Summer Football (Smith must score)

[...WentToMowAnSPL]

If you read this Summer Football (http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1868_5735558,00.html?)

I'd actually agree... especially the bit about European football and the summer break..

Thoughts ?

[duncs]

If you read this Summer Football (http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1868_5735558,00.html?)

I'd actually agree... especially the bit about European football and the summer break..

Thoughts ?

I think it's a must to be honest. For various reasons I ended up at Albion Rovers vs. Elgin on Saturday and the standard wasn't the highest but I'm sure if played on a pitch with better conditions, it would have made for a far more entertaining encounter.

There are so many reasons for this move and to be honest, not that many for keeping things as they are.

On a Hibs-related note, summer football would surely be to our advantage in terms of the amount of tourists Edinburgh gets. All it would take is some savvy marketing and executed correctly to add a couple of hundreds (if not more) onto the gates at games.

[Bishop Hibee]

Sorry, I disagree with everything he said regarding summer football.

Why get a season ticket when you could miss a number of games while on holiday?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT003780

The above shows July to be the wettest month of the year in Edinburgh. Great for watching football and underfoot conditions :confused:

There are 101 things wrong with Scottish football just now e.g. lack of a pyramid system, numerous governing bodies, lack of decent facilities at grass roots level, the cancer of bigotry among many of the fans of our two best supported clubs and this plonker picks on his hobby horse of summer football.

The man is a horses anus of the highest order.

[ballengeich]

Winter is a dull dreary time - the weekend football is a highlight. What does he think we should do instead on Saturday afternoons?

[mayo hibee]

Definitely the way to go in my opinion, but any time it comes up in the office or pub I'm always outnumbered.

The main argument against it is usually that it would hurt teams that got to the later stages of European competition, but Zenith St. Petersburg a few years ago showed that's not true. Then again, most of those against the idea tend to be old firm fans, but I don't really see why that would have much relevance to them...


you'd probably need an opt out option on your season ticket to cover your summer holiday.

[Jack]

At a time when we are joining the Euro competitions earlier and earlier we will have to start our competitive games sooner ... or continue to get pumped oot by clubs from countries similar to ours but have the good sense not play in the winter.
Rain in July is much 'nicer' than sleet in January.

[NAE NOOKIE]

Summer football is the way to go ( but not a winter break ) the advantages outwiegh the disadvantages IMO.

It would help in Europe, we have lost Inter Toto matches to teams we would have beaten half way through the season and the same goes for the early rounds in Europe. When Falkirk ( or any SPL club ) can lost to a team from Leichtenstine then surely its time for change.

I for one would rather watch football in warm p**ing rain than freezing cold p**ing rain.

We would have a better chance of more TV money without the EPL to contend with. Its easier to maintain pitches in the summer and costs less in undersoil heating, floodlights etc etc

The Irish Football League and Rugby League have both seen crowds increase after changing to Summer seasons

And finally Mark McGhee was mostly spot on. I dont think clubs would ever be willing to amalgamate, thats a non starter. But he was right about trying to get together with Irish football but I would go further than him. Two clubs from Dublin, one from Cork one from the next biggest southern town, one from Belfast and one from Londonderry. Thats an 18 team league.

I have posted this idea a few times, good to see someone in the game thinking along the same lines.

Yeh I know .......... :blah:

I know that this would only work if you could make the whole thing non sectarian, but lets just pretend

[Mili Tant]

We can persist with watching 2nd rate football sitting on our erses in freezing cold stadiums or we could consider ways to improve our game for players and fans - for the present and future.

Let's be clear about one thing. We cannot continue to try and compete with what is probably the best league in the world now - The Premiership. Why do we insist on starting and finishing our league at the same time as theirs, thereby denying us any chance of a decent TV deal.

By moving to a summer league we can not only achieve better income from TV but also attract bigger crowds including, I suspect, some from South of the border.

On the down side what do we do with our season tickets when we go on holiday in July? Eh? This is the 21st century - The trades fortnight no longer exists! Take the bairns away during the winters fortnight - Gala's braw at that time o' year.

[Antifa Hibs]

**** summer football. **** winter breaks.

The choice of buying a season ticket and missing 2-3 games for a holiday, or taking a summer holiday..... in November.

Winter is boring as hell at times, the footy you get on makes up for that.

Our football season has been like this for a gazillion years, nae need to chance it.

