Keane: We'll play Newcastle on the moon!
Roy Keane is in favour of the Premier League's proposal to play games overseas.
And the Sunderland boss is sure the club's loyal fans will find a way of supporting their team, "even if it's on the moon"!
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The early reaction from supporters has been one of scepticism about the cost involved for those who follow the club in most of its games and who would break the bank to make sure that continues.
But Keane said: "I'm in favour of it. Why not? I think change is good. I know people will be critical and there is the issue of how this will affect fans who want to be at the games.
"But I know our fans and I know they would probably find a way of travelling in numbers – even if it's on the moon, particularly if it's against Newcastle!"
Keane admitted there might be an issue in terms of how fair the game turns out to be. The proposal for the extra game in the season could feasibly meaning one team scrapping for survival having a very tough game – against Manchester United for instance – while another may not face such a difficult test, with the points return crucial.
Keane quipped: "That's an issue, I know. If it happens to us, we'll complain about it then! But I thought Richard Scudamore from the Premier League spoke very well about it last night and it's just a proposal that I'm sure will be looked into carefully."
Meanwhile Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn stressed that, although the Black Cats had agreed the league should investigate the plan, the idea is in its infancy and nothing is set in stone.
All 20 Premier League clubs yesterday agreed to look into the possibility of extending the season to 39 games, and taking English top division football on to foreign soil for the first time.
The 10 extra fixtures generated would be played at venues around the globe, and could see the Black Cats taking on rivals for Premier points in cities such as Tokyo, Toronto or Tel Aviv – with clubs getting a rumoured 5m.
The plan is for 10 games to be played over one weekend, starting in January 2011.
Quinn said there was a long way to go before the proposal could become reality.
"We have only agreed to explore something – nothing more than that," he said. "We really are at step A, and not step B or C. There are a lot of positives and negatives to come, but we don't really know. It's at a very, very early stage."
Quinn insisted Sunderland would only give their approval to the plan if all clubs are treated equally."
The Premier League is now big business abroad, broadcast to more than 600m people in 202 countries. Cities in Asia, North America and the Middle East are expected to be most likely to bid to host matches.
But the controversial idea, which could kick-off in the 2010/11 season, has attracted stinging criticism from supporters.
"I think it's crazy," said Black Cats superfan Gary Sunderland AFC Lamb, from Seaham.
"They don't seem to realise how much it costs people to follow their team. They just think about making money and nothing else."
He added: "Teams complain all the time that they play too many matches, yet now they want to fly around the world to play more. I don't agree with it at all."
George Forster, chairman of Sunderland AFC Supporters' Association, said: "I can't see many fans being able to afford to go abroad, but there aren't many other ways left for the clubs to raise revenue these days."
Malcolm Clarke, co-chairman of the Football Supporters' Federation, called on Premier League bosses to scrap the idea if most fans oppose it.
He said: "The idea that teams can play a league game in a place where their supporters won't be able to go and watch them will be totally opposed by the vast majority of supporters."
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