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Tonight's 20:00 kick off inconveniences me on a personal level because it ensures that I miss the last train home to Saltburn. Our night games always used to start at 19:45 which I'm sure you will appreciate is a more practical start time for the large number of school children amongst the Riverside crowd.

The more fashionable clubs tended to kick off evening fixtures at 20:00 and it seems we decided to follow suit. UEFA Champions League games played in this country always start at 19:45, so there is no standardised consistency or underlying reason for the 15 minute difference which I imagine affects fans' travel plans across the country.

Fewer games than ever are played on a Saturday and even less so at the fans' favoured start time. I decided to delve further into the matter and establish how different clubs are affected by the staggered start times, TV schedules and UEFA cup rest days.

I have checked the fixture lists of four clubs; Boro, as a club not involved in Europe; two of the big 4 in Manchester United and Arsenal; and UEFA cup entrants Tottenham, whose fans now suffer in the same way as we did because of the fact games in that competition are mainly played on Thursdays.

Of our first 20 games, 13 were or are scheduled to start at the regular kick off time (Saturday at 3pm, Boxing Day at 3pm or this midweek's round of fixtures when all 20 teams are involved). Three of our fixtures during this period are 12:45's (two as dictated by Sky, one at the behest of Northumbria Police). The trip to Ewood Park is our only 17:30 match, while three other games are scheduled for Sunday afternoons or Monday evening because of live TV coverage or the opposition's UEFA cup commitments.

Our fixture list, while far from being ideal, appears fan-friendly when compared with those of other clubs.

By the end of December, Arsenal fans will have savoured only seven regular kick offs but will have endured a ridiculous six Saturday teatime games. Five of Arsenal's first six league games of this season kicked off at 17:15 or 17:30. Now I accept that the occasional teatime kick off is a novelty and may be enjoyed by fans but a block of the same irregular start times such as this is ridiculous.

Spare a thought, if you can allow yourself to do so, for Manchester United fans. From August to the end of December their fans will have had the opportunity to watch just three games that kicked off at 15:00 on a Saturday afternoon. It must be pointed out that they have two outstanding fixtures to arrange due to their commitments in both the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA World Club Cup, although I would hazard a guess that these games will also be hijacked by the broadcasters rather than be played at a time convenient to the loyal fans who continue to service the Glazer family debt.

I feel for Spurs fans that are partial to a good Sunday dinner (they probably call it a lunch). Due mainly to their participation in the UEFA Cup, 11 of their first 20 games of this season will have taken place on what was once known as the Sabbath. Just like Manchester United fans, only three of their first 20 games of 2008/09 will have started at 15:00 on a Saturday.

In a way it could be suggested that these clubs are victims of their own success. Their fans may be accustomed to this kind of routine by now, but I still think changes could be made that would help fans make plans to attend games and help maintain a semblance of the ever decreasing traditional feel to the national game.

The kick off times for TV games played on Saturdays are dictated by a UEFA regulation that allows the Premier League to enforce a two and a half hour TV 'black out' period every weekend. During this period (14:45 - 17:15 on a Saturday) no UK broadcaster can show a live game.

This regulation is designed to protect attendances throughout the domestic pyramid but is beginning to appear redundant due to an increasing majority of pubs and clubs that show Saturday Premier League games via foreign satellites, and the fact that there are quite often more league games being played on Sundays at exactly the same time as Sky broadcasts its headline Super Sunday games due to club's participation in the UEFA Cup.

It may be time for the Premier League and UEFA to reconsider the rule. Saturday at 15:00 takes some beating but if Sky, Setanta or whoever were able to show live games at 14:00 and 16:00 on a Saturday, it would be slightly more convenient for instance for Chelsea fans travelling up north for 12:45 or Newcastle fans making a trek home from London after a tea time game.

I would suggest the removal of the 'black out' would have little effect on Premier League attendances as fans across the country have long had the opportunity to watch their team - or others - via the foreign feeds. And whether or not fans of lower league clubs would turn their backs on attending their local game in favour of watching Chelsea - Liverpool at 16:00 on a Saturday is debateable.

The fact that England supplies so many entrants to the UEFA Cup now ensures that Adrian Chiles often has more games to review on MOTD2 than his perma-tanned colleague Gary Lineker on the main Saturday night edition.

The structure of the UEFA Cup is due to change and fans would benefit if games could be played earlier in the week so that the impact on league schedules was reduced. If UEFA want each competition to have equal media exposure, they could play the UEFA Cup and Champions League games on alternate weeks. These subtle changes could be built into the busy calendar without causing massive upheaval to domestic cup competitions.

The Game 39 proposal rightly received all-round condemnation but the scheduling of games played in this country presents fans with plenty of problems. At the same time as rejecting the preposterous proposals to play a round of fixtures overseas, it is now time for the authorities to rethink the way that the fixture list is compiled. I would like to catch the 22:09 to Saltburn and I'm sure Spurs fans would appreciate a Sunday dinner once in a while.

Andrew Glover