Tranmere Rovers
How are fixture lists organised - a theory
By Tony Bleugh
June 8 2022
The fixtures for our new season are out on 23rd June. 22 opponents who we have to play home and away. Our furthest away game involves a 540 mile return trip. Our nearest match is a mere 36 miles away. It's one of the few seasons when I have already seen all the teams we play in the Division before. There is no novelty non-League promotion, and the four teams that came down are all old sparring partners.
I get paranoid about fixtures. I swear that there is some pervert who has access to my diary and plans games for maximum inconvenience. They put the really important games on family birthdays, your wedding anniversary, that kind of crap, and games that no away supporters come to on the best Saturday of the season. This year is made even more concerning by the fact that World Cup matches will take place during November. There'll be no Premier League or Championship fixtures for most of November and a bit of December. Us lot though, we'll be playing.
What fixtures do you look for when the list comes out? I always start by looking if we're home or away on the final game of the season. I always want the last game of the season to be at home. Then I look at the Christmas fixtures, hoping for the delights of a Boxing Day home game, with a bumper crowd. Then I check which dates clash with any holiday commitments, and then when the local derbies are.
Boxing Day fixtures remain a mystery. We have four potential derbies this season. Rochdale, Crewe, Salford and Stockport. These are all grounds you can get to in about an hour by car. This guarantees that our game on Monday 26th December will be away at Gillingham, the aforementioned 540 mile round trip. Doubtless the EFL will argue everyone has to play everybody else at some point. Logic would dictate a Boxing Day game for them at either Sutton or Colchester. More than likely if they don't get us it will be Barrow v Gillingham, a mere 670 or so mile return journey.
For away games I'll be looking at the logistics of getting to matches by train. The only three fixtures that will be relatively straightforward in that respect are the London games at AFC Wimbledon, Orient and Sutton. Everything else involves hours spent on trains with changes in places that have no bogs, no pubs and no heated waiting rooms.
There are no trips to the West Country this season. The nearest we get is Swindon, with its collection of ancient roundabouts and charming industrial estates. There aren't many fixtures that throw up enticing weekends away either. Barrow, possibly, offers a weekend in the Lake Districts, Bradford dangles the temptations of a good curry, and Grimsby offers enticing fish and chips, but none of the others stand out as particularly great places to visit. Plus, by the start of the season, petrol will be so expensive it will be cheaper to buy the opponents rather than fill your car for the journey.
In a couple of weeks the waiting will be over. Then, instead of imagining a glorious 4-0 victory on the opening day against Crewe at home, we will have the reality of wondering whether we can book a package deal from Gatwick to coincide with the away game at Crawley. Time will tell.
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08/06/2022 09:35
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Then after first run the high ups double check that it has no glitches errors and maybe local club requests of safety then post them.It should be as impartial as possible unless Parry has any ideas
