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Wrote to the FL about the Christmas fixture nonsense...

PragueAddick
PragueAddick Posts: 22,271
edited December 2011 in General Charlton
Dear Mrs Firth

I am writing to you directly because, perhaps unfairly, I doubt I will get a coherent answer from a general enquiries office.

I am writing about a quite absurd combination of fixtures  which my club, Charlton Athletic, and  more importantly its fans - customers - have to endure over the Christmas period. I have a number of specific questions for which I seek answers, in order to understand how this came about. I am particularly concerned about it as I live abroad and this period is one of the few times I can get to see my club live.

The fixtures concerned are on Boxing Day, when we have to travel to Yeovil. There is of course no public transport, and the typical car journey takes four hours; and New Years Eve when the game with Orient takes place at 17.20, meaning that most fans would not return home until around 21.00, thus causing great interference with festive plans. I have sought guidance from your website, and have read the (rather old) section entitled "How the Fixture List is Compiled" . 

My questions are as follows:

1. On Boxing Day, Wycombe play Exeter.  I quote from your website: "One thing I feed into the computer in advance are the Boxing Day games, these are hand picked to ensure that travel is minimised because there is no public transport anywhere in England." Why did your fixture working group not do the obvious thing, and have Wycombe play Charlton while Yeovil played Exeter in a classic derby game?

2. Did Charlton make representations to you about the Boxing Day fixture? If so, what was your response?

3. Before agreeing with Sky that a game would be televised on New Years Eve, did you take into account the inconvenience to paying customers? Why did you not insist that to show a Third Division game live at 17.20 on New Years Eve is absurd, because there would be a minimal TV audience as well as inconvenience to the most important customers. Please detail whatever discussion took place with Sky about this fixture.

4. Again I quote from your website "It is a shame, but we can't schedule matches on New Years Eve because the Police Forces up and down the Country would not accept them because it is undoubtedly the busiest night of the year for them. " Can you confirm that the Met Police had no objection to the Orient-Charlton game being played at 17.20? Was there a discussion with the Police which was influenced by the needs of Sky?

5. On consideration of my questions, would you agree that the Football League should apologise to Charlton fans for this fixture schedule, and that lessons can be learned for future schedules? I would be pleased to forward  your answer to the leading Charlton internet fans' forum.

Thank you in advance for what I hope will be a set of specific answers to my questions

Yours sincerely
«134

Comments

  • Fanny Fanackapan
    Fanny Fanackapan Posts: 18,812

    Nice one, Prague.

    The response will be interesting .

    Imagine the good lady will be discussing this with Colin over dinner tonight.

  • nth_london_addick
    nth_london_addick Posts: 35,919
    Got to you Prague me old China did it ,


    Love the questioning don't reckon we will get a decent answer
  • AdTheAddicK
    AdTheAddicK Posts: 3,439
    Youv'e done me proud ..

    Well done lad.
  • PragueAddick
    PragueAddick Posts: 22,271
    Evening NLA

    Must be the Eltham air that gets me going:-)
  • CrayAddick
    CrayAddick Posts: 3,915
    Let's hope they offer us a pick on the festive games next year :p...

    Well done for writing that detailed piece.
  • nth_london_addick
    nth_london_addick Posts: 35,919
    How long you home for bud ,


  • The_Organiser
    The_Organiser Posts: 3,999
    All relevant but we won't be the first club effected like this and we won't be the last.
    Match going fans mean nothing to the powers that be im afraid.
  • se9addick
    se9addick Posts: 32,195
    It's the boxing day game that's particularly ridiculous
  • razil
    razil Posts: 15,041
    edited December 2011
    I totally agree with the sentiment here it is stupidly easy to arrange derby matches for the bank holidays particularly boxing day
  • Granpa
    Granpa Posts: 2,995
    Well done Prague, but I hope you are not holding your breath waiting for a sensible answer. As I have said several times on this site, supporters are the mugs of football.

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  • Stig
    Stig Posts: 29,292
    Good work Prague.  The Yeovil fixture is to say the least, ridiculous.
  • MuttleyCAFC
    MuttleyCAFC Posts: 47,822
    edited December 2011
    Really good points but letters written like that don't get replies - you can't demand explanations in detail -they can just through your letter in the bin. probbaly better just to make the excellent point about the Yeovil game and request and answer for that.
  • cholland
    cholland Posts: 169
    I thought the Orient game was meant to be on Boxing day (and Yeovil on New Years eve) and was moved due to police objections.
  • Bryan_Kynsie
    Bryan_Kynsie Posts: 2,179
    Quiet right too, Prague.

    But there will be no sensible response because there is no sensible answer other than "Charlton? F**k you!"

    BTW who is Mrs Firth in the scheme of things and why was the fixture scheduling left to a bird? PS that's a joke before I get slagged off.
  • Plaaayer
    Plaaayer Posts: 9,010
    When are you going to put it on the leading Charlton forum?
  • adamtheaddick
    adamtheaddick Posts: 8,664
    Response below from the football league:

    Dear Mr Prague,

    thank you for your letter, We regard Charlton Rovers as a vital member of the football league, and we understand that not having a game closer to your ground in east london may be a concern. We have given this much thought and have concluded that you and all your fellow supporters can do one...

