Over the festive period Premier League managers, including Manchester United’s Louis Van Gaal and Sunderland’s Gus Poyet, have bemoaned the crowded holiday schedule. This has led to renewed calls for England to incorporate a winter break into their season. Of Europe’s top six ranked leagues, only England currently does not have a winter break of at least two weeks.
One of the main reasons many cite for a winter break is that it would help the England national team, as players would be more rested and less prone to injury during the second half of the season, and therefore fitter entering major tournaments. However, this would not be the only benefit of a winter break. The Premier League prides itself on being one of the best, most competitive leagues in the world; they can only continue to do this if the top players continue to play for English clubs. This does not necessarily mean new players coming to England or even retaining the current ones, it is just as much about making sure the current ones are fit enough to play throughout the season. The Premier League is a brand, and making sure its best players are always on show is essential.
Part of proving the Premier League is one of the world’s best, is having its teams be competitive on a continental stage. In the last couple of years, since Chelsea won the Champions in 2012, English clubs have struggled compared to their Spanish and German counterparts, with no quarter-finalists in 2013, only two in 2014 and only one advancing to the Semi Finals. In comparison Spain has had four Semi Final appearances over the two years, Germany has had three, and each has had two teams in the same Final, Germany in 2013 and Spain in 2014. Everton Manager Roberto Martinez has commented on the willingness of other top leagues to move fixtures to help teams competing in Europe, showing that other Leagues recognise the benefits of their teams doing well in Europe. A winter break would be a good step towards levelling the playing field.
The problem comes where to fit in a break. For as many people say there is a need to reduce the number of fixtures over the holiday period, there are also those that want to protect the traditions of playing games on Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and the 3rd round of the FA Cup on the first week in January. However, there is a period in which a winter break could be incorporated without doing away with tradition. Between the 3rd and 4th rounds of the FA Cup there are two weeks in which a winter break would fit perfectly. A few changes would have to be made to accommodate this break. Firstly, all teams in England have two league fixtures that would have to be rearranged. These games could be fitted in earlier in the year during spare mid-weeks. The League Cup semi-finals would have to be postponed a week, but there are no fixtures that would clash in those weeks, so it would be easy to accommodate both legs into the schedule.
The one area where significant change would be needed would be that FA Cup third round replays would need to be eliminated. There are already no replays at the semi-final and Final stage of the competition, and doing away with replays has been suggested before as a way to revitalise the competition and reduce fixture congestion later in the season.
A winter break is an idea that has been bandied about for years but the time has come to implement it. The two weeks between the 3rd and 4th round would make an ideal time, allowing a rest period for players while also keeping England’s traditions. A winter break would be beneficial for clubs, the Premier League and the England national team, allowing clubs to have their players fit for the run in of the season; it would put England’s teams on an even playing field in the hunt for European honours and would mean England’s players are fresher for European competition. Change in football comes slowly with both fans and officials resistant to the new; however in this instance there is a viable solution that will have little impact allowing England to keep its traditions but also move forward in the modern era and become more competitive on the world stage for club and country.
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