Scottish Winter Break

[ScoRoss]

 

Once again this year, Scotland has a winter break in January, for what reason I do not know. Personally, I think it was just an idea that the SPFL implemented to look like they were learning from other European countries, but they've completely missed the point. Instead of creating a break for players, they've merely condensed the season to shoehorn this in. 

Including today, Celtic have eleven games to play in five weeks. From 26th November until 30th December, which is 35 days. So about a game just over every 3 days. Then after this, they don't have a game until the 20th of January, a Scottish Cup tie at home to Brechin, and don't have a league game until 27th January. So basically three weeks without a game. 

The question is why are they compacting all these games into a short period of time to accommodate a break? I'm sure the vast majority of supporters would rather have these league games on the weekend in January rather than have them squeezed into midweeks in December. And they've also decided that they will not have the traditional January 2nd matches as well, which attracts some of the biggest crowds of the year for a lot of clubs because it's a public holiday in Scotland.

For all the clamber that there seems to be in England and that they must have a 'winter break', I warn you it's not all it's cracked up to be.

[Guest]

pretty sure its because if the weather

[Smiley Culture]

1 hour ago, Gunnersauraus said:

pretty sure its because if the weather

Scotland doesn't tend to have that many games called off*, though, so I think that is a lazy excuse really.

The main problem is that Scottish sides play too many games, especially now the League Cup has been extended into a group format, and trying to fit so many games into a very small window results in overcrowded schedules for some.

 

* More than England but hardly weeks with very few games on and some lower league teams are part-time, so it's a given some will be off.

[ScoRoss]

On 12/19/2017 at 9:50 PM, Gunnersauraus said:

pretty sure its because if the weather

But that's an extra reason not to have this break.

Whats to say the worst winter weather is going to hit in January and not in February or December? And you might have wasted 3 good weeks for games to be played.

[ScoRoss]

The winter break just creates a bigger gap between the haves and have nots. Whilst the likes of Aberdeen and Celtic fly off to Dubai, and the Edinburgh clubs head to Portugal and Spain, the lesser off clubs merely have training back in Scotland for the few weeks.

[ScoRoss]

 

[ScoRoss]

Two weeks in January with mild weather and no games. Moving a complete round of fixtures to a midweek at the end of February. 

Half of those games have had to be postponed and now have to try and fit them in elsewhere in the congested calendar. 

You can't have a two week winter break when winter lasts for over three months.

[ScoRoss]

Today is a public holiday in Scotland. However, because of the 'winter break' there are no games on in the Scottish Premiership today. 

Aberdeen played nine games in December in order to fit in the winter break. Seems they've completely missed the point of it.