With the traditional Saturday 3pm kick offs long being a sticking point for fans following the new television dominated age in the Premier League, with Stoke City now being one game away from the end of the current season – and all games being played on a Sunday – it gives us a chance to see which fans got the preferred 3pm slot, and how often, over the past year.
Whether the gripe is drinking time and social elements to attending games with your mates after a long week at work, or easier travel for family and young children given school commitments in midweek, or even very sensibly, travel arrangements for the away day trippers and the miles they have to cover – almost everyone has a particular favourite.
Some even wonder how kick off times can impact on recovery and a sides performance.
With Leicester City lifting the Premier League crown and having pundits marvel at how they have done that without keeping the ball, having possession you could normally count on one hand, whilst playing a largely 442 formation – well it seems anybody clinging to hope that their side does better at 3pm on a Saturday could be in for a shock.
Saying that I’m certainly not going to do the number crunching on winning runs and whether they tally with these Saturday games, or losing streaks and whether they tally either.
So let’s just keep it simple (like me) as there are plenty more intelligent ways to prove or disprove Saturday 3pm’s and their effect on results.
The top five in this year’s Premier League table – as it stands – are Leicester, Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United. The bottom five being Bournemouth (tied on points with WBA and Crystal Palace above them), Sunderland and now relegated Newcastle, Norwich and Aston Villa.
As the table shows though – with a hattip to The Mirror – Bournemouth and Stoke received the most 3pm kick offs, and Liverpool received the least, with Arsenal and Tottenham only two games ahead.
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3pm Saturday Kick Offs In 2015/16
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Bournemouth
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24 Games
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Stoke City
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24 Games
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West Bromwich Albion
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22 Games
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Watford
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22 Games
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Aston Villa
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22 Games
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Norwich City
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22 Games
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Swansea City
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21 Games
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Sunderland
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21 Games
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Crystal Palace
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20 Games
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Leicester City
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19 Games
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West Ham United
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19 Games
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Southampton
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19 Games
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Newcastle United
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17 Games
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Everton
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14 Games
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Chelsea
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13 Games
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Manchester City
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11 Games
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Manchester United
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9 Games
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Tottenham Hotspur
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7 Games
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Arsenal
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7 Games
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Liverpool
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5 Games
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You can argue this proves mental kick off times don’t effect a side’s form, they just serious annoy fans, or you could very easily argue I need to find something else to do with my time.
What you argue however, is your choice – I’ll just quietly leave the room.
