Liverpool FC Forum

by **red37** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:49 pm

for me this years schedule has been unfair to us. normally you'd be forgiven for saying there is little to back up these claims. but after what will be our 6th early start out of seven at the reebok next weekend. you could almost harbour doubts about switching back to 3pm and finding yourself as prepared as necessity dictates as of recent match times, only to be found wanting again ....

we'll see. there must be some grain of truth in rafa's statements on this.

fwiw his comments about the 'arrangement' of certain fixtures seems to hold some water as well for me. it'd be interesting to do a bit of research into the idea.

Early starts hamper our preperations - RafaSep 22 2006

By Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo

THE traditional pre-match meal for Liverpool players used to be pasta and chicken. This season, croissants and cereal are more appropriate.

Liverpool arethe country'searly risers,subject to most unsociable starts due to the television schedule and still awaiting an elusive 3pm kick-off.

For Rafa Benitez, what should have been an annoyance to be tolerated once in a while has rapidly become a weekly irritation.

Liverpool won't playat Anfield in a 3pm kick-off until Blackburn visit on October 14 - their eighth Premiership game of the season, with six of the previous seven all early kick-offs.
Understandably, the Spanish coach is bemused about how English football chiefs arrange their fixtures.

"It's too soon for us to be continuously given early times to play in arow," said Benitez." This doesn't give you alot of time to prepare the players in the way you prefer.

"I can't understand the fixtures in general. The person who arranges them must be a genius. In Spain, you play every team in the same order in the first half of the league and the second part.

"Here you can play the last game of the first half against Charlton, and then play them again two weeks later.

"They could easily change things to be more fair. There can a big difference in the standard of a team, depending on what time of year you play them. That's why the order should be the same in both parts of the season.

"For example, when will a newlypromoted team be most dangerous? Maybe at the beginning of the season when they're new to the league and we don't know much about them, and then at the end if they're fighting to stay in the division. It would be unfair for a side to only play them at these times.

"And when you play a big club at the start of the season, you might expect it to be around Christmas time when you play them again. For some reason, these games are always pushed back towards the end of the season. I don't know how this happens, but as I say, the person who arranges it this way must be very clever."

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having looked at the early season fixtures over the last 5 seasons, up to and around this period. i have to say, there isnt really that many unusual kick-off times...maybe the 3 consecutive 8pm matches in 2002 (all 2:2) were the exception..

overall though, considering the world cup/international friendlies and early qualifying rounds of the European cup all disrupting the schedule. it would also be fair to say, therein lies the price of sucess these days. TV rules the roost, rafa.

but those poor soles who make the pilgrimages week in week out wouldnt mind the odd lie in :;):

by **PhiLFC** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:55 pm

Caught me out today... I didn't realise it was the early kick off and missed the first half :down:

what a d.ick

Ferguson was complaining about the same thing a cuppla years back and I think Wenger has said the same and no doubt Maureen. Its all to do with dosh and gettin the best teams on the telly (sky).

by **red37** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 4:03 pm

you didnt miss much phil m8. i was just adding a word about the telly while you'd typed your reply.

it'd be nice though to say, roll on 3 o'clock again...once in a while

by **Festy** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 4:08 pm

Interesting.
I agree with that order of the matches thingy though. It should be same in both of the seasons to make the things even.

by **PhiLFC** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 4:12 pm

red37 wrote:you didnt miss much phil m8. i was just adding a word about the telly while you'd typed your reply.

it'd be nice though to say, roll on 3 o'clock again...once in a while

Yeah I wasn't even over me hangover from last night... got a real dog breath on me today.

But a cuppla normal kick offs would be nice... however if we're so used to kicking off early does this gives us the edge over the opposition who aren't used to it

by **red37** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 4:18 pm

i doubt it'd even be that much of an issue for other sides...they wont even have had half the amount we've had!

still, like my gaffer would say. i have to be on the ball from the minute i go in work till the moment i fall into the pub, so why should them greedy b.astards have it different

by **Graeme Noble** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 5:00 pm

If it means that LFC will be shown live on tv more often, then I won't complain too much!

by **Sabre** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 11:25 am

Yep the order here is fixed, but it has some cons. THey make a fixture table, and from that table you construct the other games. That means that for instance a team always plays the team that has played, say Liverpool, the week before.

For instance a team would play Tottenham this week, and their previous game would have been against Newcastle. Some people say, that if you play always the team that has left Liverpool it's an advantage and also alters competition, and that it should be a pure draw every week. Also, the first fixture table has some rules that benefit the interest of big teams. For instance you won't have a Real Madrid - Barcelona in the first 4 weeks, because the TV wants them later on. And you won't see a Real Madrid - Barcelona when there are CL games.

by **craig da Toxteth iron** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 11:49 am

It's good news & Bad news. The good news is that we see more of the reds live. The Bad news is that it early kick off can have an effect on the players.

by **Owzat** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 1:59 pm

We never did like early starts, maybe there is some London club influencing sky to televise our games in the early slots knowing it would screw us up and make hard work of our title challenge.

I heard a rumour we'll be having a 3pm Saturday KO sometime this season

by **stmichael** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 1:19 pm

Owzat wrote:I heard a rumour we'll be having a 3pm Saturday KO sometime this season

that'll be the fa cup final then

by **red37** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 1:44 pm

this was in todays echo. (part of a piece about tomorrows game, but its as relevent in here)

************************************************
Extraordinarily, it's over 55 fixtures since television companies have allowed Liverpool to keep the same traditional kick-off time for consecutive games.

The Reds have kicked off at Saturday, 3pm just once since last January.

The last time they started an away match at the traditional time was on November 26, 2005.

we arent going to know wtf is going on playing at 3 o'clock next

by **red37** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 2:20 pm

TWO MORE 12.45PM KICK-OFFS FOR REDS

Paul Eaton 11 October 2006

Liverpool have confirmed changes to two of their scheduled Premiership games in January.
The New Year's Day clash with Bolton at Anfield will kick-off at 12.45pm and the away match at Watford on January 13 has also been moved to a 12.45pm start.

Both games will be televised live on SKY.

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:glare:

going for the record here arent we?

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