RK not too chipper about Xmas schedule

There have been times when the promise of the Boxing Day match has been the only thing to get me through bloody Christmas Day, to be honest.

If you can't work out my stance on this issue there is no helping you.

You're such a smug pri ck.

Can't believe anyone worries about too many fixtures over Christmas. Pussies and assume get grief from missus not letting you go.

Don't buy this fatigue nonsense. I used to play 3 games in a weekend........occasionally.

Boxing Day football is brilliant. Games are sell outs. Transport links can't be a problem and if they are then frankly tough.

Fair enough managers don't like it but the game is for us fans.

There have been times when the promise of the Boxing Day match has been the only thing to get me through bloody Christmas Day, to be honest.

Me too, but I can't say that out loud.

Me too, but I can't say that out loud.

I know what you mean, Whitey. Perish the day Mrs Stickman ever stumbles upon this place.

It's an entertainment industry and Christmas is the season for entertainment and they are paid vast amounts. what's the problem?

There isn't one. Modern footballers are ridiculously pampered. In the good old days they played on Christmas Day, went home and got stuffed full of turkey and booze and then played the return match against the same side the next day. Today's allegedly fitter players supported by all that science can't play two games in 3 days. Perhaps not surprisingly Boxing Day games were always entertaining and full of goals then.

Christmas games pre-dates Sky by about 100 years.

 

I think there used to be games on Christmas Day with the return match on Boxing Day. The kind of thing our historians will know.

Sounds good to me.

So that'll probably be games on26th & 28th then. Just hope neither is Newcastle or Sunderland away

Bournemouth, home and away.

You're such a smug pri ck.

It's an occupational hazard of being right about pretty much everything, all the time.

Good to see the team didn't look at all bothered by playing too much football tonight. Definitely didn't look at all jaded and struggling, also good to see the super strength in depth we have, able to bring on Mayuka and change the game with literally no other attacking options left.

That's just "the bigger clubs have bigger squads". Yep, fine. True in August, true in May.

 

What's that got to do with the Christmas fixtures?

 

It's an integral part of an English football season, like the mountains stages in the Tour De France. Just part of the challenge.

 

Long, long may they survive. Merry Boxing Day everyone.

When you're playing 3 games in a week against the top sides, it's nice to have quality reserves to switch in and out to not have to risk the starters if they're a little jaded, or to have multiple attacking options available from the bench if things aren't really working. The topmost sides can do that even in the midst of a run of difficult fixtures, it makes a massive difference if you can eradicate the inbuilt fatigue players will get from playing back to back games 2 days apart.

Basically multiply the tired looking performance tonight against Villa across 5ish matches over Christmas and New Year compared to a side with players playing half that much with only a minimal drop in quality.

When you're playing 3 games in a week against the top sides, it's nice to have quality reserves to switch in and out to not have to risk the starters if they're a little jaded, or to have multiple attacking options available from the bench if things aren't really working. The topmost sides can do that even in the midst of a run of difficult fixtures, it makes a massive difference if you can eradicate the inbuilt fatigue players will get from playing back to back games 2 days apart.

 

Basically multiply the tired looking performance tonight against Villa across 5ish matches over Christmas and New Year compared to a side with players playing half that much with only a minimal drop in quality.

Yes, yes. The big clubs have bigger and better squads. You've already said that, and I know anyway.

What's that got to do with scrapping the Christmas fixtures?

If we want to finish fourth in the English Premier League in England then don't you think we need to do that by playing a full, real league season in England and seeing where we finish at the end if it? Navigating through Christmas/New Year is a central part of that season.

And, in most seasons the biggest teams win the most matches even when they're spread apart by a nice long week, and kinda think they'd still win the most matches even if they banned all gaps less than seven days between each match.

If they scrapped the Christmas fixtures for us, they'd scrap them for everyone else and we'd be no better off. Except we'd have got rid of some of the best football days of the year. Effing great. Let's do that.

I haven't said anything about scrapping them. Just pointing out that it favours the clubs with the ability to pay for two full teams of established top quality players. I'm not even sure if FFP allows us to do that if we wanted to. Which I appreciate is a slightly different argument.

I haven't said anything about scrapping them. Just pointing out that it favours the clubs with the ability to pay for two full teams of established top quality players. I'm not even sure if FFP allows us to do that if we wanted to. Which I appreciate is a slightly different argument.

So your answer to the question I asked in both my replies to you is "nothing".

Having a bigger squad is an advantage in August, November, March and May. And also on Boxing Day.

Glad that's clear. Carry on!

So your answer to the question I asked in both my replies to you is "nothing".

 

Having a bigger squad is an advantage in August, November, March and May. And also on Boxing Day.

 

Glad that's clear. Carry on!

You said having lots of games at Xmas was "not in favour of anyone" and have just agreed that it favours clubs with bigger squads.

You said having lots of games at Xmas was "not in favour of anyone" and have just agreed that it favours clubs with bigger squads.

