Scheduling Nonsense

[TundraWolf]

I have been looking back over the last three weeks and have found with make-up games involving dodgy pitches that our lads have had to play eight games in 25 days: March 8th to April 2nd. This seems a bit unreasonable since the games to be made up are actually due to no fault of our own. By all means make them up, but not over four consecutive Tuesdays in a row, each three days after a Saturday match. This puts unreasonable stress on our lads, courts injury and often puts us up against a more stringent schedule compared to Leyton Orient and/or Brentford.

I would assume this would be more of an issue if we were not dominating the League with such relative ease!!

Any thoughts on this or related issues?

[peterknowlesburnside]

The penalty of playing in the lower leagues Tundra. 46 games got to be played, along with all the cup games. If you get a few put off for whatever reason, this is the situation you end up in. All I can say is thank God for the size and quality of our squad - for me that has been the difference between Wolves and the rest.

[abbobrom]

We are fortunate in having a good Stadium and an excellent playing surface. As you will have seen from film clips, many of the grounds in League One, are small and the pitches/ playing surfaces are poor.

Through no fault of our own, the build up of fixtures has made it a difficult period to wade through. In all honesty, a period that we have done well in, mainly because the Manager has had the luxury of being able to swop and change his team, with no detriment to the overall performance.

Most teams in our League do not have that luxury. MK have a great Stadium but by all accounts a poor pitch.

[wolves71]

The games that get called off have to be rescheduled and played before the end of season. Wolves have done well and having a big enough squad helps. The level Wolves find themselves at means cancellation of games are a regular thing, the poor weather hasn't helped either.

[TundraWolf]

I understand the reasons and needs for cancellations, it is the schedule of make-up games that are at issue here. Certainly two games a week for eight games in four weeks is a bit difficult to take when one of the Tuesdays could have been left free and that game made up a couple of Tuesdays later around mid or late April. At that time of year most weather related cancellations would have come to an end anyways and we would be assured of acceptable weather for a re-match.

Alternatively, the knowledge that cancelled games and subsequent replays could become a necessity during the winter months, schedule makers could have bunched a couple of mid-winter games up in the autumn to allow for later cancellations and replays by having a make-up week of cancelled games sometime in late March. For example, a fixture free period March 15th to 25th to allow for replays and cup ties.

[wolves71]

The two clubs involved have to agree on a new date for the rescheduled fixture, if not, the league steps in. The league and cup calendar is often congested as it is.

[Deeley]

Imagine how it could have been if the Football League hadn't started this season 2 weeks earlier than usual!