A few idle thoughts before today’s game at Rushden…
– I hope we’re not getting too cocky/confident over tonight, because a 2nd vs bottom clash is a guaranteed banana skin of a contest. From what I gathered, we started off a bit slowly (again) on Saturday, and we’ve yet to experience going a goal down. Could we be like the Germans in the World Cup, looking like winners until we don’t get things our own way?
– This all said, with about three games in seven days, if we can keep up that momentum we could help our relegation battle early promotion push. The last time I saw a buzz this early in the season, it was the BSS one.
In some ways, there’s a lot of similarity between today and back then. We’re certainly playing like a unit, as we did back then, and playing some pretty decent football thus far too. Obviously we have far harder teams to come up against, and if I’m being honest I expect us to finish behind Luton and Crawley come the end of April.
But this season, we’ve lost the apprehension of being in the Conf. We have figured out that, especially the ex-League sides, aren’t to be feared. In some cases, they’re actually very ordinary. Tonight will be a test, as they all are, but it will be interesting more so than ever to see what happens when we travel to York or Luton.
My guess is that we’ll settle down after a couple of draws/defeats, which will knock us out a bit – after all, nobody likes it when you have a 100% record and then you lose it. But one wonders if the debacle of last season’s anti-climax is in the back of our minds, and we’re all secretly thinking “it can’t be worse…”?
– Speaking of worse : hearing more about the Prem Sports deal, and it’s looking even more of Setanta’s crappy offspring than first thought. Reading various interweb comments (I don’t listen to the Non League Show, but plenty do), it seems like many games will end up getting played on Thursday evenings.
Now, from my own point of view Thursdays are ideal for me. But it’s obvious that attendances will drop, and there’s no obvious sign of the clubs getting the necessary compensation from revenues generated etc. This at a time when the costs of running clubs is getting higher through wages, and money is getting tighter. I haven’t heard the spin reasons from the Conf for signing this deal, but I imagine “we are obliged to look after all our clubs” is one line that is getting trotted out.
Apparently, York City could lose £10k-15k through their TV service (when you add up the DVD sales etc), if we assume there’s an exclusivity deal. I doubt if they’ll get that money back. We’re lucky insofar as AFCWTV is and always has been free, but you can’t help feeling the clubs are being railroaded into a deal that will make Setanta look like ESPN.
I found out over the weekend that for a TV company to beam back a satellite signal from the location to its main broadcasting HQ requires a satellite transponder, which costs £1k an hour to hire. And that’s just to actually get the signal from the ground in the first place – I’ve no idea how much an outdoor broadcast unit (ie the trucks you see at events) costs to hire, not to mention camera hire, people to operate it, presenters etc etc. I suppose if you gave a ballpark figure of £10k to produce a 3 hour live programme at a game, you wouldn’t be far off.
That’s why I think Prem Sports will be lucky to last the season. At the moment, they can broadcast GAA/NRL because all they have to do is get the feed from RTE/Channel 9 (or whoever covers NRL in Australia). That’s it. No need for OB units, commentators, other technical stuff – they just pay the broadcasting rights and however much it costs to relay the broadcast live. Perfectly survivable.
But now? Live TV, especially of games, is not cheap. That’s why ESPN used Sky’s cameras for their games last year, and they have more clout than anyone. Not only is paying £6-99 asking a lot of potential customers, it also has to be a good, professional production too – like it or not, Sky’s coverage forced the likes of BBC, Five and ITV to up their game, and we all see what happens to a reputation of a TV company when they mess up (ref: ITV).
We now live in the 3D era, so anything resembling MOTD from 1985 is going to lead to an, ahem, unenthusiatic viewer. That’s just the way it is – the average viewer’s expectancy of live football now is far greater than the days when Bobby Robson had to climb up a fireman’s ladder at the back of the South Stand.
It would not surprise me to hear of clubs actively fighting not to get shown on Prem Sports. Really doesn’t seem to be anything in it for the clubs. The rearranged fixtures are due this week, and you can bet that a few Wombles are looking at pre-purchased train tickets with a sweaty forehead…
– Finally, for those going tonight – Franchise are at home to Blackpool in the League Cup. Just be warned, the local Games Workshop will be full of all ten of them.