Not really reading what I've written then.

It's not in favour of anyone, because if you got rid of it, the big clubs would still be at an advantage because they still have better squads. They're at an advantage all season anyway. Getting rid of the Christmas schedule doesn't suddenly throw the race for the Champions League spots wide open. It would pan out just the same.

Not sure how many times you want me to mention the fact that bigger clubs are favoured in the other months of the year too, but they are.

Christmas football a tradition pretty much as old as football, not designed to be in favour of anyone.

It's an occupational hazard of being right about pretty much everything, all the time.

You're not even right in this post.

Says it is just plain crazy

It is all in the favour of the big clubs as they will be able to cope far better and can't understand why a premier league club will play 2 games in 3 days within an already packed schedule

 

Also points out that it is very new to him in dealing with such fixtures as usually goes on holiday over this time

AND of course, he's right, but it's always been that way - hasn't it ?...and we accept it, whereas at other times of the season, we moan about playing 3 times in a week.

The Christmas /New Year can be more than a game-changer. Many games in a short period, with little rest between...potential injuries...suspensions ...frequent travelling, bad weather and dodgy referees.

What on Earth could possibly go wrong ?

To be fair big clubs may well be able to cope well with our christmas period, but they'll have european games as well.

The Chelsea game two days after boxing day is nuts though.

Not really reading what I've written then.

 

It's not in favour of anyone, because if you got rid of it, the big clubs would still be at an advantage because they still have better squads. They're at an advantage all season anyway. Getting rid of the Christmas schedule doesn't suddenly throw the race for the Champions League spots wide open. It would pan out just the same.

 

Not sure how many times you want me to mention the fact that bigger clubs are favoured in the other months of the year too, but they are.

 

Christmas football a tradition pretty much as old as football, not designed to be in favour of anyone.

I agree that the bigger clubs are better off all year round but at Christmas it's a different advantage - they have an advantage from having better players and more choice when fixture schedules are light and fatigue isn't a factor, they have an additional advantage from having less likelihood of fielding weaker players when schedules are busy and they need to rotate players (in a way we can't).

It doesn't have to be DESIGNED in favour of someone in order to be in favour of someone.

To be fair big clubs may well be able to cope well with our christmas period, but they'll have european games as well.

The Chelsea game two days after boxing day is nuts though.

They don't play in Europe over the Christmas period, no CL games between this midweek and some time in February. That's how the Premier League gets to cram so many more games in.

I agree that the bigger clubs are better off all year round but at Christmas it's a different advantage - they have an advantage from having better players and more choice when fixture schedules are light and fatigue isn't a factor, they have an additional advantage from having less likelihood of fielding weaker players when schedules are busy and they need to rotate players (in a way we can't).

 

It doesn't have to be DESIGNED in favour of someone in order to be in favour of someone.

Fair enough. My point remains that the Christmas schedule is part of the terrain of the English football season. We want to finish third or fourth? We need to navigate through it, not complain about something that is basically older than God.

Dunno about you but I want to win it!

Love the boxing day and new year's fixtures. Fixtures on 28th seem very crammed in though. Hopefully it'll be a chance for the likes of Reed and Targett to get some premier league minutes under their belts.

Love the boxing day and new year's fixtures. Fixtures on 28th seem very crammed in though. Hopefully it'll be a chance for the likes of Reed and Targett to get some premier league minutes under their belts.

At home to Chelsea?

At home to Chelsea?

Assume Bertrand won't be allowed to play that game anyway. So yeah that game for Targett and maybe Reed in the Palace away game the one before.

Assume Bertrand won't be allowed to play that game anyway. So yeah that game for Targett and maybe Reed in the Palace away game the one before.

You are correct, Bertrand is not permitted to play against his parent club.

Assume Bertrand won't be allowed to play that game anyway. So yeah that game for Targett and maybe Reed in the Palace away game the one before.

Of course - good point that I had overlooked.

Assume Bertrand won't be allowed to play that game anyway. So yeah that game for Targett and maybe Reed in the Palace away game the one before.

Don't really see why we'd play Reed against Palace, I mean Ronald doesn't seem to be exactly falling over himself to give him game time now does he. We'll play the strongest available side whenever it's available, Cork will figure in that long before Reed, might get a run out at Sheffield though..then again perhaps not. Noticed we've gone from 3 or 4 academy products last season to a big round zero this. Don't know just how on board Ronald is with the academy just now. He plays his strongest side and doesn't seem to give a toss where it comes from.

Don't really see why we'd play Reed against Palace, I mean Ronald doesn't seem to be exactly falling over himself to give him game time now does he. We'll play the strongest available side whenever it's available, Cork will figure in that long before Reed, might get a run out at Sheffield though..then again perhaps not. Noticed we've gone from 3 or 4 academy products last season to a big round zero this. Don't know just how on board Ronald is with the academy just now. He plays his strongest side and doesn't seem to give a toss where it comes from.

He played Targett in the Cup games, and JWP before his injury.