Away day puzzle

Friday March 19, 2010

The size of the black and white gathering at away fixtures - just 158 fans at Blackburn - might be shocking if only it were not so familiar in recent times.

So why does a team that is again challenging for a European qualification have such a poor away support?

There are two answers to that, and the first is that Fulham are not the only ones suffering.

After years of rising attendances, many Premier League gates are starting to head south.

The effects of the recession, the presence of more and more football on TV, and the increasingly unreliable and inconvenient kick-off times brought about by broadcasters, clubs and the police all have an impact - especially for the travelling fan.

That game at Blackburn was shifted from Saturday to Sunday at just eight days notice - for a once-postponed Carling Cup semi-final to be live on Sky Sports.

Several fans complained on internet forums that they had already paid for non-refundable train tickets to Lancashire, costing as much as £55.

Once you've been stung like that, it's not something you're keen to repeat.

Then there are the issues specific to Fulham - the club with consistently the worst away form in recent Premier League history.

The stark facts are as follows: in four and a half seasons, Fulham have won just nine league games away from home.

By that unenviable average a Fulham fan attending all Premier League away games this season will have to travel almost 3,000 miles before seeing a three-pointer.

This is all through no lack of effort by Roy Hodgson's team. The football is still of a good quality away from home.

But if you are a Fulham fan, and you've been unlucky 17 times out of 19 in a season, then it's a pretty miserable way to spend your weekends.

So what is the answer? Well Fulham need to start winning away, of course. But far simpler than this, fans say the club could do more to make away transport easily available - and then incentivise its use.

And all clubs, not just Fulham, could stand up for fans a bit more when it comes to kick-off times.

Yes, there is money to be made from TV matches, but why is it seen as acceptable for a business to inconvenience its customers to that extent, just because that business happens to be a football club?

A large proportion of football fans will tell you there is nothing better than following your club away from home.

Let's hope this club, and this country, doesn't get to the stage things are in Spain and Italy - where most games have no away support at all.