Football must start thinking about fans rather than TV money

It was the old-fashioned dream of FA Cup glory that took Norwich City fans to Liverpool for a fifth-round tie on Wednesday night, though getting out of the place at the end of it all was something few wanted to think about.

The last train home to Norfolk left Liverpool Lime Street more than an hour before the match even started, and the 8.15pm kick-off time saw many of the 1,000 travelling fans arriving home at 5.30am, after the 2-1 defeat.

‘It’s too late for the away fans. They haven’t been considered,’ said Norwich boss Dean Smith. Which was putting it mildly.

For all but the last three of the grand old competition’s 140 editions, the Anfield tie would have been a much anticipated weekend event, drawing in young fans squeezed out of the game because Premier League matches are sold out and unaffordable.

But not only have the fifth-round ties been tossed away into midweek — to ensure vast Premier League squads get their winter break — but the kick-off times are now so late that the TV coverage has become a farce.

Middlesbrough’s tie with Tottenham was switched from BBC One to BBC Two halfway through extra time. So much for cherishing the ‘best club competition in the world’.

In the previous round, Boro completed their shock penalty shootout victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford at 10.53pm.

It was another 8.15pm start for Boreham Wood at Everton on Thursday night, for what ought to have been the trip of a lifetime. Everyone in the travelling contingent was frightfully polite about this brush with Frank Lampard and Co. But another 8.15pm midweek kick-off killed any chance of children being there.

‘They’re back at school so there’s no chance,’ said fan David Arthur, who was travelling without his two sons. ‘It’s