Thetownend.com

Notice the home game v Colchester has been brought forward from Saturday the 16th December to Friday the 15th December with a a 7.45 ko, not sure this will improve the attendance.  Have to find another excuse now not to go Christmas shopping with the missus.

 Not a decision seemingly with much to commend it... are there really blokes who get dragged out shopping on the Sat before the festive period, so will miss the game?

Sky?

I think it's counterproductive these days. Surely more will be lost on a Friday night due to work parties / travel issues than would have been lost on the Saturday due to shopping.

It isn't even the final Saturday before Christmas.

Got to say I agree with those sentiments, try booking a party into a hotel on that date, all fully booked!! 

Friday night games are fine if you're local, and they're not if you're not.

Exactly. I would probably have gone to the game on the Saturday, but won't be going on Friday night.

I think we did something similar in 12/13, with the Tranmere game... the reward for what was a top of the table clash a crowd of over 8500, more than the roughly 7500 or thereabouts for the preceding couple of home games.

Of course, that was a much better side as things stand than now, and then we had that lovely little run of 3 home wins, 5-0 v Tranny, I don't think they've ever quite recovered, 5-0 v Pompey and 4-0 Carlisle.  Everything looked so rosy, then clunk the wheels fell off big time as the new year took shape.

If it's a bit closer to Christmas I can see the sense. That Tranmere game was on Friday 21st... By that point most of the parties have been and gone, a lot of workplaces have near enough shut, and people might be heading off somewhere for Christmas on the Saturday. If we were at home on Sat 23rd, I wouldn't have a problem with them shifting it to Fri 22nd.

But moving it from Sat 16th to Fri 15th just doesn't stack up.

As always with such a decision it's good if you win... I thoroughly enjoyed the post match Friday night after the FGR game.

The other minus point is that hardly any U's fans will make the trip cross country, not that they are well supported on their travels anyway, they rarely bring over 200 on a Saturday, often a lot less.

Their average away attendance at Swindon this century has been 207 with 2 games in that under 100 travelling fans and never more than 297.

I guess though it helps make up for the many times we had to travel to Layer Road on a Friday back in the 70's and 80s for matches.

I remember going to Layer Road on a Friday night in the 00's, apparently there was a carnival somewhere else in Essex and they didn't have enough police for the STFC hordes, due on the Saturday. Maybe it's something like that with us, now that even the local Tories have noticed Swindon has a lot less coppers than it needs or pays for.

Went to Layer Road a few times in the late 80s, horrible tiny little ground where you could easily take the ball out of the arms of a player taking a throw in if you wanted to.

How the hell they fitted 19,000 fans into there is beyond me! even a capacity of 6,000 (as it ended up) was too many, we had 2,500 there crammed into one stand in 86 on a Friday when there was nearly 9,000 there, heaving and still no atmosphere from the home fans..