Man up ya sh**ebags :greengrin

[PatHead]

Definately in favour of summer football. Surely we would have a better chance of good tv money from Sky as they have to fill there schedules with crap in the summer. Apart from that wouldn't be competing with live games at midweek times. On the downside though would miss beating Hearts at New Year though and football would be competing with playing golf, bowls etc.

[NAE NOOKIE]

**** summer football. **** winter breaks.

The choice of buying a season ticket and missing 2-3 games for a holiday, or taking a summer holiday..... in November.

Winter is boring as hell at times, the footy you get on makes up for that.

Our football season has been like this for a gazillion years, nae need to chance it.

Man up ya sh**ebags :greengrin

Its aye been ? .... Oh no !!!

Man up ? .... You go to St Helens or Bradford Bulls next home game and tell them its no manly to play in the summer. I'll hod yer coat :greengrin

[Antifa Hibs]

Definately in favour of summer football. Surely we would have a better chance of good tv money from Sky as they have to fill there schedules with crap in the summer. Apart from that wouldn't be competing with live games at midweek times. On the downside though would miss beating Hearts at New Year though and football would be competing with playing golf, bowls etc.

Doesn't matter when its played. The standard will still be pesh. The grounds empty. The fans and atmosphere ******.

No-one will ever pay top dollar for SPL as its rank rotten. Wether its in the glorious 15 degree's celcius summer sun or in the rain in November.

[Sir David Gray]

The worst rainfall I have probably ever experienced at a football match came in July when I was at Stark's Park for the friendly against Raith Rovers (which got abandoned just after half time).

I also seem to remember watching Hibs play Dinaburg in the Intertoto Cup at Easter Road a few years ago, also in July and also in torrential rain, with a sodden pitch.

The weather in Scotland is so unpredictable, it doesn't really matter when you play, you are always likely to see rain in any month of the year.

[duncs]

The worst rainfall I have probably ever experienced at a football match came in July when I was at Stark's Park for the friendly against Raith Rovers (which got abandoned just after half time).

I also seem to remember watching Hibs play Dinaburg in the Intertoto Cup at Easter Road a few years ago, also in July and also in torrential rain, with a sodden pitch.

The weather in Scotland is so unpredictable, it doesn't really matter when you play, you are always likely to see rain in any month of the year.

Twice in a decade is hardly empirical evidence is it?

Undoubtedly there will be bad weather during the summer because it's Scotland for christ sakes! But I'd rather take my chances with four Saturdays in July than four Saturdays in December.

It's not even December yet but look at the state of some of the pitches in the SPL (as previously mentioned you should have seen the state of Cliftonhill on Saturday)? You can't honestly say that the grass and quality of pitch doesn't affect the standard of football that is being played on it.

Bare in mind, we only play football in the winter was because some of the earliest clubs emerged from cricket clubs wanting something for their players to do during the winter. Just because it's always been that way doesn't mean that it's always right.

[jgl07]

Summer football would see me give up watching Hibs.

[blackpoolhibs]

Summer football seemed a great idea during that game on saturday. Thats as cold as i have felt in a very long time.

[Sir David Gray]

Twice in a decade is hardly empirical evidence is it?

Undoubtedly there will be bad weather during the summer because it's Scotland for christ sakes! But I'd rather take my chances with four Saturdays in July than four Saturdays in December.

It's not even December yet but look at the state of some of the pitches in the SPL (as previously mentioned you should have seen the state of Cliftonhill on Saturday)? You can't honestly say that the grass and quality of pitch doesn't affect the standard of football that is being played on it.

Bare in mind, we only play football in the winter was because some of the earliest clubs emerged from cricket clubs wanting something for their players to do during the winter. Just because it's always been that way doesn't mean that it's always right.

No it's not but it just goes to show that you cannot rely on the Scottish weather, even in July. If we moved to summer football and then started having matches abandoned and called off in June and July (which is inevitable if we have rain like we had in the two instances that I have spoken of already) then it's going to defeat the purpose of changing it.

Also, up until this recent cold snap, the temperatures that we have been having in October and November have not been that much colder than what we were getting during July and August.

The weather in Scotland is pretty garbage all year round, with the exception of one or two days here and there.

[ballengeich]

Summer football would see me give up watching Hibs.

I wouldn't give up watching Hibs but I might give up my season ticket. I have more other things to do at the weekend in summer.

[Sir David Gray]

Summer football seemed a great idea during that game on saturday. Thats as cold as i have felt in a very long time.

Yep it was very cold on Saturday but give me those weather conditions over the conditions that were present at Paisley last week, every day of the week.

