SPFL's festive fixture farce: How league chiefs have shunned the supporters yet again

[ian1964 10,596]

IN a time of the year where time and money is sacred, Neil Doncaster and Co have yet again failed to consider the lifeblood of the Scottish game - the fans.

 

'TIS the season to be jolly. Isn't it?

 

Well, it is only November but we're nearing that time of the year again when the Christmas tunes are playing in every supermarket, you're forced to spend hours doing your present shopping and that's before you even think about the turkey.

 

But for us football fans, the festive period is about more than it just being Christmas, it's still about the football.

 

Typically, the English top flight crams in more games over this time of the season than you do brussels sprouts. It's less extreme north of the border, but there are still a good amount of games scheduled.

 

Money can be tight for many supporters as they run around trying to make Christmas the best they can for their families, and the football on a Saturday becomes harder and harder to justify.

 

We all know that, don't we? So it would be common sense to compile a fixture list that fits in with those restraints and offers fans the best possible chance to attend their team's games. Right?

 

Well, the SPFL clearly missed the memo.

 

Christmas fixtures

 

On the night before Christmas Eve, there are four Premiership fixtures on the card.

 

Dundee host Hearts at Dens Park while St Johnstone travel from Perth to Kilmarnock, a total distance of 170 miles there and back.

 

Aberdeen travel south to face Mark McGhee's Motherwell, with a 300-mile round trip in store for the men from the Granite City.

 

Finally, by far the worst trip will be endured by Partick Thistle players and fans alike as they visit Ross County. The adventure to Dingwall is a long one, never mind on a cold Friday night when everyone is preparing for Christmas Eve.

 

It will take the Jags around four hours just to get to the Highland town, with around 360 miles in total to cover there and back. They could and likely will travel up the day before, but that adds more expense to an already costly trip.

 

Then on Christmas Eve itself, Inverness are at Ibrox to play Rangers at the convenient kick-off time of 12.15. For 'convenient', seek out the definition of 'inconvenient'.

 

The Highlands side face a similar trek to Thistle but in the opposite direction, again they could opt to stay in Glasgow the night before but a club of Inverness' side are unlikely to want to shell out for accommodation and who can blame them?

 

Friday, December 23

 

19:45 - Dundee v Hearts

 

19:45 - Kilmarnock v St Johnstone

 

19:45 - Motherwell v Aberdeen

 

19:45 - Ross County v Partick Thistle

 

Saturday, December 24

 

12:30 - Hamilton Accies v Celtic

 

12:30 - Rangers v Inverness CT

 

Celtic have a short jaunt from Glasgow to Hamilton for a league clash at the same time, but then they play Ross County at home four days later.

 

That's all fine and well for the Celtic support, but Ross County and their supporters face a Dingwall to Glasgow and Glasgow to Dingwall trek for a Wednesday night game - sandwiched in between Christmas and New Year.

 

This card is the exact reverse of the fixtures that were played on or around Wednesday, October 26 - so that puts paid to their assertion that the computer fires out the fixtures randomly. These games CAN be organised.

 

Tuesday, December 27

 

15:00 - Aberdeen v Hamilton Accies

 

19:45 - Hearts v Kilmarnock

 

Wednesday, December 28

 

19:45 - Celtic v Ross County

 

19:45 - Inverness CT v Motherwell

 

19:45 - Partick Thistle v Dundee

 

19:45 - St Johnstone v Rangers

 

New Year savvy

 

It gets 'better'.

 

Organising games so that teams play relatively locally isn't beyond the SPFL's capability, as can be seen by their New Year's Eve arrangements.

 

With the Old Firm derby scheduled to take place at 12.15, Rangers against Celtic is the first game on Hogmanay but it isn't the only derby game.

 

Hamilton welcome Lanarkshire rivals Motherwell to New Douglas Park with a one o'clock start and an hour later St Johnstone travel to nearby Dundee while Kilmarnock have a short commute to Glasgow to take on Partick Thistle.

 

At three o'clock, the two Highlands sides clash as Ross County host Inverness, so no team is having to saunter up or down the A9 - with the exception of Caley Thistle of course in their 15-mile trajectory to the Global Energy Stadium.

 

So how come it was simple enough to organise them on this day, but not the days around Christmas?

 

Of course you're not going to get a perfect fixture list with every club, it's impossible to do that. But at that time of the year when circumstances outside of football dictate to a large chunk of Scottish football supporters, a logical approach could do no harm.

 

After all, the fans are the lifeblood of the game and maybe those in power at Hampden need reminded of this.

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/spfls-festive-fixture-farce-how-9246600

[StuGers 477]

Handy fixtures for Celtic there!

[der Berliner 3,471]

And they speak of mid-winter breaks ...

[craig 5,199]

Handy fixtures for Celtic there!

 

Not forgetting of course that they also get one less away game than anyone else by playing Dundee in a neutral venue...

[pete 2,499]

Not forgetting of course that they also get one less away game than anyone else by playing Dundee in a neutral venue...

 

We can't hold on to their shirt-tail anyway so that one game will make totally no difference this season anyway.

[StuGers 477]

Not forgetting of course that they also get one less away game than anyone else by playing Dundee in a neutral venue...

 

Is that actually going ahead? Surely not.

[craig 5,199]

We can't hold on to their shirt-tail anyway so that one game will make totally no difference this season anyway.

 

But that isn't the point pete. The point is that they were getting that neutral venue game regardless of how close the standings would be at the time.

[pete 2,499]

But that isn't the point pete. The point is that they were getting that neutral venue game regardless of how close the standings would be at the time.

 

I knew that when I wrote my post and it is indeed correct. i just feel it is totally unfair for the people that buy season tickets. obviously Celtic won't make it a home game. Dundee would probably make more than they sell tickets so they were all for it.

[craig 5,199]

I knew that when I wrote my post and it is indeed correct. i just feel it is totally unfair for the people that buy season tickets. obviously Celtic won't make it a home game. Dundee would probably make more than they sell tickets so they were all for it.

 

The biggest issue I see with it is how it makes a complete mockery of a "level playing field".