Is Friday night football here to stay?

It has nothing to do with the demands of television. At least not this time. More ‘logistical’ problems affecting the local area.

The English Defence League (EDL) are planning a march in Walsall some eight miles away from the ground. West Midlands police have taken the wise decision to move the football rather than stretch their resources in trying to mix football with politics so to speak.

It was initially slotted in for 5:30pm on Saturday, but due to the aforementioned EDL get-together, other options had to be looked at. Due to United’s Champions League final qualifier with Club Brugge on Tuesday and next Wednesday, a Sunday afternoon date was not fair on the visiting side. Wolves’ match with Hull in the Championship has also been moved to Sunday lunchtime.

Not this season, but it is a nice advert about what to expect from next season. The new Premier League rights deal will see 10 live matches broadcast on a Friday night.

No, but it has been a while. Arsenal enjoyed a 3-2 win over Newcastle 12 years ago on a Friday night. Before the Premier League era, one of the most famous matches played out on a Friday evening was Arsenal’s 2-0 win at Liverpool in 1989 when Michael Thomas’s late goal denied the home side the title in the closing seconds of the season.

Not really. Certainly not in Europe. Club Brugge are playing Kortrijk in their weekend Belgian league match on a Friday night. Athletic Bilbao meet Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup this evening while Bayern Munich face Hamburg in the Bundesliga. There has also been live Championship action for several years on a Friday night.

It sounds like a positive way to let your hair down after the working week, but that is probably only true if you don’t have to travel too far. Trying to reach grounds up and down the country becomes a challenge in itself unless you can get off work earlier. But fans will need to accept such matches as the norm. TV dictates where and when football is played. Friday night football looks likely to become a regular occurrence.