Alex Ferguson reopened the can of worms that is the 'winter break' last weekend and Sunderland gaffer Steve Bruce yesterday stuck his waders on and paddled into the argument in support his one-time mentor.
The proposed break has been a subject of debate for years and, whilst it would be no doubt be nice for players to get some time off and recharge the batteries, I just cannot see how it would work.
This isn't one of those "they get paid a lot, they can work for it" rants. I'm aware of the problem as much as anyone else, but I'm not sure how the Premier League are meant to just magic time up out of nowhere without help from external factors.
Sir Alex suggested we do "like the German league" and have a three-week break over Christmas, reconvening with the FA Cup in January. I'm sorry Alex, but where exactly is your working? In the two weeks over Christmas, most teams play four or five games, so how are these lost games going to fit back into an already-crowded spring fixture list?
What you would end up with is a sort of phantom rest period as players return refreshed only to run themselves into the ground over the following weeks. Players would have to keep training properly to remain match-fit and retain form, so why not play matches rather than waste the time?
What Sir Alex seems to be missing is that in Germany, as in Spain (where they have a two-week break), there is only have one domestic cup competition running throughout the whole season. We shoehorn two cups into our calendar, one of which doesn't start until the New Year.
The evidence suggests that, for a winter break to be a success, something has to give. The most obvious option, don't bite my head off, is to lose the League Cup.
It had become an ideal way for the big clubs to bleed young talent, and give teams like Middlesbrough (2004) and Blackburn (2002) the chance to snatch some silverware. But more and more these days, as the big clubs progress in the competition, they smell silverware and the big names reappear on the team sheet, making it a pointless and predictable exercise bringing a handful of teams' seasons to a false summit.
Without the League Cup, maybe the FA Cup could be restructured to start in October/November to spread it over the season and still give time for replays, which I believe are a vital ingredient in keeping the lower league clubs interested in the competition. Just to please supporters of both competitions, maybe it could be sold as merging the two! The Football League FA Cup!
Ultimately, a winter break is suggested so that players are not burned out when entering major tournaments. It's not just England who suffer from exhausted players, the whole of the South Africa 2010 World Cup was plagued by defensive football and underperforming superstars (Messi, Rooney, Torres, Kaka, Ronaldo), so it is in FIFA and UEFA's interests to lend a hand in sorting the situation.
The Champions League is clearly where the money is, so shortening it is never likely to be an option. But Manchester City have played 10 games in the UEFA cup already, are in the latter stages and are still having to play home and away games against sides like Aris, who finished fourth in the Greek Superleague last season.
I'm not trying to undermine City in any way, but they don't need to be playing these sides at this stage of the season - the Europa League needs stripping back. Not only would it ease the stress on teams' schedules but it may even raise the competition's profile in the process (but that's another story).
Interestingly enough, Spurs went out of the League and FA Cups early on and, as a result, they have only three games in the whole month of March, and that includes a 10 day break after facing West Ham on March 9 and a further 12-day break until Wigan on April 2.
Obviously, teams want to challenge for as many trophies as possible but they have to accept that in doing so, their players will tire out and, until the governing bodies wake up and make big changes to help everyone, then it's just a case of clubs deciding what competitions matter most and picking their fights wisely. Then, by default, they'll get their mid-season break.
No comments:
Post a Comment