Topic: Christmas fixtures 2017

[El Lobo]

3 and 4 days rest? Absolute luxury

[matt_lfc]

3 and 4 days rest? Absolute luxury

True and they think there hard done by! I like most work 5 and get 2 off!

[Suareznumber7]

There should be a change in the rules. Minimum time between two kick offs of 66 hours - that allows a Wednesday 8pm to be followed by a Saturday 3pm - which is reasonable.

Make it a regulation and it minimises the disproportionate impact of the fixtures. TV can tend be curtailed in the damage they can do.

There is not reason even those fixtures could not be arranged with a minimum interval between games.

They can have an extremis clause in the event of multiple postponements - but we have not got close to those conditions yet - frozen or unplayable pitches are now a rarity.

I'd go a step further and say a minimum of 72 hours.  If you are in Europe you play either Tues/Sat, Wed/Sun, or Thurs/Mon.

[Suareznumber7]

It's bad product for viewers to watch. The league should not allow this sort of scheduling.

Exactly this too.  The quality of the games around Christmas time is actually pretty shit.

[Suareznumber7]

To put this in perspective. Over the same time frame this holiday season we had ---4--- matches. Not 6.

They are squeezing in the extra fixtures to help England and their World Cup chances by having the League end a bit earlier.

Isn't next year's world cup being played in the Winter.  Probably the reason for squeezing in these games is because the league is going to stop for 6 weeks for the World Cup to be played. 

[Lasardine]

Is that every team playing on those days or is it just the ways the 3 or so fixtures are spread?

They're the "preliminary dates" until the TV lot get their hands on the fixtures and move it. Some will benefit more than others.

[Lasardine]

If there's an international tournament on the following summer, start the season earlier prior to the tournament and start the next season later after the tournament. Simples.

[Brian Blessed]

Isn't next year's world cup being played in the Winter.  Probably the reason for squeezing in these games is because the league is going to stop for 6 weeks for the World Cup to be played. 

No, next year's is Russia. 2022 is being played in winter. This is so the summer break can start sooner.

2022 is going to be a massive cluster fuck.

[Ashburton]

idiotic - so many injuries waiting to happen.

Injuries are one part of it, the other is just drab matches with tired players.  The clubs won't care, they get to milk the fanbase as more people are on holiday and willing to see games.  In theory top sides can rotate with the second team playing every other game, but in practice, just like this season, it didn't really happen.  Perhaps when punters pay full price to see reserve teams play a top flight game, the league might get the hint that the scheduling needs work.

[mainone]

Move the World Cup to winter and christmas to the summer