Winter shut down - or not

[down-the-slope]

OK thought given all the weather related threads and games called off should there be a winter break?

My own thought is no as even the met cannot get the forecast right a week ahead, let alone 6 months ahead when shedules are made. This is the first heavy Christmas snow in years with previous season it being in Febuary etc. When we had a break we had the ludicrous situation of a break in decent weather and then games called off when season resumed due to weather.

Also football is (or supposed to be :wink:) and entertainment, it therfore needs to be available when the customers want it. The Christmas holidays have traditionally had good crowds with people being off work and ex-pats making home visits and wanting to catch up with friends / their team.

What we do need to do is have better warning of call offs, similar to what was done for the midweek matches when they were called off with over a days notice...not in the hour before the game

[Littlest Hobo]

Anyone who lives here in Scotland knows fine well that the weather can be crap any month of the year including our soooooo called summer months. The answer is a big noooooooooooooooo. :greengrin

[Calvin]

I am wholeheartedly in favour of not just a winter break, but wholly summer football.

[CropleyWasGod]

I am wholeheartedly in favour of not just a winter break, but wholly summer football.

That is a scenario that fills me with dread. How would one get through the winter?

[KerPlunk]

That is a scenario that fills me with dread. How would one get through the winter?

You could just copy the Russkies and the Swedes...............become a jakey.

:wink:

[hibiedude]

As things stand the fans will get screwed know matter what they.

chick is giving it big licks on Radio Scotland at the moment

reduce the games we play is the answer

[Golden Bear]

I'll give summer fitba the big thumbs down

It would clash with too many other activities, holidays etc.

Besides half our team would be absent because of world cup/european championship duties etc :wink:

[down-the-slope]

I am wholeheartedly in favour of not just a winter break, but wholly summer football.


Don't you like fans at matches..or are you just an armchair fan:dunno:

[Danderhall Hibs]

Don't you like fans at matches..or are you just an armchair fan:dunno:

Don't you think it would be easier to get a non-ST holder to go to a game on a nice summer day rather than a day like today?

[Hibs Spain]

Anyone who lives here in Scotland knows fine well that the weather can be crap any month of the year including our soooooo called summer months. The answer is a big noooooooooooooooo. :greengrinExactly.. They would probably choose end of Jan - Feb .. If that had happened this year .. We would have about 6 games lost with the ones lost in the last two weeks alone! What a nonesense idea. My brother in law has lived in Bavaria for twenty five years. They're in a state of confusion if the first snow fall and the ski slpoes aren't open on a specific date. To try and implement a shut down here or to even start to think about it is like a primary 4 project gone wrong.Stupid as stupid gets!

[jacomo]

There should definitely not be a winter shutdown over the festive period - football is a key part of the holiday for many people.

However, would a fortnight's break at another time - say, first two weeks of February - allow groundstaff a chance to carry out remedial work to pitches and improve the chances of them being playable for the rest of the season?

[CropleyWasGod]

Don't you think it would be easier to get a non-ST holder to go to a game on a nice summer day rather than a day like today?

As a non-ST holder, I think the potential for doing something else on a Saturday is greater in the summer. I don't usually get into the season until about October, as by then there is less option for doing other stuff outdoors.

Personally, I think crowds would drop in the summer... not significantly, but enough to make it less attractive for the clubs.

Fitba' gets me through the winter... dinnae, just dinnae!

[Calvin]

Don't you like fans at matches..or are you just an armchair fan:dunno:

I like fans at matches. I also like casual fans becoming Hibees. I also know that I can more easily persuade my friends to come up to Aberdeen with me in Summer.

See where I'm heading?

[down-the-slope]

I like fans at matches. I also like casual fans becoming Hibees. I also know that I can more easily persuade my friends to come up to Aberdeen with me in Summer.

See where I'm heading?

yup, but if Current ST holders don't buy under this system due to Holidays etc then you could lose a huge amount more than gained. I would not buy a ticket when I know I would miss 6/7 matches

[Calvin]

yup, but if Current ST holders don't buy under this system due to Holidays etc then you could lose a huge amount more than gained. I would not buy a ticket when I know I would miss 6/7 matches

Most people go away for a fortnight and that would generally be 1 home game.

On a traditional Home then Away match schedule, 7 games is 14 weeks which will be far from the norm for nearly all Hibs supporters.

I think a proper study has to be undertaken. If Hibs genuinely would lose money if Summer football came into play, then of course I would be against it. However as things stand now, it's all speculation and there are a lot of savings to be made by switching to Summer football also.

[CropleyWasGod]

Most people go away for a fortnight and that would generally be 1 home game.

On a traditional Home then Away match schedule, 7 games is 14 weeks which will be far from the norm for nearly all Hibs supporters.

I think a proper study has to be undertaken. If Hibs genuinely would lose money if Summer football came into play, then of course I would be against it. However as things stand now, it's all speculation and there are a lot of savings to be made by switching to Summer football also.

Factor into that music festivals, weddings, kids' outings and all the competing attractions and commitments.... and it will be more than 1 for most folk.

[Hibs Class]

No:

Clash with summer hols means fewer ST sales - I wouldn't buy ours if I was going to miss 1-3 games in the Summer
Summer can have bad weather too (FK Vetra?)
Winter goes from Nov-Feb so a 2 or 4 week break doesn't mean missing the bad weather
Some supporters only get to attend the festive fixtures live
If players have to play 3 times a week in the Spring to catch up so what - I played 7 times a week when I was a kid

[down-the-slope]

Factor into that music festivals, weddings, kids' outings and all the competing attractions and commitments.... and it will be more than 1 for most folk.

:agree: plus mid-week games (unless league games were reduced...but thats a whole other discussion) to take into account which with cups and Europe add up to a fair number.

2 weeks holiday...3 saturdays. Kids & parents visiting out and inlaws another 3 saturdays (one of these is 700 mile round trip twice to drop off and collect) All this HAS to be in school holiday time

[Regina Phalange]

No to summer football. I would be for a winter break, in January. It won't allow you to miss bad weather, but it would help in other ways. Play the games as normal over the Christmas period, then have a shut down mid way through January to allow pitches to recover. Any teams that are behind schedule can play their games in hand then. Other teams will have plenty to concentrate on with the transfer window being open, and it would allow SPL managers to go and take in games in England or elsewhere to look at potential signings.

[Calvin]

Factor into that music festivals, weddings, kids' outings and all the competing attractions and commitments.... and it will be more than 1 for most folk.

True enough :agree:

I generally go away for 3 weeks and T in the Park. I would accept the sacrifice of a few home games but am aware that others wouldn't.

So basically the footballing side of things would benefit but the supporters would take a hit.