Fixture chaos? - it's all Sven's fault
The Premier League have blamed England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson for the Christmas fixture pile-up.
It is partly due to the four-week build-up desired by Eriksson for his England players ahead of the World Cup finals in Germany, according to Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson.
RossKinnaird/GettyImages
Guilty: England coach Eriksson
'It is particularly difficult this Christmas because we have to squeeze in an extra game,' said Johnson.
'After negotiations with the Football Association, we agreed a four-week break at the end of the season for England's World Cup preparations.'
Asked about the lack of a winter break, which would - in any case - be held in January, he added: 'If someone shows how it is logistically possible to fit in a break in the middle of the season then we will certainly look at that.
'But when you are talking about [giving England] four weeks at the end of the season and we have a full fixture calendar to fit in, it becomes increasingly difficult.
'You also don't know when the bad weather is going to fall. You could have a very mild Christmas when it is possible to play the games and then have a winter frost in January.'
The FA insisted the four-week build-up ahead of the World Cup finals was not only desired by Eriksson to give England a better chance of success but also initiated by FIFA.
An FA spokesman said: 'The four-week break before the World Cup was laid down by FIFA to enable players competing in the tournament to get proper rest and recuperation.
'In order to give the England team the best possible preparation time and chance of success in Germany, it was agreed the FA Cup final would take place on May 13, with the Premier League season finishing the weekend before.
'This was to allow Sven a level playing field with the other nations competing at the World Cup.'
Although the FA, who could have held the FA Cup final on May 20, also moved the sixth round to a midweek date, there has still been a pile-up of games over Christmas.
Sports minister Richard Caborn has called for the FA and Premier League to review the rules surrounding match postponements.
Caborn believes the late cancellations of three Premier League matches on Wednesday due to the big freeze was 'unacceptable' and he is to write to the football authorities asking them to review their procedures.
Newcastle's match against Charlton was called off after a heavy snowfall less than half an hour before kick-off, while Blackburn v Sunderland and Bolton v Middlesbrough were both postponed less than three hours before kick-off due to problems with the undersoil heating. Numerous Football League matches were also postponed.
Caborn believes there was plenty of warning of severe weather conditions and that the travelling Charlton fans especially suffered a needless waste of time and money.
The minister told PA Sport: 'I will write to the FA and Premier League and ask them at the very least to review the rules, along with the clubs and the referees.
'They need to take into consideration how far people are travelling, and the likely weather conditions, to stop this unacceptable situation happening again.
'All the weather forecasts said the situation was going to deteriorate, not get better, and yet in Newcastle's case the match was only called off less than half-an-hour before kick-off.
'Clubs of course want to play the matches if at all possible but they should not leave it to the last minute because it is so unfair on the fans. It is expensive enough to get into a Premiership football match anyway and if fans have their money wasted on travelling expenses as well then they simply will not be able to afford it.'
Many fans were making long journeys, with supporters' groups calling for more local derbies at holiday periods.
Malcolm Clarke, chairman of Football Supporters' Federation, declared: 'We would like the fixture computer programmed in a way that, for night games, supporters didn't have to travel these long distances.'
Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd, whose club were criticised after the late decision to postpone because of the state of the roads around St James' Park, agreed with Clarke's view.
Shepherd told BBC Radio Five Live: 'The FA must look at this. Forget the players - it's just not fair on the fans.
'Why are we playing in London on New Year's Eve when we could be playing Sunderland or Middlesbrough? It's ridiculous, we should be playing a local team or even one in Manchester.'
The Premier League stressed they had tried to ensure clubs travelled the shortest distances over the Christmas period.
Johnson added: 'We do work very hard with clubs, supporters' groups and the police to ensure the holiday fixtures are as close as possible, but there are not enough derby fixtures to go around.'
Newcastle City Council have responded to suggestions they did not grit icy roads in time for the fixture to go ahead.
It is understood that council officials also wanted the game to be played in order to grit the roads while fans were inside the ground.
General manager of environmental services Rob Nichols said: 'The council's team of gritters had been working across the city all day yesterday prior to the match at St James' Park being abandoned.
'During an inspection at 4pm yesterday all main routes in the city centre were found to be clear.
'However, a heavy snowfall after 4.30pm, which coincided with rush hour traffic and rapidly reducing temperatures, resulted in poor driving conditions.
'Because of the amount of snow and the slow pace of the traffic the salt was not worked into the road, resulting in icy driving conditions.'
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=353556&cc=4716