Non Boxing Day football [moved to Tue. December 18th]

[Thunder Bolt]

Now Tuesday 18th Dec.

On the club site.

Excellent news as it means I can go to the match now.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Excellent news as it means I can go to the match now.

Me too - our 3 empty seats will now be filled - which is great for us.

But there will be some who now cannot make it, and actually I feel it's a bit unfair on them.

 

[skipper734]

Bugger! What am I going to do now on Boxing Day. Was going to stroll over from Woodingdean. Boxing Day football is an ideal antidote to Christmas, infact it should be called Football Day.

So maybe a bit like this.........

 

[8ace]

What's to say the club have not been trying to sort this for some time, and have been unsuccessful? They could have requested it be an away game right when the fixtures were being drawn, but perhaps they thought they'd be able to get the buses and trains to offer a service. In light of the time its taken for them to come to this announcement, could they have not been working hard all along to resolve this? Imagine trying to convince the bus drivers to work, and the train company to open the stations, train drivers, station staff, railway opperators? There's a lot to be arranged, for just one match, which affects less than 2% of the population of the county.

The again, it's probably all Barbers fault.

Well they seem to think they'll be able to find a solution for future Boxing Days, if that's the case why haven't they done it this season
Someone at the club (before Barber's appointment) should have planned for this contingency, we were always going to get a home game on Boxing Day sooner rather than later.

 

[8ace]

I note Mr Barber has appeased the Football League by saying that in future there will be more robust transport arrangements in place for a home fixture on Boxing Day. Does this infer the transport levy included in the match ticket price will rise from £3 to £5 next season

If we were to get promoted to the EPL this season I imagine the FA would be even more pissed off with us than the FL.
Enough to block our promotion

 

[Uwinsc]

Me too - our 3 empty seats will now be filled - which is great for us.

But there will be some who now cannot make it, and actually I feel it's a bit unfair on them.

I'm the opposite to you. I work evenings during the school term so now won't be able to go when this was one of the few games I was guaranteed to be able to get to. Really annoyed.

 

[Jim D]

I've said it before and I will say it again. There are 91 other football grounds in England that host matches on Boxing Day when the fixture list demands they do. We aren't the only one to have built our stadium out of the town, or without ample street parking. The fact we're the ONLY one that cries like a baby and has to force a postponement makes a major statement that says The Amex will NEVER be a top-class venue.

What sort of 'major statement' is it? That we won't compromise on our commitment to local residents to restrict the numbers of fans in private vehicles? Seems perfectly reasonable to me.

 

[Pinkie Brown]

There are 91 other football grounds in England that host matches on Boxing Day when the fixture list demands they do. We aren't the only one to have built our stadium out of the town, or without ample street parking.

Pretty much 'this', nail on head, etc.

This is a disappointing decision. Its a major headache sorted by shifting the game, but I still think its the wrong one.

There needs to be a review into what has gone wrong with the pre match travel arrangements for this (non) game. We know there are no scheduled trains on on Boxing Day, but what of the chartered Brighton Buses? What does the contract state?

Two things have probably happened I suspect - Whoever drew up the contract on behalf of the club, has messed up by not including the requirement to provide special buses on Boxing Day to serve the P & R plus other special routes, or, Brighton Buses are in breach of contract for for failing to provide the service the contract states.

We await with interest to find out who is at fault.......

 

[wellquickwoody]

Most , not all, people do not like evening kick offs at The Amex due to shit travel arrangements. Although Boxing Day would have been difficult for some it would have been preferable to most than yet another f**king Tuesday night which means a rush to get there, and late to get home.

When half of my season ticket is less enjoyable than the other I will begin to question my reason for buying it.

 

[wellquickwoody]

What sort of 'major statement' is it? That we won't compromise on our commitment to local residents to restrict the numbers of fans in private vehicles? Seems perfectly reasonable to me.

In 50 years time The Amex will still be there. The local residents and Sussex Uni had better get used to it.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Well they seem to think they'll be able to find a solution for future Boxing Days, if that's the case why haven't they done it this season
Someone at the club (before Barber's appointment) should have planned for this contingency, we were always going to get a home game on Boxing Day sooner rather than later.

I think it came sooner rather than later. Its was always going to be an issue but an away game Box Day would have meant they could carry on the "behind the scenes" planning for when we do.

On the other hand I am DELIGHTED as it means I can go missed the last couple of Boxing Days with the kids (called off Daggers game and the instantly forgettable game against URRZZZZ) so this is actually WELCOME.

And NO they didnt want to go. Long story.

 

[The Large One]

We can't all be the chosen confidant of BHAFC, plucked from obscurity to be the special one. It's a good job wiser men than me, such as yourself, are here to steer me on the right path.

Better to bother my arse and find out what's going on than type spurious stuff from a position of willful spite and ignorance.

 

[The Large One]

Pretty much 'this', nail on head, etc.

This is a disappointing decision. Its a major headache sorted by shifting the game, but I still think its the wrong one.

There needs to be a review into what has gone wrong with the pre match travel arrangements for this (non) game. We know there are no scheduled trains on on Boxing Day, but what of the chartered Brighton Buses? What does the contract state?

Two things have probably happened I suspect - Whoever drew up the contract on behalf of the club, has messed up by not including the requirement to provide special buses on Boxing Day to serve the P & R plus other special routes, or, Brighton Buses are in breach of contract for for failing to provide the service the contract states.

We await with interest to find out who is at fault.......

It could be that there aren't enough drivers to cover for Boxing Day, irrespective of how much the club is prepared to offer...

 

[severnside gull]

Pretty much 'this', nail on head, etc.

This is a disappointing decision. Its a major headache sorted by shifting the game, but I still think its the wrong one.

There needs to be a review into what has gone wrong with the pre match travel arrangements for this (non) game. We know there are no scheduled trains on on Boxing Day, but what of the chartered Brighton Buses? What does the contract state?

Two things have probably happened I suspect - Whoever drew up the contract on behalf of the club, has messed up by not including the requirement to provide special buses on Boxing Day to serve the P & R plus other special routes, or, Brighton Buses are in breach of contract for for failing to provide the service the contract states.

We await with interest to find out who is at fault.......

or........................................ the cost of providing P&R busses on a Bank Holiday was extortionate.

Much more likely I think given general experience of public transport services generally and not a question of anyone being "at fault".

The bigger issue is that many fans will become disillissioned at the constant switching of games to evenings, especially those whose work patterns and family committments make it very hard to attend night matches regularly. I can see the risk of a significant fall in season ticket sales if we have another season like this one.

The sensible solution for everyone is to build a mega multi-storey car park next to the ground and charge reasonable parking fees to ensure its use but unfortunately that's not "green"

 

[BBassic]

Welp! That's another game I can't get to. Cheers Barber.

 

[kevo]

Players will love it - last game before Christmas on the 18th and don't play again until the 29th, so they'll get a proper Christmas for once.

 

[Hillian1]

What the actual f***.

Bloom should have built it somewhere else, Barber should have demanded trains, Poyet should have jumped up and down and waved his arms around.

CLUB OUT.

 

[c0lz]

ffs another evening game what a joke.