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Compensation for re-arranged games

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Baggy
(@baggy)
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Joined: 1 year ago
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You may have seen that York City Supporters' Trust have been in touch asking for support for their attempts to get the National League and TNT Sports to offer some compensation when games are moved at short notice to suit the TV coverage. They were affected when their away game at Boreham Wood was moved from Sat 6th to Sunday 7th January not long ago, when many fans had already booked transport and accommodation. You can see their open letter to the League and TNT at the link below

An-Open-Letter-to-The-National-League-and-TNT-Sports.pdf (ycst.org.uk)

I imagine they are seeking support from all other NL clubs for a general approach which sees some form of compensation for clubs or fans when this happens.

So what do people think?  

Some of us were probably affected by the change in the date of the York away fixture, although I didn't make any arrangements in the end due to the excessive cost of overnight accommodation. And there have been other annoying changes, such as Fylde. 

It might be complicated for TNT / League to compensate individual fans directly, but I would be in favour of any "late" changes (? 5 weeks or less) requiring some compensation going from TNT / NL to the club, to distribute to fans who face financial losses.  This might also act as a deterrent to them when mucking about with the fixture list. 

I'd be interested to hear how many people have suffered financial losses in this way and views on potential compensation. 

We can ensure your views are reflected in the response from our Supporters' Trust to York City. 

Thanks. 

 


   
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Dorking Eagle
(@dorking-eagle)
Just a supporter. Moderator
Joined: 1 year ago
Posts: 953
 

For the majority of our away games I tend to use the official supporters coach, so there's no financial loss to me there if a game moves. And they are great value.

Occasionally for the longer trips where I want to make a weekend of it (eg the forthcoming trip to Macclesfield) I book up a hotel for the Saturday night. And I don't tend to book up until a few weeks beforehand (and the tv picks are done with greater notice)

It is pretty rare that TNT's televised games are on a different day - they usually go for either Saturday lunchtime or Saturday teatime (5.30)

I guess we could be impacted by a late-ish change but it's a pretty small likelihood. I got wind of the Fylde game moving from the original 5.30 (for tv) kick off to the lunchtime slot (on the quiet from a helpful contact) about 10 days before it actually got announced - obviously DW couldn't say anything publicly until TNT announced it, but it was odd that TNT took the extra time to make it public

As it turned out, apart from the very early Saturday morning start, it meant my family had more time in Blackpool enjoying the attractions, illuminations etc, so it was a good switch from our pov

The biggest risk to fans is postponements - waterlogged or frozen pitches! If that happens and you lose out financially you just take it on the chin don't you?

DW do have a very good idea about which of our hardcore fans make the crazy trips and try to give them an informal 'heads up' where they can, which is hugely appreciated. We have some great staff and volunteers at our club that look out for us and each other. I remember being more than halfway to Halifax (attempt 2!) last season (on the motorway) and getting news of the postponement 10 mins before the twitter announcement for example!

I guess the biggest PITA is if fans book specific trains for away games and at non refundable rates, only to be stuck with unusablke, unrefundable tickets after a game is moved. 

I don't speak for anyone other than myself, but I think quite a small proportion of our fans use long distance trains for away games - firstly the supporters coaches are incredible value. If people want to travel independently to make more of a trip of it, then car gives the most freedom and flexibility. And also our geographic position isn't ideal for the trains - if we're playing in the North of England then it's an hour long train ride to London before you even start! (that's not to say I don't know a couple of our fans who work on the railway who get free train travel of course and make the most of it!)

Anyway I'm rambling on a bit, but lets just say that the National League tv changes really aren't all that bad when compared to the Premier League ones. And supporters of National League clubs like ours do try to balance our own needs with those of the clubs for whom tv exposure (and money) is a welcome boost. 

 

 

 

 

This post was modified 11 months ago by Dorking Eagle

"Why would I leave to join a League Two club? We're going there anyway!" - Marc White


   
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