Fixture chaos? - it's all Sven's fault
The Premier League have blamed England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson
for the Christmas fixture pile-up.
It is partly due to the four-week build-up desired by Eriksson for
his England players ahead of the World Cup finals in Germany,
according to Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson.
RossKinnaird/GettyImages
Guilty: England coach Eriksson
'It is particularly difficult this Christmas because we have to
squeeze in an extra game,' said Johnson.
'After negotiations with the Football Association, we agreed a
four-week break at the end of the season for England's World Cup
preparations.'
Asked about the lack of a winter break, which would - in any case -
be held in January, he added: 'If someone shows how it is
logistically possible to fit in a break in the middle of the season
then we will certainly look at that.
'But when you are talking about [giving England] four weeks at the
end of the season and we have a full fixture calendar to fit in, it
becomes increasingly difficult.
'You also don't know when the bad weather is going to fall. You
could have a very mild Christmas when it is possible to play the
games and then have a winter frost in January.'
The FA insisted the four-week build-up ahead of the World Cup
finals was not only desired by Eriksson to give England a better
chance of success but also initiated by FIFA.
An FA spokesman said: 'The four-week break before the World Cup was
laid down by FIFA to enable players competing in the tournament to
get proper rest and recuperation.
'In order to give the England team the best possible preparation
time and chance of success in Germany, it was agreed the FA Cup
final would take place on May 13, with the Premier League season
finishing the weekend before.
'This was to allow Sven a level playing field with the other
nations competing at the World Cup.'
Although the FA, who could have held the FA Cup final on May 20,
also moved the sixth round to a midweek date, there has still been
a pile-up of games over Christmas.
Sports minister Richard Caborn has called for the FA and Premier
League to review the rules surrounding match postponements.
Caborn believes the late cancellations of three Premier League
matches on Wednesday due to the big freeze was 'unacceptable' and
he is to write to the football authorities asking them to review
their procedures.
Newcastle's match against Charlton was called off after a heavy
snowfall less than half an hour before kick-off, while Blackburn v
Sunderland and Bolton v Middlesbrough were both postponed less than
three hours before kick-off due to problems with the undersoil
heating. Numerous Football League matches were also
postponed.
Caborn believes there was plenty of warning of severe weather
conditions and that the travelling Charlton fans especially
suffered a needless waste of time and money.
The minister told PA Sport: 'I will write to the FA and Premier
League and ask them at the very least to review the rules, along
with the clubs and the referees.
'They need to take into consideration how far people are
travelling, and the likely weather conditions, to stop this
unacceptable situation happening again.
'All the weather forecasts said the situation was going to
deteriorate, not get better, and yet in Newcastle's case the match
was only called off less than half-an-hour before kick-off.
'Clubs of course want to play the matches if at all possible but
they should not leave it to the last minute because it is so unfair
on the fans. It is expensive enough to get into a Premiership
football match anyway and if fans have their money wasted on
travelling expenses as well then they simply will not be able to
afford it.'
Many fans were making long journeys, with supporters' groups
calling for more local derbies at holiday periods.
Malcolm Clarke, chairman of Football Supporters' Federation,
declared: 'We would like the fixture computer programmed in a way
that, for night games, supporters didn't have to travel these long
distances.'
Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd, whose club were criticised
after the late decision to postpone because of the state of the
roads around St James' Park, agreed with Clarke's view.
Shepherd told BBC Radio Five Live: 'The FA must look at this.
Forget the players - it's just not fair on the fans.
'Why are we playing in London on New Year's Eve when we could be
playing Sunderland or Middlesbrough? It's ridiculous, we should be
playing a local team or even one in Manchester.'
The Premier League stressed they had tried to ensure clubs
travelled the shortest distances over the Christmas period.
Johnson added: 'We do work very hard with clubs, supporters' groups
and the police to ensure the holiday fixtures are as close as
possible, but there are not enough derby fixtures to go
around.'
Newcastle City Council have responded to suggestions they did not
grit icy roads in time for the fixture to go ahead.
It is understood that council officials also wanted the game to be
played in order to grit the roads while fans were inside the
ground.
General manager of environmental services Rob Nichols said: 'The
council's team of gritters had been working across the city all day
yesterday prior to the match at St James' Park being
abandoned.
'During an inspection at 4pm yesterday all main routes in the city
centre were found to be clear.
'However, a heavy snowfall after 4.30pm, which coincided with rush
hour traffic and rapidly reducing temperatures, resulted in poor
driving conditions.
'Because of the amount of snow and the slow pace of the traffic the
salt was not worked into the road, resulting in icy driving
conditions.'
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