8.00 Evening kick offs

[SouthDownsRoyal]

We were the only 2000 k.o? Big wow

But ours was also the only game on Tuesday to go to extra time I believe. Statistical analysis therefore proves that later kick-offs lead to much later finish times. Has this even been taken into account by the powers that be?

Later start times lead to later finish times?

Fake news

[Stranded]

I reckon we should move to 9pm instead. None of this pussyfooting around with 15 minutes here or there.

Is the norm over here and across Europe for games to kick off at 8.45 or 9pm as gives people plenty of time to get to the game still. Wouldn't work in the UK I guess as public transport is generally shocking.

[Nameless]

I find we implement the FIFA proposal to play 30 minute halves a few seasons early we can kick off at 8 and still be over before the 7.45 games.
Everybody is happy....

[Green]

Those issues notwithstanding, we are far from the only team that has an out of town stadium alongside busy main- and link-roads.

The council and Highways Authority said that unlike a lot of other clubs Reading suffers from a double rush hour. Once the normal get away starts dying down a bit the town apparently then gets hit with all those returning from various London locations. Seems to be a feature for most places in East Berkshire.

Is there any evidence the traffic actually dies down in the middle?

Rush "hour" has long since referred to a period of 2-3 hours in most places in the South East. I don't buy that Reading is a special case.

[East Grinstead Royal]

My journey to home games is 65 miles and can take anything between 90 to 150 minutes. It's got much worse in the last couple of years (possibly due to the M3 roadworks even though I've been avoiding the M3) and there have been occasions when I've missed even the 8pm kick off. I would be very disappointed to see us revert to 7.45. That said, the journey home is often even worse because of night time roadworks on the M25 and M23, so can we agree to reduce half time to 5 minutes, please?

[Sutekh]

My journey to home games is 65 miles and can take anything between 90 to 150 minutes. It's got much worse in the last couple of years (possibly due to the M3 roadworks even though I've been avoiding the M3) and there have been occasions when I've missed even the 8pm kick off. I would be very disappointed to see us revert to 7.45. That said, the journey home is often even worse because of night time roadworks on the M25 and M23, so can we agree to reduce half time to 5 minutes, please?

I remember Kevin Dillon saying something about half time intervals when he was assistant manager and the fact that they just seem to get longer and longer. He said players really didn't need more than 10 minutes at most and the rest was probably just so SKY/ITV can get 5 minutes of pointless punditry in between two advert breaks.

I certainly seem to think that half times in the 70s and 80s were only about 10 minutes or so and if you go to a lot of non league grounds now the half time break seems shorter.

[Hound]

sure they've always been 15mins in my memory

10 mins in Scotland though isn't it?

[Green]

In the 18 or so years since its construction - has anything been done to try and alleviate the traffic around J11 and the M4?

I could be wrong but I thought the 8pm was supposed to be temporary, or so they told us when it was introduced.

[Sutekh]

In the 18 or so years since its construction - has anything been done to try and alleviate the traffic around J11 and the M4?

I could be wrong but I thought the 8pm was supposed to be temporary, or so they told us when it was introduced.

8pm is temporary in the same sense that prefabs were temporary. In other words when the oil runs out then Reading will return to 7.45pm kick offs.

Incidentally didn't ALL clubs (including Reading) use to kick off midweek games at 7.30pm once upon a time ?

[The Royal Forester]

sure they've always been 15mins in my memory

10 mins in Scotland though isn't it?

I can remember when half time was only 10 minutes, which gradually became 15 minutes, or more in some cases. As Kevin Dillon alluded to, (as quoted by Sutekh), 15 minutes became the norm after Sky started showing live games.

[Green]

And when did they stop giving out oranges?

[tmesis]

sure they've always been 15mins in my memory

10 mins in Scotland though isn't it?

I can remember when half time was only 10 minutes, which gradually became 15 minutes, or more in some cases. As Kevin Dillon alluded to, (as quoted by Sutekh), 15 minutes became the norm after Sky started showing live games.

