TWENTY-FOUR hours before his team's FA Cup tie against Arsenal, the Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce commented that if the Reebok Stadium wasn't full to the rafters for that particular game he might as well pack up and go home.

Give me a call Sam and I'll let you have Pickford's number. Or perhaps you might like to join me in Doctor Who's Tardis so we can travel back to the time when being a football fan meant you were actually there to watch your team on a Saturday afternoon.

Just consider what was on offer at the Reebok. A sixth-round FA Cup tie. Just one match away from the semi-finals. The visiting team was Arsenal including Vieira, Bergkamp and Pires.

But did you see the Reebok? All those empty seats. Four-and-a- half thousand tickets not sold for a match which should have had touts thinking it was Christmas. And the admisson prices had been reduced.

Believe me, if I had written that last paragraph only 10 years ago, you would have said I'd been at the Murphy's again. But if you wanted an example of one of the great ills which has crept into professional football over the past decade, then Saturday's game was the perfect one.

Where were those missing fans? Well, you don't have to be a genius to work that one out, do you?

They were sitting at home in front of the fire watching the match live on the telly or down at the local with their pals because the Ruptured Duck has one of those big screens.

Do I blame those armchair fans and accuse them of not being true supporters? No I don't. Chilly day. Problems finding a parking space. The admission money. Stuck in a traffic jam on the way home. Why not take the easy option and watch the match on the box? Saves a lot of hassle - and money, come to that.

Blame?

Do I blame the television companies for those missing fans? On Saturday, it was the BBC, but it could just as easily have been Sky covering the Bolton match. So no, I don't.

Major broadcasters such as the BBC and Sky have a responsibility to their viewers and nothing else.

In my book, the blame for those missing thousands at the Reebok lies at the door of Bolton Wanderers itself - and every other club in the Premiership.

Only a few days ago, Bolton chairman Phil Gartside accused the Wanderers' stay-away fans of letting the club down.

I don't see it that way. I believe it's the other way around.

It is the Premiership clubs who have let the fans down by jumping into bed with the devil when negotiating their current TV deal.

The Bible tells us that we only reap what we sow and when it comes to professional football and live televised matches, the good book is spot on.

In return for the 10 pieces of silver, the Premiership has allowed TV to dominate and control English soccer.

Matches start at a time and on a day that suits television - not the fans.

Had Saturday's match not been shown live on television, the Reebok would have been bursting at the seams.

Premiership chairmen were only too willing to take the TV cash ... and they have to accept the consequences.

Do you agree with Hince? Have your say.

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