I was absolutely soaked by half time and I would rather be shivering, but dry, than dripping wet.

[ballengeich]

If summer football was introduced, perhaps it should be played in the evenings. Have 1 SPL game 6 evenings a week. People can watch in relative warmth, and each game will get the money from tv.

[duncs]

No it's not but it just goes to show that you cannot rely on the Scottish weather, even in July. If we moved to summer football and then started having matches abandoned and called off in June and July (which is inevitable if we have rain like we had in the two instances that I have spoken of already) then it's going to defeat the purpose of changing it.

Also, up until this recent cold snap, the temperatures that we have been having in October and November have not been that much colder than what we were getting during July and August.

The weather in Scotland is pretty garbage all year round, with the exception of one or two days here and there.

Frankly, that's nonsense - the weather recently been as good as it has been in the summer? That'll be why I was going to work this summer in shorts most days and nowadays I don't leave the house without at least a jumper.

What you described was two unusual events for weather that is normal during the summer. I'm not denying that games might be called off due to bad weather but I'd bet you good money that ten seasons of summer football will have better weather and less games called off than ten seasons of winter football.

Scotland must follow what they do in Scandanavia if it wants to progress as a footballing nation. I'm certain if you spoke to top coaches they'd say the same - and I'm not just talking at an SPL level - it can't be doing our kids any good playing in foul conditions on pitches that resemble the Somme.

The weather is always going to play a role, but why play when conditions are at the very worst when you could be playing at a better time? When the pitches are all cut up, it leads to turgid football, which leads to less fans turning up, less punters watching on TV etc etc, it becomes a problem that eats itself.

Why not trial at least for a few seasons? If it really is a disaster then let's revert back to winter football and I'd happily admit I'm wrong, but to dismiss it now when Scottish football is at a low ebb and people are offering suggestions as how to make it better just seems churlish to me.

[basehibby]

Much as I love the traditions of the festive fixtures etc, I think it would make sense in Scotland to change to summer football.

The main reason for me is that the Scottish winter weather is simply not conducive to either watching or playing good football and I think that regularly playing in better conditions would have a positive effect on our game as a whole with more value placed on skill and technique and slightly less on grafting and battling.

There are other possible advantages as well - teams will be much better prepared for the early rounds of Europe - the better weather could attract more fans along - also the possibility of more exposure by not going head to head with our extravagent neighbours for the TV ratings.

[TheEastTerrace]

My take on this is quite simple. If there are enough commercially viable and profitable reasons for justifying the move to summer football, I think someone in the upper echelons of Scottish football will try to push this through eventually with hopefully a compelling case.

Also, if it gives players from top professional to under 10's a chance to train and play on good surfaces in good weather, I can't see why people are dead against it.

Christ, we moan about the standard of football in this country week after week, but if anyone dare change the way we do things to hopefully make an improvement to the game in this country, people are up in arms. Things change, people adapt. Let's give a bash I say.

[Antifa Hibs]

Why do people think TV ratings would go up..?

Do you honestly see big Mick the the Gunner or Man U Dave deciding to watch Hamilton - Rangers or Kilmarnock - Hertz just because there's nae EPL on..? No *** chance, that would be like us watching the Blue Sq premier on a weekly basis, and how many of us do that..?

What would the season be then in a winter league?

Feb to October? Is there really that much a difference in weather between those months and November - Jan..?

[MyJo]

What would the season be then in a winter league?

The summer season would be run from the beginning of march to November with a break in July....like it said in the article the OP linked to. :greengrin

IMO summer football is the way to go along with a major restructure of the whole of scottish football, we could do worse than to look to the swedish structure (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_football_league_system) for inspiration.

One governing body for the whole of the scottish game, home-grown player quotas for clubs, operate the league cup on "olympic rules" with players aged under-23 making up the squads, professional coaching @ high school level with some form of "draft" like they do in america for basketball and american football, a "cap" on ticket pricing, introduction of safe standing areas into stadiums, professional full-time referees......there are plenty of things to be done to improve scottish football and summer football is the start of that process :agree:

[Craig_in_Prague]

I'd say yes to Summer football on 2 conditions;

1/ Safe standing areas are allowed
2/ Lager is served

:wink:

[Golden Bear]

I'll give summer fitba the big thumbs down.

I've far too many other options to occupy my time in the summer months, and besides - the half time pie & bovril just wouldnae be the same on a summers day.

[Ritchie]

Sorry, I disagree with everything he said regarding summer football.

