Sunderland’s first game of 2017 will remain on January 2 after the Premier League rejected a request by Liverpool to reschedule the fixture. The Reds host Manchester City at Anfield at 5.30pm on New Year’s Eve. Both clubs then play at 3pm on Monday, January 2 and though City are at home (to Burnley) while Liverpool are due at the Stadium of Light , the EPL are unprepared to hand Jurgen Klopp’s men a competitive advantage by delaying the kick-off time. A further factor understood to have been taken into consideration is the fact that the game is Sunderland’s only home fixture over the Christmas/New Year period. BT Sport selected the New Year’s Eve game between Liverpool and City for live broadcast and, thus, a teatime start last month, when Klopp said: “Now I have seen the fixtures and I am not too happy. “We have less than 48 hours between our game against Man City on December 31 and in Sunderland on the 2nd. Forty-eight hours is an interesting idea but less than 48 hours I cannot believe. “I learn more and more about this league and maybe I have to ask someone if we can ask if there will be another time for us at Sunderland. "Our job is to do everything we can to win games. I understand tradition - I would never say Boxing Day is not a good idea as I love it and I have absolutely no problem. “But now having a matchday with two days between there should be another possibility.”
I think they should have got it personally, We've been in the same situation and been turned down. Less than 48 hours is harsh. But at least it's consistent. The spread of games across the whole period is harsh on a lot of teams this season. Plenty of teams getting less time to prepare over short periods than their oppoanants. It a period of three games where everyone should have the same time and date kick offs full stop.
I understand the principle here that Klopp is whinging about, but we have two teams one currently top of the league with a 25 man squad a lot better than ours and a team currently bottom with on paper a much weaker squad. All clubs have problems around the festive season so why can't they just get on with it until the clutch of continental managers finally get their own way and we end up with a winter break which is something I personally dont want.
I think you are dead right about the danger of an eventual loss of the Christmas fixtures. We are the only nation in Europe that does not take a full four week break over that time and it is a harks back to when football was the only possible bright spark at the time.
Not geographically I hope. I moved down here to get away from you bastards on my doorstep. Seriously though, there's no need for teams to be playing matches that close together. You can fit the number of games you need into that time period without this amount of stacking up. FWIW I agree with Klopp here.
Back in the pre-Sky days and blown out Euro football teams often played three games a week without bother. Football has been taken to the cleaners by sports science which has brain-washed people into their way of thinking.
I don't think you could expect players to have three matches a week with no problems these days, Sky or no Sky. The game has never been more physically demanding than it is right now.
Well there's 3 matches in a week when you play Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday and have a couple of days between each but less than 48 hours is a pushing it too far. You cannot expect the players to be as prepared physically or tactically for the match and it lessens the quality. Plus Nacho is entirely correct, it's far more athletic now.
Tell that to the teams of the '60s and '70s, '80s. or the 11 v11 before that. Teams in Europe played home and away to survive or be knocked out, FA cup ties and replays and so on. At one time Leeds played five games in ten days because they were in four competitions. They ploughed their way through mud, played on frost or concrete hard pitches most of which were bare of grass for three quarters of the season. What I will concede is today's game is faster, but not much more exciting than years ago. Oh aye, there was no daft goal celebration either.
Everybody kicked off at the same time back then though. So it was a level playing field. Not that way now, a team traveling away in a run off 3 games in 5 days, when the home team have no traveling and 3 hours extra prep time because of kick off times of the previous fixtures being differant, that time matters, one team will end up getting an extra half day prep on their opponents, over such short time period with many game I believe it hands teams unfair advantages. Now wrong with having 3 games over 5 games every Christmas but they need to be kicking off at the same time to make it remotely fair. Have you seen how the fixtures are structured this season It's ridiculous. The fixtures weren't spread like that in the old days. It's stupid imo.
Monday 26th December 2016, All 3pm kick off Watford v Crystal Palace Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion Burnley v Middlesbrough Chelsea v Bournemouth Leicester City v Everton Manchester United v Sunderland Swansea City v West Ham United Hull City v Manchester City Liverpool v Stoke City Southampton v Tottenham Hotspur Saturday 31st December 2016, all 3pm kick off Hull City v Everton Burnley v Sunderland Chelsea v Stoke City Leicester City v West Ham United Manchester United v Middlesbrough Southampton v West Bromwich Albion Swansea City v Bournemouth Liverpool v Manchester City Watford v Tottenham Hotspur Arsenal v Crystal Palace Monday 2nd January 2017, All 3pm kick off. Middlesbrough v Leicester City Everton v Southampton Manchester City v Burnley Sunderland v Liverpool West Bromwich Albion v Hull City West Ham United v Manchester United Bournemouth v Arsenal Crystal Palace v Swansea City Stoke City v Watford Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea This is the only fair Christmas program imo. and not single game sacrificed
By faster you mean that they cover more distance and that's what causes real fatigue, not the condition of the grass. I've played on all surfaces and all weather and it's the running that knackers you not the surface. I bet if you look at a comparison of the distances run by footballers now compared to the 60s or 70s you'll get a clearer idea of how different the game is now.
Agreed, a mental toughness to endure conditions and take bumps and scrapes is very differant to over all physical fitness imo. Yeah they were better men but teams today would run rings around them.
You're only a young lad though. (Younger than me I think anyhow) they weren't structured like that in the pre sky era. Which I hope isn't considered the "old days"
Try running a mile on average grass the another mile on mud the next day. Guarantee you'll be more knackered the second day
Nowt to do with distances covered and so on as there is no proper measurable way of doing it. In both cases the players look after themselves but for all there is a change in tactics and so on, today's players are from the era of playing on beautiful surfaces from an early age and in conditions that are so different.
I remember the Pre-Sky era even but when sky started they didn't have the rights to pull the fixture list apart like they do now. It wasn't disrupted as much, you'd get a couple of games away from the main bunch but today's scheduels are just all over the shop. Feel sorry for pops with the prediction league this season cause when I did it 2 years ago it was much easier run the competition over this time period. He may just have to lay all the fixtures down for the whole festive fixture list and do 1 giant round.
