Night games can be special - but are there too many? Brighton and Hove Albion and rival clubs assess their options

But the thrill of night games can wear off if you are caught in the evening rush hour, frustrated by overnight motorway closures or you are a club executive comparing your match-night income with what you would have earned on a Saturday.

Or, for that matter, you are a player trying to feel fresh, fit and at the top of your game at training on Thursday after arriving home in the early hours of Wednesday after an away trek.

That is why the most influential men in the Football League, including Albion chief executive Paul Barber, pictured below, will continue to assess a trimming of the fixture list over the coming months as part of what is being called the Whole Game Solution.

A proposal to cut the second tier to 20 clubs is still very much on the table after the League’s summer conference. But it might not be quite as neat and tidy as four divisions of 20, as suggested recently.

Barber remains open-minded about an eventual change but he can see the potential benefits more clearly than ever after what he described as a very productive League summit.

He certainly feels it is worth a full study and believes clubs now have the best chance in years to make a change.

The key will be cutting the fixture list without hurting themselves financially. And a big part of that is reducing the tally of what would have been 11 midweek league games last season had the original fixture list stayed intact (in fact, Albion ended up playing 18 evening games in the Championship alone).

Barber told The Argus: “What was positive for me at the league conference was that most people had the same attitude as us, which is that we have got an open mind and want to understand a bit more about the proposals.

A bleak Tuesday night in Rotherham

“We know there are two conditions – that clubs will not be any worse off and preferably better off and that the principle of three up, three down remains.

“I think we have got a unique moment in time whereby the relationships between the FA, the Premier League and the Football League are as good as they have been for some considerable time.

“That’s a great basis for talking about some of the issues in the game that some of us have been talking about for many, many years.

“That includes the issue of fans travelling up and down the length of the country on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, the pressure that is on English clubs to perform in Europe when fixture congestion does not make it easy for them to do that.

“And the pressure on the Premier League clubs to release players to the international teams and yet there is no winter break.”

Albion’s initial fixture list for home games last season included 18 on Saturday afternoons and five on Tuesday nights.

That changed to a final tally of 11 on Saturdays (of which two were early kick-offs), six on Tuesday nights, three on Friday nights, one on a Monday night and two on Bank Holiday afternoons.

Clearly most of those changes were down to television requirements. The exception was the switch of the Reading game from a Saturday to a Tuesday because of the Royals’ run in the FA Cup.

On their original fixture list, Albion had the unwanted double-bill of two home games in less than a week on five occasions. It ended up happening four times.

The initial away schedule comprised 17 Saturday games (including Boxing Day) and six Tuesday nights. That changed to 14 Saturdays (of which two became early kick-offs), seven Tuesdays, one Monday night and a Sunday lunchtime.

Again, TV played its part, although the game at Hull was switched from a Saturday to a Tuesday because the league schedules a full round of fixtures on the same day as the FA Cup fourth round.

Barber is keen to stress that fans’ interests play a big part in discussions between chairmen and chief executives.

This 0-0 draw at Hull was one of two games switched from Saturdays to Tuesday nights because of the FA Cup

But he also underlines the importance of revenue from the Premier League and Sky Sports in the overall budget of all 72 clubs.

He said: “Our thinking of 19 home games is that less is more.

“It reduces the impact of travelling in midweek and might give people more of what they want. That is football on a Saturday afternoon. We have heard that loud and clear.

“It might also give us a better quality product because players will not be as tired. That might encourage better crowds, more sponsorship, a better atmosphere, an even better TV deal going forward.

“We had a good debate on the importance of Sky TV and the Premier League. The importance they have to all 72 Football League clubs is phenomenal.

“Without financial contributions from both these organisations, Football League clubs would be in a very, very difficult position. That’s not to say we have to give everything up to the Premier League or Sky TV.

“But what we must recognise is they make a substantial contribution to the Football League and its clubs.”

The League have until next summer to come up with a concrete plan in time for talks over the next TV contract. It is expected that relatively tight timescale will focus minds.

The plan could be adapted to reduce the size of the Championship but keep lower divisions the same.

Barber said: “One of the things that came out is that maybe you reduce the size of the Championship by two or even four clubs but you don’t reduce League One, Two and potentially Three.

“They don’t need a winter break and gate income for them is more important because they don’t get as much TV money or sponsorship.

“Every part of the game, if we are to move forward positively, is going to have to compromise. Everyone can’t have everything they want.”

What's the difference?

Albion attendances (as in how many people actually go to the game) for Tuesday games are typically 10-20 per cent down on a Saturday turnout while hospitality, food and drink sales and merchandise retail are also hit.
The club are also aware some season ticket holders, notably commuters and children, struggle to get to evening games.
Paul Barber said: “There is a significant effect to us on a home game. We enjoy games under lights – but there’s a balance.”