Winter Break?

[Uwdi Krugg]

I sympathise with our hard working local league groundsmen & their helpers.

Trying to prepare a playable pitch amidst this 'predictable', horrible weather is like trying to stop the tide coming in with a bucket & spade.

I know the wets amidst us will simply bleat.. " It's The FA Rules" but it's blatantly obvious we need a winter break. Mass postponements are once again tarnishing the Cornwall related Football scene.

Just because FA administrative bureaucrats in Ivory Towers blindly order we continue with the madness doesn’t make it right.

Non League Representatives & Secretaries should mass as one and demand change.

My humble suggestion would be a 7 week Winter Break from mid December. Start the season earlier & finish later.

To continue with the current programme amidst obvious Climate Change conditions is plain daft.

[Dave Deacon]

From what step down are you suggesting?

[Uwdi Krugg]

1 hour ago, Dave Deacon said:

From what step down are you suggesting?

From a purely Cornwall perspective, everything from (& below) Southern League Division 1 South.

My emphasis relates to what I witness in the Cornwall region almost every day from December to early March.. mizzle, drizzle & downpours (it's even snowing at Krugg Hall today 😆).

I suspect other parts of the UK will have similar issues.

[Non League Maps]

The problem with a winter break is that the weather in the UK is unpredictable as the worst of the weather can be anytime from October to March, a winter break may or may not coincide with the worst of the weather.

 

There are currently around 13 weeks between the end of the season at the end of April and the start if the season at the end of July, a reduction of this by 7 weeks would mean the mid season break would be longer than the off season.

 

Sensible fixturing is probably more beneficial than a winter break.

Many leagues such as the SWP front load fixtures and leave spare Saturdays later in the season for re-arranged games.

[Uwdi Krugg]

14 hours ago, Non League Maps said:

Many leagues such as the SWP front load fixtures and leave spare Saturdays later in the season for re-arranged games.

Which, once again, would end up with clubs playing every other night trying to comply with the ridiculous FA 'Season Closure' deadline.

Makes a mockery of the campaign. Especially for the sides hoping for title honours.

[The Governor]

If you put a winter break in place for 7 weeks you would then have to fit those games into a shorter playing season so clubs would still need to play extra midweek matches?

If as already suggested the unpredictable weather was to them cause havoc you would be in a worse mess than you are now.

Leave well alone or why not extend the season if needed.

[Uwdi Krugg]

1 hour ago, The Governor said:

If you put a winter break in place for 7 weeks you would then have to fit those games into a shorter playing season so clubs would still need to play extra midweek matches?

With respect, my initial post outlines starting the season earlier & finishing it later.

[The Governor]

35 minutes ago, Uwdi Krugg said:

With respect, my initial post outlines starting the season earlier & finishing it later.

So football will be played 12 months of the year?

I am sure that the hard working ground staff would love that.

[The Town Man]

18 hours ago, Non League Maps said:

Sensible fixturing is probably more beneficial than a winter break.

Many leagues such as the SWP front load fixtures and leave spare Saturdays later in the season for re-arranged games.

This is the only practical solution.  Load the early season with mid-week fixtures to get the games out of the way. Clearly there is an issue with midweek travelling regarding SLS Div 1, but the league could target localish fixtures in theory, as long as Boxing Day derbies are maintained.

This season there were hardly any early-season midweek fixtures for Falmouth Town for some reason.

[Foul Throw 3]

It's not a practical solution. Ask the groundsmen how long they want players off the pitch post season to allow seed and fertiliser to take effect from May onwards and if they're ignored we'll be playing on pitches without any grass whatsoever. Plus, everyone would end up single/divorced!!! 

Practical solution is understand the changing winters and learn from it! Fixtures secretaries have a tough role but a proactive scheduling will at least improve a poor inevitable situation. 

[Uwdi Krugg]

3 hours ago, The Governor said:

So football will be played 12 months of the year?

I am sure that the hard working ground staff would love that.

Perhaps you should consider reading posts properly before jumping in with bizarre responses?

Ridiculous to imply that I suggested a 12 month season.

[Sponge]

But you are suggesting starting earlier and finishing later? So the 7 week winter break would more than likely end up being longer than the actual off season. It’s not practical. Like someone has previously mentioned, the weather is too unpredictable here.

[The Governor]

15 hours ago, Uwdi Krugg said:

Perhaps you should consider reading posts properly before jumping in with bizarre responses?

Ridiculous to imply that I suggested a 12 month season.

If you start early and finish later then take into account pre season friendlies you will not have much time between one season ending and the next starting so not a lot of time for any pitch maintenance.