tarapoa Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Recall in years gone by, games on 1st or 2nd January bank holidays getting bumper crowds at Pittodrie, regardless of the opponents. Would likely be the same elsewhere as many have those days off and are up for a match. My point - why not start the winter break after the traditional New Year games - especially given the first league fixtures upon return are midweekers towards the end of January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurkst Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Totally agree, it's a joke of planning. Should be a full Premiership card on 2nd January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloPerth Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Spot on. And last year we didn't even get Boxing Day matches, the people who run our game are so out of touch it's frightening. Far better to pack 6 games into the first 3 weeks of December, when crowds are often a bit lower in the build up to Christmas. And then 2 games a week from 20th January onwards to make up the dates we missed due to the winter break! Hopefully next year they suss it out properly, and give us a Boxing Day and 2nd January 3pm fixture, with a weekend game in between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigkillie Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 The reason we have so many midweeks in December and January is because those are the only midweek dates we are allowed to use under the UEFA calendar - most midweeks from July-November and February-April are used for European competitions, and the handful of free dates in the first half of the season are used for the League Cup. The obvious solution would of course be to get rid of the break, which doesn't seem to serve any meaningful purpose, but I'm not sure that is particularly likely. Boxing Day and New Year games are great, and it's a travesty we don't have the latter this year. However, Boxing Day matches aren't really as big a tradition as some people seem to think they are - they only really became a thing from the 1990s onwards. Before then, clubs only played on Boxing Day if it was a Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 1 hour ago, craigkillie said: The obvious solution would of course be to get rid of the break, which doesn't seem to serve any meaningful purpose, but I'm not sure that is particularly likely. I can totally understand the need for a January break when you consider just how many games are played in December. But, hold on, if we didn’t have to jam in so many games in December then... Think I’d favour sacking off the break, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JTS98 Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Seems commercially very silly indeed and it would have made sense to have one fewer midweek round. This could also have eased the fixture nonsense around the League Cup semi-finals had we had another free midweek. Also, New Year in the perfect time for football. All the business is out the way, all the family stuff out the way, perfect for a good day of football. I'm pro-the winter break in general. I think it's a good thing for coaches, players, and fans. But missing new year just seems silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve McQueen Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Especially since we had a midweek round in December & return to one in Jan. One of these rounds could have been played this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloPerth Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 I don't mind the winter break, but I'm not sure it's as necessary as it was when it was tried a few years back. The international breaks already give frequent periods of up to a fortnight with no game, and give a bit of a stop-start feel to the season during September-November. Most of our international players are either at Celtic or clubs from down south, so the international weeks are a break from matches for most Scottish teams and players. Clubs with internationals from other countries are generally bigger teams, who should in theory have squads able to cope and rotate players to give internationals a break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estragon Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Yeah, it's a strange one. The break seems extremely necessary this season - but only due to the increased number of games we've had to play to facilitate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 At least you got Boxing Day games in the top league. Outside of it, the fixtures don't alter at all in recognition of the Christmas period. We've just got matches on the Saturdays. It strikes me as pretty stupid. I don't envy your winter break though. Depressing January is when you really need your football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 10 hours ago, Monkey Tennis said: At least you got Boxing Day games in the top league. Think I’d now rather stay in and eat Turkey than play on Boxing Day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 11 hours ago, PauloPerth said: The international breaks already give frequent periods of up to a fortnight with no game, and give a bit of a stop-start feel to the season during September-November. It was very stop-start. I remember Livi had 1 game in 25 days. Wtf? The scheduling is strange. The next oppprtunity for some sort of fans census I’ll be giving a few suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jute Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Was going to come on here and agree with comments around no games today or tomorrow but now I have got up after 4 hours sleep to head down to a game down South I have decided games at New Year are evil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alert Mongoose Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 On 31/12/2018 at 02:12, craigkillie said: The reason we have so many midweeks in December and January is because those are the only midweek dates we are allowed to use under the UEFA calendar - most midweeks from July-November and February-April are used for European competitions, and the handful of free dates in the first half of the season are used for the League Cup. The obvious solution would of course be to get rid of the break, which doesn't seem to serve any meaningful purpose, but I'm not sure that is particularly likely. Boxing Day and New Year games are great, and it's a travesty we don't have the latter this year. However, Boxing Day matches aren't really as big a tradition as some people seem to think they are - they only really became a thing from the 1990s onwards. Before then, clubs only played on Boxing Day if it was a Saturday. Or, like a few other countries I could think of, they could just ignore the European nights 'ban' and play some games then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigkillie Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Which other countries do you know of which ignore the ban? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 5 minutes ago, craigkillie said: Which other countries do you know of which ignore the ban? Other than England, Italy & Spain, I'm struggling.................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Is it not just lower league games that have been played on "European nights"? I'm sure there's been televised EFL games the same night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 I seriously can't understand why there's no New Year fixture card in Scotland or indeed why there was no Boxing day card outwith the Premier. Obviously some nugget thinks it will be more commercially viable to have fixtures on a Tuesday or Wednesday night at the end of January / February etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigkillie Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 5 hours ago, WATTOO said: Other than England, Italy & Spain, I'm struggling.................. None of those leagues schedule top flight matches on European nights. They occasionally play rearranged matches on them, as do we, because that is allowed under the rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 1 hour ago, craigkillie said: None of those leagues schedule top flight matches on European nights. They occasionally play re-arranged matches on them, as do we, because that is allowed under the rules. Whether they're rearranged or scheduled, they're still taking place and are also televised in the case of England and Sky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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