There is only one set of Premier League supporters who should be truly furious about the Boxing Day fixture list - Newcastle United. Getting away from Old Trafford after a night game is mildly hellish at the best of times. Having to do it deep, deep, deep into Boxing Day will be a real pain.

Of course, the Premier League’s Boxing Day fixture list is not actually a list. It is one fixture. Manchester United versus Newcastle United at 8pm. And it seems quite a lot of people are in uproar. They are all going on about something known as ‘tradition’.

Well, it was once a tradition to play games on Christmas Day but we don’t miss that routine since it stopped in the late 1950s. And don’t forget, the owners of Premier League clubs have long since sold tradition to the highest bidders.

Don’t forget, any anger over fixture scheduling should be directed at one set of characters. Not the Premier League, not Sky Sports or any other broadcaster. It should be directed at club owners.

Yes, Newcastle fans have a right to be annoyed at the prospect of that seven-hour return journey to Manchester late on Boxing Day but that annoyance should be with the club’s owners. Similarly, the buck stops with them for the demolition of the Premier League’s Boxing Day programme.

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Because whichever way you look at the fixture list, it is, essentially, dictated by the demands of television. The brief given to the Premier League by club owners down the years has been simple … get as much money as you can.

And the Premier League executives - led by Richard Masters - have obliged. The latest domestic deal - which runs for four years from the start of this season - is worth £6.7billion. Great.

But Sky Sports and TNT Sports want bang for their buck. And if that is Manchester United versus Newcastle United at eight o’clock on whatever day, so be it. Friday night games are in the contract and Boxing Day falls on a Friday this year.

Should Premier League fixtures be played on Boxing Day? Have your say in the comments section.

Which is also a contributory factor, it seems, to there being only one Premier League fixture, a situation that has wound up a lot of people, it seems. I might be in a minority but it seems no big deal.

In fact, on a traditional sporting day, it will be nice for fans to maybe go and watch their local non-league team (there is a full programme). Or go and watch an EFL game (there is a full programme).

Or sit back and watch the highlights from the first day’s play of the fourth Ashes Test (with England already three up). Or have a flutter on one of National Hunt's big races, the King George at Kempton.

Some of us complain about the dominance of the Premier League. So, you can’t get too upset when it leaves the stage clear for others.

You can, though, complain about some of the inconsiderate, often scandalous scheduling of fixtures. Just make sure those complaints are directed at the owners who have sold the Premier League to television.

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