    Hugs and Kisses

    Mrs Firth (colins mrs)
  • Phantom_User
    Phantom_User Posts: 655
    Response below from the football league:


    Dear Mr Prague,



    thank you for your letter, We regard Charlton Rovers as a vital member of the football league, and we understand that not having a game closer to your ground in east london may be a concern. We have given this much thought and have concluded that you and all your fellow supporters can do one...



    Hugs and Kisses



    Mrs Firth (colins mrs)
    Show's what they know about our Charlton Rovers.
    Everybody knows we're a Kentish club   ;)
  • DRF
    DRF Posts: 2,455
    Whilst I think it is a good idea to write - why did you wait until the week before Christmas to do so. Surely when the fixtures list was announced would have been a better time?
  • MrLargo
    MrLargo Posts: 8,013
    Our game away to Orient wasn't a 5.15pm kick off when the fixtures were originally announced.

    Well done for writing to them Prague, I'm sure you will get a response of some sort although whether or not they will actually bother to answer any of your questions in any detail is doubtful unfortunately.
  • PL54
    PL54 Posts: 10,757

    Why would people criticise what Prague has done if they didn't do anything themselves ?

    This place is weird at times


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  • PragueAddick
    PragueAddick Posts: 22,271
    Got an immediate acknowledgement, to her credit:

    "Dear Mr Hunt

     

    I will pass on your queries to the Fixtures Department at the Football League who will respond.

     

    Glynis"


    I wrote to her as according to the website she is the Administration Director, and fixtures come under her remit.


    Muttley:


    Of course I can ask for detailed information. I'm a paying customer. I pay for these people's salaries, and so do you.


    DRF


    Because I live abroad and only start thinking about Christmas as it approaches, rightly or wrongly. I hope to ascertain that someone at Charlton raised the Yeovil game when the fixtures came out. 


    NLA


    I'm here til the 3rd and hope to get to all three games. I am going to Yeovil on the coach, you going?

  • Ketts
    Ketts Posts: 264

    We wrote to the Football League several weeks back suggesting the games played on  19 November (Brentford v Charlton & Yeovil v Exeter) would have been approproiate games for Boxing Day. It would have saved  Exeter fans having to get to Wycombe as well as us having to travel to Yeovil. Brentford are at Bournemouth on Boxing Day so Wycombe could have played there instead,sorted.

    Here's their response:

     

    http://www.doctorkish.com/cgi-bin/clinic/display.pl?month=201111&date=20111130&time=0736

  • DRF
    DRF Posts: 2,455
    Interesting that in Kish's response they state that police don't like local derbies on boxing day and on their website state that they also don't do local derbies on NYE because of this. Yet the met have allowed a derby to go ahead in the evening on NYE.
  • paulbaconsarnie
    paulbaconsarnie Posts: 9,436
    Quiet right too, Prague.

    But there will be no sensible response because there is no sensible answer other than "Charlton? F**k you!"

    BTW who is Mrs Firth in the scheme of things and why was the fixture scheduling left to a bird? PS that's a joke before I get slagged off.
    Don't think its a charlton thing.
    Cardiff go to watford and forest
    west ham go to birmingham and derby.
  • nth_london_addick
    nth_london_addick Posts: 35,919
    Not doing yeovil too far on boxing day mate to leave the kids or orient mate as I have to work from 9 and it don't give me long enough,


    I am doing the home game though if you fancy a beer prior ,
  • Covered End
    Covered End Posts: 52,254
    Interesting that in Kish's response they state that police don't like local derbies on boxing day and on their website state that they also don't do local derbies on NYE because of this. Yet the met have allowed a derby to go ahead in the evening on NYE.

    TBF I think it's unlikely that you need a big police presence for Orient A at 5.20 on New Years' Eve.
  • Stig
    Stig Posts: 29,292
    I reckon its down to the cops.  I see our friends from Palace are at Southampton whilst the good people of Millwall will be hosting Portsmouth.  Those two look like a straight swap.                                                                                                                                                                           
  • DRF
    DRF Posts: 2,455
    Surely Pompy Milwall has a high potential for trouble?
  • Kap10
    Kap10 Posts: 15,640

    Fixture Teams response

     

    "Computer says............. No!"

  • PragueAddick
    PragueAddick Posts: 22,271

    Interesting that in Kish's response they state that police don't like local derbies on boxing day and on their website state that they also don't do local derbies on NYE because of this. Yet the met have allowed a derby to go ahead in the evening on NYE.

    TBF I think it's unlikely that you need a big police presence for Orient A at 5.20 on New Years' Eve.
    Well, I think there are very few games involving Charlton away in the 3rd Division where you need a big police presence. Would you need a big presence for Charlton v Brentford on Boxing Day? I dont think so. I want to get to the bottom of this one, because I suspect that the police have suspended their normal objections (which I consider are often unreasonable) because of Sky. if I am right, that is a very interesting state of affairs. Of course, one can ask the police under an FOI request, and I might just do that.

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