Why get a season ticket when you could miss a number of games while on holiday?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT003780

The above shows July to be the wettest month of the year in Edinburgh. Great for watching football and underfoot conditions :confused:

There are 101 things wrong with Scottish football just now e.g. lack of a pyramid system, numerous governing bodies, lack of decent facilities at grass roots level, the cancer of bigotry among many of the fans of our two best supported clubs and this plonker picks on his hobby horse of summer football.

The man is a horses anus of the highest order.

SPOT ON!! :top marks

[Andy74]

Winter is a dull dreary time - the weekend football is a highlight. What does he think we should do instead on Saturday afternoons?

Exactly!

The most farcical weather I can recall was the inter toto game in July as well. Hard pitches with surface water - no thanks.

Summer if for other things, winter is for the footy.

[scott7_0(Prague)]

Why not just adopt what is currently running in other countries, here in CZ football starts in July, finishes in December for 3.5months and then resumes until May. Simple really.

[Golden Bear]

Why not just adopt what is currently running in other countries, here in CZ football starts in July, finishes in December for 3.5months and then resumes until May. Simple really.

It may be simple - but it lacks continuity.

I wouldn't fancy that set up at all.

[LancashireHibby]

Its aye been ? .... Oh no !!!

Man up ? .... You go to St Helens or Bradford Bulls next home game and tell them its no manly to play in the summer. I'll hod yer coat :greengrin

Trouble is, the season runs from February to October these days so not much of the season actually takes place during the summer. With a lot of Super League games on Friday nights, they aren't really impacted by 'summer activities', but weekend games certainly have been, and I think that will be a problem crowds-wise. For as many people who are put off by watching a game in the cold, there are at least as many who wouldn't be able to attend during the summer because the grass needs mowing/the fence needs painting/the kids are going to the theme park etc etc.

[villager]

every level under of under 16's football in scotland should be played march to november imo.

i wouldnt mind watching senior football in the summer or winter. pros and cons to both.

[ahibby]

I think it would be worth a try to get a feel for it and see how it goes. I haven't read the article but my feeling would be I'd prefer early evening games if the season was to be changed drastically.

[Hibee-Bongo]

What would happen if somehow an SPL team got to the latter stages of the Europa League/Champions League during summer football?

[duncs]

What would happen if somehow an SPL team got to the latter stages of the Europa League/Champions League during summer football?

Nurse!

The same thing as happens now - many leagues have summer seasons - Russia being the best example and it hasn't hampered their teams progress in Europe, both CSKA Moscow and Zenit St Peterburg have won the UEFA Cup in recent years.

It would be slighltly problematic, but currently we have teams every year (us included, Aberdeen, Falkirk, QotS etc etc) getting put out of the competition by fitter (but not necessarily better) teams who play summer football. Frankly, our teams won't progress to the latter stages currently because of that and because they really aren't good enough. I'd much rather see a lot of Scottish clubs going a few rounds in the Europa Cup and all raising the co-efficients than Celtic or Rangers once in a while playing in Europe after March.

[scott7_0(Prague)]

It may be simple - but it lacks continuity.

I wouldn't fancy that set up at all.

So what do you fancy and why?

To be totally honest, I would not change the current set up, after all it can snow or rain 356days a year in Scotland.

[Golden Bear]

So what do you fancy and why?

To be totally honest, I would not change the current set up, after all it can snow or rain 356days a year in Scotland.

:agree:

The status quo will dae me fine!

I just prefer continuity in a fixture list. Football attendance tends to be a "habit thing" and if you break the habit then there is an increased risk that you'll find other things/interests to take its place.

[jgl07]

The other problem is that one season in two, everything would come to a halt for five weeks while the World Cup of European Cup are run.

What would football fans do in the winter months. Certainly watching English, Italian, Spanish Football on TV. Many would trek down to Newcastle, Sunderland, or even to Manchester.

Commercially it would be a total disaster as was the horrible 'winter break' before it was scrapped.

[hfc rd]

I agree but I will miss the new years derby. It wont feel the same. Also if the world cup is on then some of our players might possibly be away.

[pentlando]

I dont buy the argument that interest in scottish football wouldn't be affected, it would definitley increase down south. I work in a bookies and i have seen first hand the utter garbage games people will bet on in the summer simply cause it's the only football available to them e.g. norweigan 2nd division games. If English fans already have packages such as sky sports and espn, then knowing they can watch a decent standard of football over the summer will probably stop them simply cutting subscription for 3 months, hence making the spl more valuable. Ask any youngster who goes about 3 4 weeks over the winter playing no football, limited training and then having to pack the last 10 league games into the final 4 weeks of a season what they think. At the very least trial this at youth levels and see how successful goes??

