Following the announcement of the EFL fixtures for 2019/20, The EFL has also revealed the games to be shown live by Sky Sports on the opening weekend of the season.
While four out of the five games selected unsurprisingly feature Championship big hitters and regular Sky picks such as Leeds United and Derby County, the inclusion of Salford City’s League Two opening day encounter at home to Stevenage prompted some angry reaction from supporters on social media.
The Ammies are about to embark on their first season in the EFL after winning promotion last season through the National League playoffs. Their rise up through the football pyramid has received considerable media attention due to the part-ownership of the club by the famed Manchester United ‘Class of 92’ which includes Sky pundit Gary Neville.
Many fans pointed out that it is unusual for Sky to show football below the top two tiers at all unless it is on an international break weekend or the end of season playoffs and some felt the media love-in with Salford and Sky’s ‘connection’ with the club was at the root of the selection.
Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony even got in on the act questioning the decision and tweeting about the selection with the hashtag ‘friends in high places.’
https://twitter.com/DMAC102/status/1141638353491812352
To be fair to long-standing Salford City supporters, none of this is in their control, but the Ammies addition to the EFL is proving to be unpopular amongst many supporters of other clubs.
Some voiced the opinion there were many sides in the bottom two tiers of English football much more in need of the revenue a televised game generates.
Here is a selection of their responses to the EFL announcement on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/yates_alex/status/1141618400629796864
https://twitter.com/ecousins01/status/1141644845091627008
https://twitter.com/Boatzy/status/1141616952345026560
https://twitter.com/Steve_W_1889/status/1141618185994743808
https://twitter.com/thegloamer/status/1141622850111057920
https://twitter.com/George_C_Heeks/status/1141621577701875712
https://twitter.com/wingsmad/status/1141647050234310657
https://twitter.com/JamieManton1/status/1141633799639457792
https://twitter.com/Adam_Webster96/status/1141621629606420481
https://twitter.com/JamesWatford5/status/1141640957072498688
https://twitter.com/WildWilx/status/1141625815509151754
