It’s time to address the elephant in the room—or rather, the same opponent in the opposite dugout for the fourth game running.
The Northumberland Football League Premier Division requirement to play teams three times a season is testing enough. However, a total lack of oversight in fixture planning, combined with a Cup draw, has resulted in a scheduling “Groundhog Day” that defies logic: Heaton Hawks are playing North Shields four times in a row.
A Pattern of Poor Planning
While this current run is the most extreme example, it isn’t an isolated incident. Earlier in the campaign, we were tasked with playing West Allotment Celtic three times in our first five league fixtures.
When a league schedule is designed so poorly that you’ve exhausted your entire season’s worth of games against an opponent before the autumn leaves have even fallen—or, in this case, play the same team four times in a row—something is fundamentally broken in the system. Between the Christmas break and various cancelled games, this “best-of-four” series with Shields has become our only matchday reality for weeks.
A “Home” Season in Name Only
To make matters worse, the Hawks haven’t seen the grass at The Manor for any of these clashes. While a home fixture was originally slated, the relentless weather left our pitch waterlogged. Instead of the league finding a logical gap to reschedule later in the season, the fixture, as per League rules was reversed.
Credit Where It’s Due
To be absolutely clear: this is in no way the fault of North Shields (or West Allotment Celtic). We have a great deal of respect for these clubs; they are simply turning up to play the games as they appear on the calendar, just like we are. This isn’t about the opposition; it’s about the administrative madness that allowed this to happen in the first place.
Why This Matters
This isn’t just a quirky coincidence; it’s a failure of league logistics.
- Tactical Stagnation: Playing the same team four times consecutively turns a football season into a repetitive loop, draining the variety and excitement out of the competition for players and supporters alike.
- The Burden on the Squad: Constant away travel and the lack of a home games take their toll. Our “Togetherness” is being tested not just by the football, but by a fixture list that seems to have been generated without a second thought for the clubs involved.
- Competitive Integrity: A league should offer a balanced rotation of opponents. To cluster an entire season’s worth of league fixtures against one club into a single consecutive block is, frankly, shambolic.
We pride ourselves on our team spirit and our commitment to our passing game, and we will continue to give North Shields a proper game. However, it’s high time the league took a closer look at the “planning” behind these fixtures. Surely, football at any level deserves better than a “copy and paste” approach to scheduling.
Onwards and Upwards (and hopefully, eventually, back to The Manor).