[TheEastTerrace]

The other problem is that one season in two, everything would come to a halt for five weeks while the World Cup of European Cup are run.

What would football fans do in the winter months. Certainly watching English, Italian, Spanish Football on TV. Many would trek down to Newcastle, Sunderland, or even to Manchester.

Commercially it would be a total disaster as was the horrible 'winter break' before it was scrapped.

What, any more of a disaster than the current setup is? The SPL and the clubs aren't exactly receiving offers for vast sponsorship deals and the coffers are hardly swelling with TV and ticket revenues. I can think of several reasons why it could be a success commercially.

Other nations seem to be able to fit around the WC and EC so surely we could too?

[I Love Lamp]

Weather's not much worse here than down south (especially in the north of England) and they don't struggle.

Problem here is the league itself: only 12 teams, half-empty stadia, duopoly, lack of quality players, negative and physical tactics.

Of course I would blame other teams than Hibs for these things, mostly Hearts and the west coast clone town element in the league.

[The Baldmans Comb]

It's taken a very long time but at last Smith has said something of sense.:dizzy:

[joebakerforever]

Summer football is boring and tailored made for wimp spectators.

What are we supposed to do during the winter - play ludo on Saturday afternoons ?


God help us if Gay Gordon and his fellow nancy boys get their way :devil:

[NAE NOOKIE]

I remember a couple of days during the first division season when it was so cold we had to take my pals kids under the stand coz it was a couple of degrees warmer.

I bet you could attract more old folk and casual spectators to games if it was a bit warmer.

Also, as someone elso pointed out on this matter the population of Edinburgh is about double in the summer, this would give us a real opportunity to tap into the tourist market.

This is all about improving the game football and money wise. As for I cut the grass and paint the fence in summer, well that can be done during the week too.

[Hainan Hibs]

Don't think we would be having this discussion if wimps would put on a decent jacket, take off their high heels and drop the man bags.


:devil:


On a serious note, I'm still undecided about summer football. I think changes need to be made to the league structure first. Lets get a 16 or 18 team league back in, 2 up 2 down system etc, been discussed before.

[LancashireHibby]

Also, as someone elso pointed out on this matter the population of Edinburgh is about double in the summer, this would give us a real opportunity to tap into the tourist market.
But I dare say that there are one or two tourists in Edinburgh over the Festive period as well - are we tapping in to that particular market for the Huns and Hertz games?

[Franck is God]

Summer football has to be the way forward for a country like Scotland.

The weather is unpredictable to an extent but nobody could argue that it's not warmer from March to November, there are traditional games that you would miss but new traditions would be made.

We are only 2 points of the top yet could only get 12k home fans last week, I would say that Christmas and weather played a part in that low attendance. How many more would have turned up on a sunny Saturday in April or August for the same fixture?

The fact that would would no longer be competing for the same Sky timetable as the EPL can only help, even if it didn't mean more money it would be better viewing times so therefore better exposure and increased advertising revenue.

Its easier to maintain the training centre and ground in summer and not having the extra expense of floodlighting at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon or the undersoil heating would be a bit of a saving.

[Mickey Edwards]

The main reason why Scottish football is a different sport from the rest of the planet is that we are the most northerly winter league on the planet.

Grass virtually stops growing from about November for ?4 - 5 months {horticulturalists keep me right here}. In our climate rain falls all year but pitch damage {whether it's ER or The Jewel} can only be recovered from April - October.
Cumulative damage to the surface means that on most football pitches in Scotland there is not a huge advantage in short possession - football type passing ; you tend to benefit from getting the ball as far away from your goal as quickly as possible. It can be like trying to control a rugby ball and your eye's on the ball until it actually touches your foot....generally much harder to encourage development of head-up footballers.

Better surfaces, longer daylight hours = better football.

Simples.

Winter football is a great tradition and it's exciting but if you want to improve the quality it needs to change . Perhaps the SPL could stay winter because the clubs can afford to invest in their surface but it would make a lot of commercial and sporting sense for everything else to be summer.

[Alfred E Newman]

Just like to say what a perfect day it is today for playing football. Dry and mild though some wimps on here will probably say its " Baltic" ( read Eddie Turnbulls` book for the real definition of Baltic). Great conditions , a damp pitch and the floodlights on , perfect for a good atmosphere. Bring it on, I can`t wait, and Gay Gordon can go away and play with himself.

