Travelling Jacks discriminated against

The Football League fixture list for 2019/20 was published on Thursday, and was immediately pored over by Evening Post staff. Totting up the miles involved in travelling to mid-week matches, they found that Swans fans had to spend more time on the road from Monday to Friday than the followers of any of the other 23 teams in the Championship. So what? is the immediate reaction; Swansea is out on a limb geographically. However, a closer look at the fixture distribution reveals some strange anomalies.


I reckon Preston North End, Middlesbrough and Charlton Athletic to be at the other corners of the Championship quadrilateral. Charlton fans have to travel only 808 miles as against Swansea's 1,316. (I am taking the Post's figures on trust.) That seems logical when you consider all the other grounds in or near the capital - but Brentford is also in London and nearer the centre of the country, yet Bees' fans have to face 1,074 miles of travel. Similarly, Boro fans face journeys totalling 782 miles, yet the figure for a more central Yorkshire team, Huddersfield Town, is 870. The biggest discrepancy relating to my chosen four is Preston North End (658) as against Wigan Athletic, further south in Lancashire (1,002).

The list has clearly been drawn up by a human being with issues. A computer would have done a better job.