ALEX FERGUSON
"They've got a good rest for Monday and then three days later they've got Everton away and then they've got a five-day break before they play Liverpool," he said.
"Then they've got a four-day break before they play us in the league game. Our schedule is a bit more congested.
Then, in what I can only assume is a sarcastic broadside by Ferguson:"But I'm sure Avram will go and complain to the league and make sure there's fairness by changing Chelsea's kick-off on the Saturday to the night time."
(How about you Fergie? Let´s hear you ask for our Everton away game to be played at the weekend as your corresponding fixture is?! - Ed).
We have been feeling very hard done by with the hastily re-arranged fixtures and Chelsea had already announced what the club perceive as an unfair competitive advantage in the Premier League after the Everton away change on their web site:
“Chelsea Football Club is extremely disappointed with the announcement today regarding the Everton fixture.
“We believe the decision to hold the match on Thursday April 17 undermines the sporting integrity of the competition by giving our rivals for the Premier League title an unnecessary competitive advantage at a critical time of the season, with more recovery time from their previous match and preparation time for their next fixture when we have to play two games during the same period.
“Secondly there has been no consideration given to our fans who will be presented with serious travel, work and other issues."
Here’s a table of the fixture run-in with rest days in between the fixtures (Liverpool fans will have to forgive me putting the Champion’s League final in – purely for what-if purposes!):
Ferguson also says that the latter part of the fixture run-in gives us more recovery time between matches (apparently forgetting the extra rest his own club will have between this and next weekend).
Chelsea fans also have had to suffer the Newcastle away game being changed to a Bank Holiday Monday (!!!) as reported by Since 66 in his recent article – although this does give the team a bit of extra rest – but a rest not required or really useful – we’d much rather have the Everton fixture put forward to the original Saturday rather then just 3 days after playing Wigan whilst Man Utd and Arsenal put their feet up!
It’s quite correct that after playing Wigan on the Monday and then what should be a very difficult away game at Everton on the Thursday, we then have more rest before the first-leg semi-final at Anfield on the Tuesday after – but if anything, this is a disadvantage to LIVERPOOL in the Champions League and not Man Utd in the Premier League!
Ferguson is a master of mind games but this latest rant leaves him looking ridiculous.
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Quote:tamotu
both sets and teams and fans are goign to complain some times there are bigger gaps sometimes smaller gaps this is how it happens, and stop with the conspiricay theory
Quote:tamotu
...and as a football club Chelsea should be buying so that their squad is capable of coping with these type of situations

Quote:Since 66
So who is your team 'born to do dishes?' outta interest.