The television schedule is extremely punishing on the clubs, while they also enjoy more power in football nowadays according to the manager of Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson. The 70-year-old has always been critical of the way television has dominated English football in recent years. Most of the traditional fixtures have been changed in order to accommodate TV company requirements. Ferguson has said that it almost cost them the title on numerous occasions, while his was also recalled that United almost exclusively lost the title in 2010 as a result of it.
Ferguson has said that United had to play European and Premier league matches in the space of a few days, which took a lot out of the players when it came to their energy levels. He has said that United are always at a disadvantage when it comes to the TV schedule because people demand watching the club on a regular basis. As a result, the television companies decide to alter the fixture list of United in such a way that they are on television more often than not. United are currently top of the table with a seven-point advantage, which means that the second half of the season will be focused on United as they look to win the 20th Premier league title.
“The year we lost the title to Chelsea we played in midweek in Europe and then played a lunchtime game against Chelsea on the Saturday, and they battered us. The biggest disadvantage [in the title race] will be television because the demand for United will never weaken. If they get us playing on Saturday lunchtime after European games it will be ridiculous. We have tried to stop it but TV control these things – they absolutely control it,” said the United manager, who has always been critical of TV power.