ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

Fixture confusion!!

I have a problem with the following: On the Newcastle United website they have their HOME fixture against Everton on Sunday October 7th and their AWAY fixture at Goodison on May 11th. On the official EFC website Everton are at HOME to Newcastle on October 7th and AWAY on May 11th. Which is correct?

If the EFC website is correct then Everton will have 3 consecutive home games (Middlesboro', Newcastle and Liverpool) and if we are drawn to play the 2nd leg of the Uuefa Cup qualifying match at Goodison then this will equate to 4 consecutive home games. In addition we will be playing our final 2 Premier league matches away from home with our last home game in April!!!! How has this been allowed to happen? It seems to me that we have been 'mugged' again....
Frank Carse, Bury Posted 11/07/2007 at 19:17:13

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Adam Brown
1 Posted 11/07/2007 at 21:57:41

I think we are at home to newcastle final game of the season even though it was scedueled to be middlesboro. It got changed because Man City didnt want to play their last game of the season at home but i have no idea how that effects everton or middlesboro

True Blue
2 Posted 11/07/2007 at 21:52:40

The Everton website is 100% correct. The Newcastle website has not been updated to reflect the fixture changes that were made a few days ago, when tv, police and UEFA Cup Final commitments meant EFC had 9 fixtures rearranged.

We were originally at home to Boro on the last day, and Man City were at home to Newcastle on the last day too. However, City need more than three days between May 11 and May 14 to prepare their ground for the UEFA Cup Final, and requested an away game on the last day. This wish was granted, unfortunately it wasn’t as simple as switch the games (the reasons for this I’m unsure of). Somehow EFC got roped in, and we had to not only swap our Boro and Newcastle games with City, but also the fact they were home and away.

It does leave us in the unfortunate position of ending the season with two of the harder away games of the season, at Arsenal and Newcastle, and also the fact that several weeks we’ll have multiple home games on the run, which may hit fans in the pocket hard, those who pay by the game anyway and who may find it hard to budget. In turn this may have an adverse effect on our attendances.

Unfortunately, a lot of it was out of our hands (a UEFA Cup Final’s venue demands take precedent over us - hopefully we’ll enjoy the benefits of City’s extra preparation time for it).

There’s more on all of this here:

http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/10-everton-07/08-games-moved.html

TaxiClubBlue
3 Posted 13/07/2007 at 10:04:56

Yeah, I’m also developing a few fixture concerns, Frank, on how the list is shaping up, particularly on the UEFA front. I’m obviously jumping the gun a bit here given that the 1st Rd UEFA draw hasn’t even been made yet. But if my reading of the potential scenario is correct, then it’s a very distinct possibility that if we do qualify for the Group stages, then all four games could be followed by really awkward away fixtures (one of them Chelsea). Although I’ve never really subscribed to the Allardyce-esque whingeing about having to play on a Sunday after having played on a Thursday (no one ever used to moan about a Saturday match being followed by a Tuesday nighter). But I did have some sympathy for Mourinho when he pointed out last season that all of Chelsea’s CL fixtures for two seasons were followed by away games the following weekend (even though sometimes, if they played on Tuesday, they’d actually have a day’s more prep than we’ll certainly get on the Thursday-Sunday schedule). I hope I’m wrong and it all pans out okay for us but my alarm bells are ringing (as I’m sure Moyes’ are). And if my UEFA fears are eventually founded, then they’re compounded even more by the worries you rightly flag-up about a stitch-up at the other end of the season. The only selfish benefit I can see is that ironically, even though there are precious few Saturday home 3pms (surely the best) before Christmas, UEFA actually won’t be having too much impact in that respect. But if all fears do come to pass, this could be a mare of a fixture list from October onwards.

Dave Turner
4 Posted 13/07/2007 at 16:44:29

We now finish with Newcastle at home on the last day, and play up at theirs early in the season.

At least that what the fixture list says at this moment.

No doubt further changes to come.