Fixtures Released: Bradford first up

By Albatross
June 23 2005

Yes, it's that time of year again: the point where the fixtures are released and everyone starts planning their away trips. Unfortunately it's also the time of year when people like me can only rage ineffectually against what for me is one of the stupidest money-making schemes in Football.

Although a recent ruling in the European Court has threatened to stop the FA and Football League's attempts to stop any unofficial sites advertising when games are happening without paying £300, for the moment at least the men with big sticks are still on the prowl and so I can't risk putting up the full list of fixtures - again. The legal ruling is quite technical, and as yet no-one is quite sure how it applies; in the meantime we'll all have to be careful.

I would though like to express once more how stupid I think this idea is. I, like the majority of people running unofficial sites, make no money at all for my efforts - if anything this costs me in terms of time and occasionally cash. Yet for some reason best known to themselves, the powers that be expect me to pay out a considerable sum to the Football Dataco to advertise their fixtures - of the order of £300 for one site. Indeed, in the recent past I would have had to pay more to display HUFC's fixtures than the Hartlepool Mail did to print them. What's wrong with this picture?

If the situation changes and I am allowed to publish the fixtures then I will of course do so - but at the moment, understandably, no-one wants to put their head above the parapet and face a potentially long and expensive legal battle to prove their point.

I can pick out a few key fixtures for you though, so here goes. We'll open the season with a game at home to Bradford for the second year running on 6th August, and end our campaign against Port Vale at the Vic. Meanwhile over Christmas we will be facing Barnsley away, Southend at home, Oldham away and then Swindon at home. Our first reunion with former boss Neale Cooper will come early in October, the return fixture being the following month.

Other than that, I can reveal that Pools will be playing a total of 46 games in the league, and there will be a split of 50/50 between home and away fixtures. Most games will take place on Saturdays, Pools will probably switch at least two games to Friday Nights, and any game with Darlington will be reliant on drawing them in one of the cups.

Meanwhile may I thumb my metaphorical nose at the Football Dataco, who have undoubtedly had someone reading this entire article in the hope of finding something incriminating. Hope you enjoyed it guys....