[revendarkness]

I'm thinking with all this weather why not have a winter shutdown might help players and pitches in long run

[el Gringo]

Non-starter. When would you have it? Severe weather in this country can come at any point between November and March.

[TartanArmani]

revendarkness, on 30 January 2012 - 12:13, said:

I'm thinking with all this weather why not have a winter shutdown might help players and pitches in long run

Nobody knows when it is going to snow? Most games went on over xmas, but more likely to be called off over feb now according to weather experts. So at start of season, how is the fixture calender meant to work out when bad weather due. Would be daft to call off over xmas, only for weather to be good. Then when bad weather when games supposed to be on, it would just cause a worse fixture back log.

[revendarkness]

Between end of december and january I'd say

[The Moonster]

Do we need to have this thread every fucking year?

[revendarkness]

I forgot we had one sorry moonster

[The Moonster]

revendarkness, on 30 January 2012 - 12:38, said:

I forgot we had one sorry moonster

Don't mean to have a go but it seems that the same thread get's put on here every year and it gets a bit tiresome.

[Cowden til i die]

It wouldn't help pitches. Players would still be paid. There is no certainty of when to take it.

So no.

[HibeeJibee]

Clubs would object to any sizeable break on cashflow grounds, in addition to which the question others have raised is pretty unresolvable - when do you break? It would be gutting and damaging to sit-out the month of January and find the weather lovely, then resume in February and the weather be poor for a month.

A short break of 1/2 weekends for player recuperation might have legs, but nothing more.

revendarkness, on 30 January 2012 - 12:31, said:

Between end of december and january I'd say

Problem with that is it eliminates Christmas/New Year matches... which being holiday time, traditionally deliver above-average crowds and improved hospitality.

[cowdenbeath]

The Moonster, on 30 January 2012 - 12:34, said:

Do we need to have this thread every fucking year?

Exactly. This season Cowden have had two league games postponed - away to Stirling in the middle of December and home to Albion Rovers at the end of January. When do you exactly have a shut down say after last year it was in December/January we would have been sitting doing nothing when the pitches were playable, also players still have to be paid during that time shutting down would just f**k up clubs cash flow.

[HibeeJibee]

Crowds are always higher on weekends, too. Probably best to use every weekend possible, and only put games to midweek if they are postponed... not schedule that in advance and leave blank weekends whether they're playable or not.

[cowdenbeath]

HibeeJibee, on 30 January 2012 - 16:15, said:

Crowds are always higher on weekends, too. Probably best to use every weekend possible, and only put games to midweek if they are postponed... not schedule that in advance and leave blank weekends whether they're playable or not.

I dread to think what sort of crowd we will get for our midweek game with Albion Rovers, it will certainly be lower on a cold night in February or March. Noticed last midweek crowds for Second Division games saw 390 at East Fife and 365 at Forfar well down on what both clubs would get on a weekend.
As you say HJ there is no point doing away with a few Saturday games just to slot them into midweek dates we should be trying to get in as much weekend games as we can.

[++Ammo - Airdrie++]

The Moonster, on 30 January 2012 - 12:34, said:

Do we need to have this thread every fucking year?

What do we think of summer football then?

[HibeeJibee]

cowdenbeath, on 30 January 2012 - 16:21, said:

I dread to think what sort of crowd we will get for our midweek game with Albion Rovers, it will certainly be lower on a cold night in February or March. Noticed last midweek crowds for Second Division games saw 390 at East Fife and 365 at Forfar well down on what both clubs would get on a weekend.
As you say HJ there is no point doing away with a few Saturday games just to slot them into midweek dates we should be trying to get in as much weekend games as we can.

Aye, I've no doubt midweek downturns would be similar at Berwick.

We've only had 1 home game postponed all season but it was our Reserves v Craigroyston at the weekend. Prior to Saturday the first-team had only sufferred 1 weather postponement all season... Sat 10th December, when we were due to be away to Peterhead.

Only other blank weekend not of our own doing (i.e. getting papped-out of cups) was in late October, when East Stirling had a Scottish Cup R2 replay.

We even played the East of Scotland Cup Final (first-team competition) on the Saturday of Scottish Cup R4.

No break-hankering down our way.

[nofixedability]

cowdenbeath, on 30 January 2012 - 16:21, said:

I dread to think what sort of crowd we will get for our midweek game with Albion Rovers, it will certainly be lower on a cold night in February or March. Noticed last midweek crowds for Second Division games saw 390 at East Fife and 365 at Forfar well down on what both clubs would get on a weekend.
As you say HJ there is no point doing away with a few Saturday games just to slot them into midweek dates we should be trying to get in as much weekend games as we can.

As an estimate I would say the Forfar v. Stirling match would have had at least 100 more paying spectators had it been played on a Saturday. Not to mention the hospitality, which the club sells out quickly for weekend matches but almost can't give away during the week.

