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[Albion] Christmas Fixture Schedule.



Mo Gosfield

Well-known member
Aug 11, 2010
6,276
If you take the starting point for the Christmas schedule as the 7.45pm k.o between Arsenal and Liverpool on Friday 22nd December and the finishing point as roughly 10.00pm on Thursday 4th January, when Spurs and WHU finish their game, you have approximately 316 hours for all PL teams to play 4 games.
BHA played 4 games in roughly 214 hours. By the time they finish tonight v Chelsea, Arsenal will have played 4 games in approx 294 hours.
After Spurs finished their game with Saints on Boxing Day, BHA played 3 games before Tottenham played again. Three games in approx 144 hours!! Leicester played 4 times over Xmas in approx 211 hours and even Man Utd, 4 games in about the same us ( 214 hours )
Pardew is complaining like mad about tired players not giving of their best and Pep is also talking about the injuries and pressure they have suffered ( WBA + Man C 4 games each in approx 246 hours ) We all feel there is probably one game too many at this time of year ( 4 games for us in less than 9 days and then no league match for 12 days ) and it clearly affected some of our players on Monday, who were running on empty in the second half. Howe commented on how it affected his players but hang on, we had to go to Newcastle and back, for a very draining encounter and kick off 43.5 hours later v Bmuff ( who had just had a home game on the South Coast )
Surely time for the PL to either spread the games a little more favourably or even dispense with one, over the festive period. Considering the gaps between a lot of PL fixtures this season ( 16 days once with us ) this schedule has done no-one ( bar the TV companies, of course ) any favours.
 








Mo Gosfield

Well-known member
Aug 11, 2010
6,276
Bring back the Christmas Day/Boxing Day double.

Those round of games used to be double headers ( same team home and away ) and used to produce crazy results. Quite often, a team would lose at home and then win away.
Imagine bringing back the old Easter format. Three games in 4 days...Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Monday.
 




Is it PotG?

Thrifty non-licker
Feb 20, 2017
23,104
Sussex by the Sea
Those round of games used to be double headers ( same team home and away ) and used to produce crazy results. Quite often, a team would lose at home and then win away.

dad.JPG :moo:
 


studio150

Well-known member
Jul 30, 2011
29,555
On the Border
Looking in a wider context

First 11 games for the Albion were played between 12 August and 4 November, next 11 games between 20 November and 1st January would indicate that the schedule could be better balanced.

On the Festive fixtures, I believe that the main issue is that for TV coverage you may get one team having had an extra 24 hours rest between games than the team they are playing. Also given the need for rotation given the much shorter recovery periods, the festive fixtures favour clubs with more depth in their squads (the top 6).

In respect of this year, the sensible approach would have been play 23 December 26 December then either 30 December or 1 January but not both.

Less is more
 


el punal

Well-known member
If you take the starting point for the Christmas schedule as the 7.45pm k.o between Arsenal and Liverpool on Friday 22nd December and the finishing point as roughly 10.00pm on Thursday 4th January, when Spurs and WHU finish their game, you have approximately 316 hours for all PL teams to play 4 games.
BHA played 4 games in roughly 214 hours. By the time they finish tonight v Chelsea, Arsenal will have played 4 games in approx 294 hours.
After Spurs finished their game with Saints on Boxing Day, BHA played 3 games before Tottenham played again. Three games in approx 144 hours!! Leicester played 4 times over Xmas in approx 211 hours and even Man Utd, 4 games in about the same us ( 214 hours )
Pardew is complaining like mad about tired players not giving of their best and Pep is also talking about the injuries and pressure they have suffered ( WBA + Man C 4 games each in approx 246 hours ) We all feel there is probably one game too many at this time of year ( 4 games for us in less than 9 days and then no league match for 12 days ) and it clearly affected some of our players on Monday, who were running on empty in the second half. Howe commented on how it affected his players but hang on, we had to go to Newcastle and back, for a very draining encounter and kick off 43.5 hours later v Bmuff ( who had just had a home game on the South Coast )
Surely time for the PL to either spread the games a little more favourably or even dispense with one, over the festive period. Considering the gaps between a lot of PL fixtures this season ( 16 days once with us ) this schedule has done no-one ( bar the TV companies, of course ) any favours.

And yet we have the ludicrous breaks for non-competitive international fixtures (friendlies to you) at times of the season where the December overload could have been slotted in.
 




studio150

Well-known member
Jul 30, 2011
29,555
On the Border
And yet we have the ludicrous breaks for non-competitive international fixtures (friendlies to you) at times of the season where the December overload could have been slotted in.

Agree, but no friendlies from now on, its the the International version of the Europa League
 




Hotchilidog

Well-known member
Jan 24, 2009
8,645
A totally unbalanced schedule this season. You spend the first three months barely playing at all and then you end up with a pile up in december. Just crazy and it needs sorting.
 








Gazwag

5 millionth post poster
Mar 4, 2004
30,093
Bexhill-on-Sea
FEB 17th
There are no PL fixtures nor Internationals. FA Cup 5th round but we'll be out by then, as will half the PL. So why no games?

When they decided this there could have been 16 PL teams competing in that round - I would prefer they did this than the pain the in arse of Man City away, the same date as the 6th round, which can easily now be a Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday night
 




Perfidious Albion

Well-known member
Oct 25, 2011
5,988
At the end of my tether
Back in the day I can recall going out to the Goldstone on Good Friday and again on Easter Saturday. The team played away on Easter Monday. That was a schedule.. these managers want it all.

The distances were worked out though to be more local. I wondered that we had to go all the way to Newcastle at this time.
 





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