It's nothing to do with Sky. They used to have two commercial breaks at half time even when HT was only 10 minutes. I'm also not sure why FIFA would change the rules of the game worldwide either, to suit Sky, when Sky don't pay FIFA broadcasting rights.

[East Grinstead Royal]

When I started going to Elm Park in 1974, our midweek home games were always on a Wednesday at 7.30, with 10 minutes for half time. Saturday games with a 3pm kick-off would normally finish around 4.40. Injury time was only added for injuries, only one sub per team was allowed and the idea of tactical subs hadn't really caught on, so games normally finished on time.
Does anyone know if the duration of half time is set by FIFA or is it down to the local FA?

[Muskrat]

We could kick off at 7.45pm like most other teams but we choose to kick of at 8.00pm. Hmm I'm not going to worry about nuclear war in the far east anymore, not now that I've got this conundrum to grapple with. Another sleepless night ahead I feel...

[The Royal Forester]

When I started going to Elm Park in 1974, our midweek home games were always on a Wednesday at 7.30, with 10 minutes for half time. Saturday games with a 3pm kick-off would normally finish around 4.40. Injury time was only added for injuries, only one sub per team was allowed and the idea of tactical subs hadn't really caught on, so games normally finished on time.
Does anyone know if the duration of half time is set by FIFA or is it down to the local FA?

The FA rules state that
Players are entitled to a half time break not exceeding 15 minutes.
The competition rules must state the length of the half time break and can only be altered with the referee's permission.

So, it is the EFL, Premier League etc. that controls whether the break is 10 or 15 minutes long.

[The Royal Forester]

sure they've always been 15mins in my memory

10 mins in Scotland though isn't it?

I can remember when half time was only 10 minutes, which gradually became 15 minutes, or more in some cases. As Kevin Dillon alluded to, (as quoted by Sutekh), 15 minutes became the norm after Sky started showing live games.

It's nothing to do with Sky. They used to have two commercial breaks at half time even when HT was only 10 minutes. I'm also not sure why FIFA would change the rules of the game worldwide either, to suit Sky, when Sky don't pay FIFA broadcasting rights.

But, see above, Sky do pay the Premier League for broadcasting rights though. It is quite possible that The PL introduced 15 minute breaks and the EFL (or football League or whatever it was, at the time) copied them.

[tmesis]

I can remember when half time was only 10 minutes, which gradually became 15 minutes, or more in some cases. As Kevin Dillon alluded to, (as quoted by Sutekh), 15 minutes became the norm after Sky started showing live games.

It's nothing to do with Sky. They used to have two commercial breaks at half time even when HT was only 10 minutes. I'm also not sure why FIFA would change the rules of the game worldwide either, to suit Sky, when Sky don't pay FIFA broadcasting rights.

But, see above, Sky do pay the Premier League for broadcasting rights though. It is quite possible that The PL introduced 15 minute breaks and the EFL (or football League or whatever it was, at the time) copied them.

It's 15 minutes everywhere though, not just in England.

[Forbury Lion]

Clubs/Caterers/Vendors have worked out the optimal number of staff & facilities required to maximise beer, hotdog, pie and burger sales in that 15 minute window, plus TV ads..... if anything, I reckon the clubs, tv companies, everyone except the fans and probably the players will be pushing to make half time longer.

[John Smith]

Clubs/Caterers/Vendors have worked out the optimal number of staff & facilities required to maximise beer, hotdog, pie and burger sales in that 15 minute window, plus TV ads..... if anything, I reckon the clubs, tv companies, everyone except the fans and probably the players will be pushing to make half time longer.

I must disagree, going by the queues for the burger vans this season.

[tmesis]

I remember Adie Williams having a rant about 8 pm kicks offs, saying they were all kicking off at 7.45 for champions league games, and nobody gave him a little nudge to remind him that most of continental Europe is an hour ahead.