[MTJ]

HibeeJibee, on 30 January 2012 - 15:50, said:

Clubs would object to any sizeable break on cashflow grounds, in addition to which the question others have raised is pretty unresolvable - when do you break? It would be gutting and damaging to sit-out the month of January and find the weather lovely, then resume in February and the weather be poor for a month.

A short break of 1/2 weekends for player recuperation might have legs, but nothing more.



Problem with that is it eliminates Christmas/New Year matches... which being holiday time, traditionally deliver above-average crowds and improved hospitality.

Yet clubs have no money coming in for weeks in the summer?

The new year/boxing day games need to stay, I want them to stay. Otherwise December and January is a miserable time for football, the crowds in the weeks before Christmas in particular are atrocious, people don't have the money nor can be arsed to watch a heap of tripe in the freezing cold. I'd like to see after the Scottish Cup games in January a break for a couple of weeks and play slightly later into May. Or perhaps the games in the last couple of weeks in December canned.

[HibeeJibee]

MTJ, on 30 January 2012 - 18:12, said:

Yet clubs have no money coming in for weeks in the summer?

Completely different dynamic though. Prizemoney payments will just have come in, sponsor deals and season ticket sales will be starting for the new season - and at an awful lot of clubs there are no wages being paid-out, which is probably the most important aspect. Back in the summer there was a big thing from the SPFA, about the increasing number of clubs with contracts which expire the day after the play-off finals, and don't recommence until shortly before the new season begins.

MTJ, on 30 January 2012 - 18:12, said:

The new year/boxing day games need to stay, I want them to stay. Otherwise December and January is a miserable time for football, the crowds in the weeks before Christmas in particular are atrocious, people don't have the money nor can be arsed to watch a heap of tripe in the freezing cold. I'd like to see after the Scottish Cup games in January a break for a couple of weeks and play slightly later into May. Or perhaps the games in the last couple of weeks in December canned.

As I said, I support see the argument for a couple of weekends winter break, it's just not founded on weather avoidance grounds.

There's been a lot of media talk about SPL possibly re-introducing a winter break next season, lasting 2 weekends (5th + 12th January), for which SFA have changed the Scottish Cup schedule. Maybe SFL clubs could do the same... however, they didn't previously.

Playing over the SPL's break could lead to bigger crowds and enhanced media coverage, afterall. And relocating the displaced games to midweek means smaller crowds; while extending the season further into May means more wages needing paid and a shorter summer break.

But yes, a short break could work if desired.

[ecto]

Shut down December and January,play more games August,September,October,March and April

[Sergeant Wilson]

revendarkness, on 30 January 2012 - 12:31, said:

Between end of december and january I'd say

So, while the bells are actually chiming then?

[cowdenbeath]

nofixedability, on 30 January 2012 - 16:53, said:

As an estimate I would say the Forfar v. Stirling match would have had at least 100 more paying spectators had it been played on a Saturday. Not to mention the hospitality, which the club sells out quickly for weekend matches but almost can't give away during the week.

It was 110 down on the previous Saturday against us and that was after a good win for Forfar, quite a lot of money for the club to lose playing midweek and thats before you even think what would have been lost in hospitality.

[cowdenbeath]

MTJ, on 30 January 2012 - 18:12, said:

Yet clubs have no money coming in for weeks in the summer?

The new year/boxing day games need to stay, I want them to stay. Otherwise December and January is a miserable time for football, the crowds in the weeks before Christmas in particular are atrocious, people don't have the money nor can be arsed to watch a heap of tripe in the freezing cold. I'd like to see after the Scottish Cup games in January a break for a couple of weeks and play slightly later into May. Or perhaps the games in the last couple of weeks in December canned.

Part time sides don't pay wages in the summer so it dosn't affect 2nd division sides.

[HibeeJibee]

ecto, on 30 January 2012 - 20:46, said:

Shut down December and January,play more games August,September,October,March and April

Problem is: every weekend of the season is used already.

So you'd be deposing 8 games of 36 from weekends onto midweeks (with associated financial implications)... asking clubs to survive those 8 weeks, or more if there were postponements either side, without income... and risking even more midweeks if it's wet in the autumn, snowy in February, etc.

[GoTeamGaz]

why stop a game that could go ahead, perhps a more sensible idea would be a rule that during the winter months a club can request a call off on the Thursday? would mean hospitality food/transport can be fully cancelled in plenty time. would still go wrong sometimes though

[cowdenbeath]

ecto, on 30 January 2012 - 20:46, said:

Shut down December and January,play more games August,September,October,March and April

And how much games have been postponed in Scotland during December/January this season - not very many. The Scottish weather is too unpredictable to set a firm date for a shutdown and a two month one would be a total no goer.

[The Other Chairman]

We probably lost 200 fans from the replayed Albion Rovers game and will probably lose 300-400 V Dumbarton as that was a Boxing Day match. Losing gate money from 500-600 fans plus hospitality etc. etc. is a sore one.