fixture poser

 

At the start of this season every team in the SPL had two midweek fixtures. One might have thought that the Blazers in charge of the league would, in the interests of fair play, ensure that each team would have one midweek fixture at home and one away.

No chance.

Celtic play both their midweek fixtures at home, thus inconveniencing upwards of 50,000 Season ticket holders who have to take holidays, leave work early and get stuck in rush hour traffic in order to make Celtic Park for the Kick off.

Then, in many cases, they either have to stay overnight in Glasgow or accept not getting home until the wee sma' hours.

By comparison, guess what, Rangers get both their midweek fixtures away from home. No inconvenience to their 40,000 season ticket holders who get to attend all their home league games on a Saturday afternoon.

Fast forward, and Celtic make it to the CIS Cup Final. Check the fixtures and you will see that Celtic were scheduled to play Inverness Caley Thistle at Celtic Park that weekend. That fixture will have to be postponed and rescheduled for a Wednesday night later in the season.

Now chances are in Scotland that either Celtic or Rangers, or both, will reach that Final. An impartial observer might therefore think that since Celtic have already had two home fixtures scheduled for a Wednesday night that Celtic might have been given an away league fixture the weekend of the CIS Cup Final. That way if they reach the final their 50,000 season ticket holders are not penalised by having yet another home league fixture played midweek.

Conspiracy theorists might like to note that Rangers, with no home midweek league fixtures scheduled for this season, were due to play away from home on the weekend of the CIS Cup Final. That way even if they had managed to reach the final it would have had no impact on their home league fixtures. Again, no inconvenience for their 40,000 season ticket holders.

MANFRED LURKER