BerlinWaller wrote:Shrewsbury have put forward the idea of playing the early rounds of the cups in September and the League starting in October so fans can watch. Not a bad idea.
I posted this on the Facebook page a few days ago and tagged Rod in:
Checkatrade Trophy or whatever it is called brings in a lot of money.
The Football League had suggested aiming for September 12th start. That would mean three weeks without fans, so no income and what to do about season ticket holders.
Why not play the three 'League' stage games of Checkatrade on those Saturdays, broadcasting on iFollow for free? They are poorly attended anyway, so less revenue loss, but people would probably watch on iFollow because we've been starved of football for so long. Clubs can use them in effect, as 'friendlies', which are going to be hard to organise. The sponsors get increased coverage and because of the money they put in, clubs get some income. Perhaps share the money out more equally, rather than on 'win bonuses', so everyone gets an equal share.
Then the Football League begins in October.
Is that a worthy suggestion Rod?
Can't see us finding it easy to arrange pre-season friendlies and we're not going to want three Checkatrade Trophy matches in an already shortened season. Season ticket holders don't get Checkatrade Trophy games included anyway, so they aren't impacted. That could be three Saturday games, which more people would watch on iFollow because we've all been starved of football.