There’s an old saying in the game which goes something like ‘football is nothing without fans’ but in some ways, with little thanks to COVID and lockdown disruptions over the last couple of seasons, the game of football has proved that with or without fans, it still goes on.

The billions in the Premier League mean that no more do ticket sales drive the clubs economic push, but instead the stay-at-home TV audiences watching through subscription based channels, the millions in sponsorship companies pay to have their logo brandished in television sets throughout the world, all much more ‘financially rewarding’ to clubs than those that go home and away risking relationships, finances and careers just to go see their team play.

Those Premier League billions have always drip fed the Football League and bosses at SKY now more than ever can dictate when a game is played at the drop of a hat, to get it on the box and benefit from audiences of a couple of million or more.

Bournemouth verses Nottingham Forest on Friday night was one game, moved in this direction, from its traditional kick off time of 3pm Saturday afternoon the following day, deemed too good for SKY to miss out on potential viewing figures, the games late change (at the start of this year) proving a huge stumbling block to fans who were already booking hotels on the south coast to make a weekend of it, by changing the time and bringing it forward to the night ahead, it also meant that fans working on Fridays would have to leave early to commute the near 200 mile trip, then there’s getting back at gone 2am the following morning too.

These thoughtless financially motivated movements by the clubs involved, the governing bodies (EFL) and the TV companies, are slowly killing the life and soul of their football fans, proving their worthlessness in the industry, ‘they’ll attend anyway’ they say, despite of these changes, which really are not for the better of those die-hards wanting to whatever the cost watch their teams play.

And a HUGE own goal sat in the waiting because of the joint decisions by SKY, the EFL, AFC Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest Football Club, to move the fixture in a bid to simply ‘make money’ was one that they may not have foreseen but was one that had a damning effect on them all, after idiotically moving the match in the first place, the late postponement on Friday afternoon had as all saying ‘why can’t it just be played on Saturday’.

Storm Eunice was long predicted to hit our shores on Friday. Nottingham knew it, Wollaton Park, Newstead Abbey, the Castle, all closed… London Eye shut down, as did Legoland Windsor, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens too, major tourist attractions closed shop because a RED WEATHER WARNING and serious danger to life was dished out by those in the know at the MET Office… But football sometimes feels it’s bigger than life… Let’s take a chance… It said… After all SKY are paying us for the privilege to host our product on TV.

What happened instead was, on Thursday night, Nottingham Forest stated that by 1pm the next day, Bournemouth will make their decision on whether the game will go ahead. That announcement never materialised, until 4pm on Friday afternoon, by then, many Nottingham Forest fans had already left to head south, dangerously too in wind and rain, advised ‘un-necessary’ by the travel industry who stated ‘only go out if you need to’, some fans had already checked into hotels and were in the bars of the Dorset town upon hearing the news, it was all a complete mess that could have been avoided, had the game rightly been called off the night previous.

In the end AFC Bournemouth explained that ‘damage to the stadium’ was the reason for the late postponement, the very reason perhaps why a red weather warning was declared in the first place, the very reason why this game should long have been called off. It was predicted to happen after all.

The ironic thing, had they played it on Saturday, the day it was originally pencilled in for, when the wind had died down and things were calmer, well it might have all been ok to go ahead as normal. After the postponement and with Nottingham Forest themselves already in Bournemouth, the club did request to play the next day, Bournemouth said no.

These late postponements haven’t just affected Forest fans this season, Mansfield went to Forest Green and had the unavoidable abandonment of fog setting in over the New Lawn to disrupt their day out, but feeling the worst of the brunt of our local sides has been Notts County and their own poor travelling supporters, these days like it or not, a Non-League club, and unfortunately having to deal with Non-League opponents who aren’t used to hosting such large numbers of away fans.

Notts County have had an unprecedented number of matches called off and postponed since dropping down into the National League, matches at Dover (twice) and Kings Lynn (on Boxing Day), only hours before kick-off, were cancelled, with fans in numbers having already made their trips, some in pubs, or even inside the grounds in question, left with nothing else to do but turn back and go home, Dover is near a 500 mile round trip from Nottingham, Kings Lynn, having driven it on a number of occasions myself, is a bloody long way too, despite its 79 mile one way distance, get stuck behind a tractor on those single lane roads and your journey can take a good 2 ½ hours. With travel and expense of the supporter in mind, especially at the top of the game, football fans need taking into consideration more.

Nottingham Forest have stated they’ll pay for travel for anyone who has tickets for the re-arranged match with Bournemouth, most likely re-arranged for a midweek match, that isn’t good enough for those who have already lost money travelling yesterday, or that will likely need to miss time off work if they are to go to the next game too.

What needs to happen is fans given free tickets or discount for future games at the City Ground too, after all Nottingham Forest aren’t completely blame free here, they moved the match from its original position to profit from potential TV revenue. They need to reimburse those who already left for Bournemouth, because this was on them, as well as their hosts, SKY and the Football League.

And in future, football fans need looking after better across the board, weather facilities are remarkable these days and with satellite imagery and technology so advanced, they can predict if conditions are going to have an effect on a game going ahead or not… And with safety first, the decision should always be taken well in advance, to re-arrange and schedule a match that is suitable for everyone attending, or taking part.

Many of these games can be pushed back 24 hours and maybe this is something the Premier League, the Football League and National League could look into? But long gone should be the days of postponements happening just hours before kick-off, unless for the most extreme of circumstances (like at Forest Green & Mansfield), because games like Nottingham Forest at Bournemouth scheduled during a red weather warning issued by the Met Office, should never have got the go ahead in the first place, games like Dover against Notts County knowing the pitch was ‘iffy’ should have been re-arranged well in advance.

Football fans need looking after with good communication and financial reimbursement, and it’s the duties of the teams they support, and the organising bodies, to ensure that they get the respect and appreciation they following deserves.

*Article provided by Daniel Peacock (Editor).

*Main image @DanWestwell Notts County Manager Ian Burchnall talks to fans as their Xmas match at Kings Lynn was called off.