EARLIER THIS WEEK I was among 1,779 people to witness a hugely entertaining 3-3 draw between Limerick FC and Longford Town.
1,779 is Limerick’s second highest attendance of the season after the Markets Field opening night; it was the highest midweek attendance for the club in years.
It was achieved on a Monday night, with Liverpool on the telly.
Last week, Derry City sought a rescheduling of their home game against Dundalk following the decision by Sky Sports to screen Friday’s Premier League match between Manchester United and Aston Villa. It was painted as a test case for next season’s 10 planned Friday night matches on Sky.
I understand Derry’s concerns, but for me this is another example of pointing at external issues that are negligible compared to what is within our collective control.
Now, maybe Derry just wanted to kick up a fuss and it may serve clubs to do so. It was worth their while when Sky started televising Sunday matches. Our resulting switch to Friday night football saw funds channelled into the league, courtesy of Sky, targeting the provision of floodlights.
But when you look at the impact of the Manchester United game on Friday and the Liverpool game on Monday, the facts do not back up the worries being expressed.
I compared Friday’s and Monday’s attendance fixtures [as recorded on extratime.ie] with the comparable nights during the first series of games. Initial results seem ominous with an estimated drop of 4,000 spectators. On paper the big losers were Cork City, who had 1,799 fewer people in the ground than the corresponding previous home fixture against Limerick, though every club experienced a drop-off.
Comparing Monday’s attendances, which clashed with the Liverpool match, there’s also an estimated drop of 381, though Limerick’s second highest attendance of the season helped keep that number up. An attendance drop on any midweek game would be unexpected when comparing to Fridays.
To take that information in isolation it looks like the clashes with English games had a considerable impact. However, if you compare the impact of the Premier League on TV in the context of recent attendance figures, the effect is lessened. Despite two clashing matches and Monday games, we see a 2,000 increase in attendance across the 12 clubs collectively.
As an example, while Cork City had 1,799 fewer than the first round meeting with Limerick, last Friday’s game is very consistent with their recent home attendances. Every club has a hardcore fan base that will be at their home games; they turn up regardless of all the existing competition across Friday night entertainment, stretching beyond the Premier League.
What the figures really show is that while there may be a slight impact on televising Friday night Premier League games, it is limited and it is surmountable. A good run of games, a local derby or providing a good match night experience is far more important than the influence of TV.
In fact, only 10 Friday nights out of 36 will be impacted and given that many of the UK’s higher profile clubs will be in European action on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, I’d suggest that on most Fridays, few games will involve the traditional glamorous sides.
There is no challenge for attention from televised league football through the summer. Why not use the mid-season break to gain a weekend when there’s no competition from other leagues?
When you look at the facts, perhaps the biggest issue to jump out is that when you look back over the last four fixtures across the clubs, just 9,700 people are paying in on an average League of Ireland Premier Division night. I don’t see an argument to indicate the hardcore attendance across the league is much less than this 9,700 figure. I don’t see Sky matches having a big impact on that number.
Where it will have an impact is on the casual supporter already staying at home. Sky will not stop existing fans attending, but it may hinder our abilities to grow those numbers unless we cop on to ourselves.
Clubs and the association have ample notice of the change to come. We have a few months left this season to ask supporters why they come, and perhaps more importantly ask others why they don’t. Then we have a few months to make changes that will turn match nights into a more attractive proposition for new fans. After that we have six months to work on them before a Friday night Premier League game kicks off.
Attendances will fluctuate for a variety of reasons, but if we control those reasons we can influence, there’s no reason to worry about those Friday night lights.
