Xmas Eve Football ~ Yay or Nay?

jsp

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Christmas TV scheduling: Fans lose out but clubs to blame - Football365

It's easy to just think of away fans who will be invonvenienced by all this but they actually have a choice to just not go to the game as I doubt ballots have been done for a game that's over 2 months away. Whereas home fans especially those who have season tickets 40,000 odd at the Emirates will have a decision to make now some will live fairly local but there will still be loads who travel in from outside London to go to games normally on trains.

I really think common sense needs to prevail here and the law is relaxed to allow Sky to show a 3pm game on the Saturday as a one off event. So we'd get a Friday 8pm, Saturday 12.30, 15:00 & 17:30 no games on Xmas eve or Xmas day as a result.
 
As the article suggest the clubs should make a good will gesture and put on transport for the travelling fans.
 
As the article suggest the clubs should make a good will gesture and put on transport for the travelling fans.

What about home fans who are travelling into the game?

You will know full well 6pm on Xmas eve London will be total gridlock as the last rats flea the nest to get home for Xmas and train prices will be through the roof, the only positive might be that a lot of the office based people will head home on the saturday.

Really not sure the police will be to chuffed either they'll have packed shopping centres, pubs, bars, clubs etc plus 60,000 football fans.

The whole thing to me just doesn't make much sense for anyone apart from Sky because they know having 2 games on TV on Xmas eve will probably be massive audience figures.

Stoke vs West Brom & Leicester vs Man Utd are about the closest fixtures on that round of fixtures, if they had Arsenal vs Liverpool early on Xmas eve followed by Leicester vs Utd.
 
You make a fair point. I don’t do London on Christmas Eve as it’s chaos. Usually escape to my parents around the 22nd. Flooding it with fans probably won’t be ideal.

The article is all speculation though isn’t it? The fixtures have only been chosen up until the end of November? According to the official premier league website anyway

They could still do 4 games that weekend on TV.

19:30 Friday
12:30 Sat
17:30 Sat

And then do one of their early Sunday kick offs.

12:00 game done by 1:45 and fans should still be able to make travel arrangements.
 
The issue is Sky have a contract that allows them to put 2 games per weekend on a Sunday and I think the way it works is they get first pick of the fixtures, BT get second pick then Sky get 3 & 4 but Sky always have 2 games back to back every week on a Sunday the 2pm & 4pm slots. The kick off times are also based on suiting a worldwide audience it's why Utd & Liverpool always get the early kick offs because this suits the asian markets whereas the later kick offs suit the American audience.

So at the moment the rumours are the games being considered for TV are

Arsenal vs Liverpool
Everton vs Chelsea
Leicester vs Man Utd
West Ham vs Newcastle

The Friday night slots I think can only be used in European weeks and will the police want football stadiums in use on what is the busiest drinking day of the year which is the friday before Xmas traditionally the last working day before companies close for Xmas.

Everyone is scheduled to play Tuesday (boxing day) the following week my guess is a few of those games will drift to the Wednesday.

I think if they had Arsenal vs Liverpool as the early game followed by Leicester vs Man Utd then everyone will be ok as Utd fans don't have as far to travel back and Liverpool fans can at least get home. The police will never allow 2 games in London on Xmas eve so my guess is Saturday AM will be Everton vs Chelsea PM West Ham vs Newcastle.
 

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