[PaulSmith]

Just like to say what a perfect day it is today for playing football. Dry and mild though some wimps on here will probably say its " Baltic" ( read Eddie Turnbulls` book for the real definition of Baltic). Great conditions , a damp pitch and the floodlights on , perfect for a good atmosphere. Bring it on, I can`t wait, and Gay Gordon can go away and play with himself.

A perfect day for me, majority of the spectators and definitely the players would be a dry day, some sunshine and a pitch that has plenty short grass on it and was watered right up until kick off.

We cannot continue to ask players and kids to train in freezing cold conditions in the pishing rain, wind or snow.

[ancient hibee]

So summer up here is going to run from March to November-lovely I can hardly wait.

[Alfred E Newman]

A perfect day for me, majority of the spectators and definitely the players would be a dry day, some sunshine and a pitch that has plenty short grass on it and was watered right up until kick off.

We cannot continue to ask players and kids to train in freezing cold conditions in the pishing rain, wind or snow.

You are staying in the wrong country then. If we only played games in those conditions it would take years to complete the league fixtures.

[Alfred E Newman]

So summer up here is going to run from March to November-lovely I can hardly wait.

Who`s talking about summer? This is winter and the conditions are perfect.
So we all go shopping today or wash the car?

[Betty Boop]

Who`s talking about summer? This is winter and the conditions are perfect.
So we all go shopping today or wash the car?

Its cold and wet in Leith! :confused:

[Alfred E Newman]

Its cold and wet in Leith! :confused:

It depends what you define as cold. The forcast for Leith at kick off time is dry and 46f . If you think thats cold then do what those of us that work outdoors do, put on more clothes.

[PaulSmith]

You are staying in the wrong country then. If we only played games in those conditions it would take years to complete the league fixtures.

Nah, we're just playing football in the wrong seasons.

[Alfred E Newman]

Nah, we're just playing football in the wrong seasons.

Since the game was invented? Seriously, a change to summer football would be the end of top class football in Scotland. Away crowds in particular would be decimated as fans found better things to do during the summer months .

[PaulSmith]

Since the game was invented? Seriously, a change to summer football would be the end of top class football in Scotland. Away crowds in particular would be decimated as fans found better things to do during the summer months .

Aye, your right let's keep it the same as it's been cause crowds are massive across Scotland, TV companies and sponsors are falling over themselves to put money into the game, kids technique is improving all the time and we're doing fantastic in Europe.

[jgl07]

This argument about Summer v Winter football is false.

The season seems to last from late July till early June. That is over 10 months long. This will be longer for teams involved in the Europa League and even the Champions' League.

So the most the winter shutdown could be is two months. Following other 'summer pattern' countries this would be December and January. February and (sometimes) March can be the coldest and most unpleasant months in the year.

This would rule out the money spinning Christmas/New Year fixtures. This may not be an issue in the Czech Republic but it is an issue in Scotland.

Then for on season in two (all even numbered years) there would either be the World Cup or the European Cup taking a good five week chunk out of the season. What happens to the season then?

The wole idea is stupid and hasn't been thought through.

[jacomo]

This argument about Summer v Winter football is false.

The season seems to last from late July till early June. That is over 10 months long. This will be longer for teams involved in the Europa League and even the Champions' League.

So the most the winter shutdown could be is two months. Following other 'summer pattern' countries this would be December and January. February and (sometimes) March can be the coldest and most unpleasant months in the year.

This would rule out the money spinning Christmas/New Year fixtures. This may not be an issue in the Czech Republic but it is an issue in Scotland.

Then for on season in two (all even numbered years) there would either be the World Cup or the European Cup taking a good five week chunk out of the season. What happens to the season then?

The wole idea is stupid and hasn't been thought through.

:agree:

[hfc1875x]

Just like to say what a perfect day it is today for playing football. Dry and mild though some wimps on here will probably say its " Baltic" ( read Eddie Turnbulls` book for the real definition of Baltic). Great conditions , a damp pitch and the floodlights on , perfect for a good atmosphere. Bring it on, I can`t wait, and Gay Gordon can go away and play with himself.


I take it you were up at the crack of dawn overseein under 9s football in the pishing rain on a pitch that looked like the soccer am advert? Bairns crying because of cold hands etc ? Aye the game shouldnt have went ahead but they havent played for 1 month due to conditions of the pitches , aye you think eh yersell ya jack and danny while yer sippin on yer bovril at HT. Wake up mate, change is needed.