Sky wanting an Xmas Eve game

[TravisBickle]

1957. Away on Christmas Day and lost 2-1. Played them at Maine Road on Boxing Day and won 4-1

I've just looked this up as I didn't believe it. But it's 100% true!
Crazy1

Just to add to this, the previous year they played Bolton home/away on Christmas/Boxing Day.
So maybe it's was considered the norm back then, seems fucking mental now!

 

[Gabriel]

Would be more sensible and acceptable if clubs were playing locally at that time. But when did the powerful bees ever do anything whereby the attending supporters were thought of first?

 

[The Light Was Yellow Sir]

I've just looked this up as I didn't believe it. But it's 100% true!
Crazy1

Just to add to this, the previous year they played Bolton home/away on Christmas/Boxing Day.
So maybe it's was considered the norm back then, seems fucking mental now!

1948/49 over 1 million fans watched matches on Xmas Day with the highest attendance being 50k at Boothferry Park for Hull v Rotherham!
The following season Xmas Day fell on a Sunday so they played on Xmas Eve, Boxing Day and December 27th! Over 3 million attended over the 3 days with an all time record of nearly 1.3M turning up for the Boxing Day games.

 

[burnley blue mcfc]

I remember my dad telling me a story about burnley beating rags 5-1 on xmas day, then rags beating burnley 5-1 boxing day when george best made his full debut

 

[old blue]

1957. Away on Christmas Day and lost 2-1. Played them at Maine Road on Boxing Day and won 4-1

Thanks for that. I suddenly feel a lot older this morning.:-)

 

[Scaring Europe to Death]

Assuming the Xmas day game was 2pm kick off, ending just before 4pm, the team then have to change, get to GMEX (don't think Picc was built then) and most likely get a train to Crewe / Brum and then onto Bristol / Plymouth. Surely there couldn't have been too many trains running at that time of the day?
It would have been some trek to make back then, in preparation for a game the next day. No doubt they would have travelled back with the Plymouth team too.

Pre Beeching Report it was probably easier to travel from Manchester to Plymouth, albeit on a rickety 6 hour journey through the old Chinley-Derby-London line, and then a Plymouth connection.
No wonder the results were often reversed.because I'm guessing the players would have enjoyed a tipple to release the boredom.

 

[Cotton Weave Blue]

Premier League has ruled out 4pm Christmas Eve kick-off but not an earlier time.

 

[blue corby]

Premier League has ruled out 4pm Christmas Eve kick-off but not an earlier time.

What's the odds they will make it a 3pm ko? And then something like a 1pm ko for an earlier game.

 

[Cotton Weave Blue]

What's the odds they will make it a 3pm ko? And then something like a 1pm ko for an earlier game.

I can definitely see at 12:00 & 14:00 happening. Not sure on the rules of televised 15:00 even on a Sunday.

 

[Henkeman]

I can definitely see at 12:00 & 14:00 happening. Not sure on the rules of televised 15:00 even on a Sunday.

Absolutely. With organisations, whenever they rule something out, it means they are approving everything up to that point. Otherwise they'd have been more specific.