That football supporters are usually the last stakeholders considered when decisions are made in the game is hardly breaking news.
Match-going fans are the life and soul of football in this country, but time and again they are let down, ignored and even unfairly demonised.
Now it's the turn of Manchester City fans to feel the scorn of the powers that be.
The FA Cup third round draw earlier this week gave City an away trip to League Two Swindon Town, the kind of cup away day that supporters of Premier League clubs relish.
A new ground to experience (at least among the younger members of the fanbase!) away from the glitz and glamour of the top flight, a relatively low chance of losing and that good old FA Cup David vs Goliath feel. You can't beat it, can you?
Well, if the game was at a sensible and convenient time for match-going fans, that might be true. Due to the selection of the game for television coverage on ITV the two teams will line up at the County Ground at 8pm on Friday, January 7.
Hmm, driving over 150 miles down the M6 on a Friday afternoon could be a bit of a nightmare and would involve getting home in the early hours. How about the train?
The last departure from Swindon that would get Mancunians back home - at 1am on the Saturday morning after four changes - departs 20 minutes before kick-off.
A day after the feast of the Epiphany, perhaps this is the FA's idea of a tribute to the intrepid journey the Three Wise Men made to Bethlehem. Albeit without any of the wisdom.
Not only that, but the trip to Swindon crowns a trio of expensive and logistically difficult away days at a time of year when money is scarce.
On Wednesday, December 29, City travel to Brentford for an 8pm encounter, before heading back to London on New Year's Day for a 12:30pm showdown with Arsenal. Six days later is the Swindon slog.
"We're not the last consideration, there's no consideration given to football supporters," General Secretary of the Manchester City Official Supporters Club Kevin Parker told City Is Ours.
"You almost get the impression that the people making these decisions are just not football fans. Any normal fan might think 'right, let's put Swindon v City on TV', then the next consideration would be, 'how's that going to impact travelling fans?'.
"A boycott wouldn't work. If a supporter wants to go to the game, at the end of the day he or she will find one way or another to get there. Ultimately, those who do go who would normally have travelled by train will still go, but at a greater expense than it should have been."
The total disdain for football fans shown by governing bodies and broadcasters is not surprising anymore, but that doesn't make it any less infuriating.
As we saw last season, the value of the product that the leagues and broadcasters sell - I loathe to call football a product but that is what it has become - plummets without supporters in the stands.
As City fans, we were lucky that watching our heroes on TV in empty stadiums was still a somewhat enjoyable experience, given the quality of the performances and trophies that followed. The dullness of Tuesday's defeat at an empty Red Bull Arena served as a reminder of how meaningless football can be without supporters.
I am not a regular away match attendee, but I am still outraged. For over 12 months, City fans could not watch their team and missed many brilliant performances and crucial results. Thousands did not get to bid Sergio Aguero farewell in person or watch the Blues finally reach the pinnacle of club football by plotting a path to the Champions League final.
The last thing City fans, or followers of any club for that matter, need is the powers that be stopping them from getting to games and supporting their team - COVID-19 did more than enough in that regard and we're not out of the wood there by any means.
Organised protests like those against the Super League back in April, or even match boycotts, might be the only way to bring an end to ridiculous match scheduling.
Us fans were told how important we were at various points when it was convenient for the authorities over the past 18 months. It's about time we were actually listened to.
What are your thoughts on kick-off times being changed for television? Follow our City Is Ours writer Alex Brotherton on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
