Premier League managers should take up kick-off complaints with owners as new TV slots loom

Premier League broadcast rights will go out to tender later this year and there could be the introduction of Sunday night games as bosses look to secure a lucrative new deal

The next time a Premier League manager moans about scheduling of fixtures - and that will be any time soon - ignore his complaints and point him in the direction of his club’s owners.

Because they are the ones who have sold the elite game - lock, stock and barrel - to broadcasters. And when the current TV deal comes to an end at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, those owners will want more than the £5.1billion they got for the last three-year contract.

So, what, according to reports, are they going to do? Offer more live matches by creating new time slots. Hello, Sunday night football. As it happens, Sunday night football appeals to me - I like the idea of rounding off a weekend by watching a game at that time.

And if it is a Premier League match rather than a La Liga match, then fine. Yes, a 6.30pm kick-off on a Sunday would add to the long list of inconveniences that are thrown at the match-day fan nowadays.

But unfortunately, when it comes to protecting the interests of the travelling supporter, that horse has not only bolted, it has disappeared over the horizon.

Only the Old Bill can help out on that front, getting the odd Wembley fixture shifted by an hour or so because they don’t want well-oiled punters adding to their workload.

No, let’s be realistic, the battle to make following your team a little easier and a lot less expensive has long been lost. And sadly, the incredible loyalty and passion of club fans on these shores has been the reason why it has been lost.

Your club’s owners? They take you for granted. Stadiums are full, visiting fans’ sections are full, attendances throughout the pyramid are, quite frankly, in this day and age, astonishing.

The cost-of-living crisis is little short of epic proportions and yet men, women and children are still flooding to the match - whatever time and wherever it is kicking off.

That is why the owners will have no qualms about offering a Sunday night game - or/and a Saturday night game - to broadcasters if it means an extra few quid. And that extra few quid will come from YOU.

Because the TV companies have to make their profit and they do it by charging higher and higher subscriptions to their customers. Simple as that.

When the Premier League executives and owners are celebrating the next monstrous TV deal, they are celebrating you having to pay even more to watch football on telly.

(If they wanted to give you better value for money, incidentally, the Premier League and EFL could get the ludicrously archaic 3pm TV blackout scrapped.)

Despite the dire financial situation so many people find themselves in, our appetite for the game - and our willingness to fund Premier League football and its extravagant wages - shows few signs of diminishing.

And that’s why Sunday night games are coming your way. And that’s why owners will continue to sell the game - lock, stock and barrel - to broadcasters. So when that manager bleats about a late kick-off or an early kick-off, you know where to tell him to go … the boardroom.

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