not the people who sit at home and watch from their armchairs. Therefore something has to be done before football is taken away from the fans like you and me. I would rather go and watch Forest live than sit at home and listen to the match on the radio and I'm sure you feel the same way.
The Walsall match is another example of how television is dictating football. Forest had a number of players away on international duty and the football league decided that they would not postpone the game. Has this got anything to do with the game being on television? Well I believe if this game wasn't on television then it would have been cancelled. I like many others were appalled when the football league refused to postpone the game and it just highlights the power television companies have.
Forest were very unlucky to lose against Walsall. We created a number of chances but just couldn't score. This has been the case in the last few league matches and it needs to be sorted out. Forest are creating chances and they will score goals eventually. At Walsall we had attempts cleared off the line, DJ hit the bar but the ball just wouldn't go in. I don't think we should be too worried and I believe the lads are going to give somebody a hammering soon. The defence is strong and as long as that stays the same we will win more than we lose this season. Paul Hart will have his key players back for the Preston game, which will be a bonus after this result.
Our other two games over the last couple of weeks didn't go quite to plan either. The visit of Sheffield Wednesday was our first defeat at home this season and we could have won that game quite easily. We had enough chances to score against the Owls but it just wasn't our night. Then our difficult trip to West Brom was a little better but we still lost the game 1-0. We had a few chances and on another day could have got a point. We are playing well and the points will come. The supporters who are starting to moan should look at what Paul Hart is trying to achieve and they would see how bright the future is.
So the next two weeks provide us with a home game and an away game. We face Preston at home next week in what should be a good match between two exciting teams. Last season Forest won the fixture 3-1 but it will be harder this season. Preston are playing well this campaign and it will be another test for our youngsters. After that we then go to Crewe. Hopefully the result will better then last seasons when we got beat 1-0. Crewe will be looking for points to take them away from the danger zone so expect this to be another difficult match. Their not having a bad season so we can't afford to be complacent.
I'm also going to see England U21's in midweek so hopefully Prutton will start the game and score a goal. It will be a good match and hopefully England will win and get to the championships. Prutton didn't play in midweek but Jenas did for the England U-19's. He played against Georgia on Wednesday and Hungary on Sunday. He scored in both matches and, most importantly, he captained the side in both games.
I will be back in two weeks time, until then lets get right behind the team and hopefully we can secure six points from the two games.
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