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Footballers won't stop playing football if the wages weren't spiraling out of control as it is now, it's not their fault that clubs are handing them big contracts, if there was a wage cap globally where players would earn 50% of what they earn now they'd still sign these contracts
Just because they are paid an enormous amount of money the answer isn't to increase their workload, what the PL/UEFA/FIFA can control is their workloads and it's well documented that players are now suffering because there's too many games and not enough rest.
That's not an answer.
It should be up to the managers to rotate the team more. Everyone invests so much in sports science etc. yet ETH played the same team every match last season. No wonder it caught up with them.
What's the point of squads then?
Cut the games and decrease squad size.
Or build a squad that can cope with the fixture list.
You hardly ever hear teams outside the Premier League complaining about fixture pile up.
Yes I get that at the very top you're looking for fine margins but these clubs need to know there's very little sympathy out there from people who work 40+ a week for peanuts.
Pick your audience.
Players outside the Premier League? You mean lower league teams? Lower league teams don't play football as much as top level players, playing in Europe, domestic cups, playing International football, playing in International tournaments and at the intensity the game is played at that level, there's no comparison.
When you have Pep complaining about the schedule at a club who have unlimited resources and has the ability to build a massive squad then that tells you it's not merely about how many players you have so you can't just build a squad that can cope with the fixture list because it doesn't work like that. Their club managers have 0 control on the schedule and they have 0 control when the players go away on Intl duty.
Again, using the amount of money then earn as some sort of justification for their schedule is a non argument, the more you play the more susceptible to injuries you are, the more tired you get, the more the body starts to break down, earning £300k a week doesn't change the fact that the body needs adequate rest between games.
If your workplace offered you the chance to double your money but said you had to work another 20 hours a week including weekends you're going to start to feel it, doesn't matter how much you're pocketing.
Well what do you suggest Shadydan?
Less matches means either less revenues or more probable, higher ticket prices for the poor bloody fans.
You already pay £103 for block 503 - a 20 percent increase on last year.
Can't see the players taking a pay cut can you? They'll all bugger off to Saudia Arabia and suddenly find the energy to compete 3 times a week.
Short of bigger squads or less matches, what are the other options?
Lower leagues are 24 teams typically = More games
FA Cup Qualifiers, League Cup, that paint trophy thing = Plenty of matches
I'll take your point about internationals but that should be balanced out by those internationals having access to the best medical teams money can buy
If lower league teams wanna complain then good luck to them but Prem teams just come across as being spoilt.
Mr Barkley sums it up well for me:
I'm not here to give a solution, I'm just merely pushing back on you dismissing the argument.
The solution clearly is to cut down on games but that isn't going to happen but folk just need to accept that players are going to pick up more injuries due to the amount of matches they play.
Lower leagues are 24 teams typically = More games
FA Cup Qualifiers, League Cup, that paint trophy thing = Plenty of matches
I'll take your point about internationals but that should be balanced out by those internationals having access to the best medical teams money can buy
If lower league teams wanna complain then good luck to them but Prem teams just come across as being spoilt.
Mr Barkley sums it up well for me:
You're comparing apples and oranges here, lower league teams don't play at the same intensity as PL teams, they don't do as much running as PL players, Newton vs Redbridge doesn't require the same level of fitness as Man City vs Liverpool, the Johnston's paint trophy isn't played at the same intensity as Man Utd vs Bayern nor do those players have to travel half way across Europe to play matches every so often.
Besides it doesn't just affect PL teams although the Prem is probably the worst hit as they have the heaviest schedule with the Carabao Cup, money isn't always an answer to a basic human need.
Worse than that, describing it as an "External" problem strongly frames it as something that's no problem at all, just a passing inconvenience while the media finds something else to report on.
I will accept the point it isn't as intense but it's probably more hard hitting. The pitches aren't as good. Facilities can be lacking. Travel is less comfy. And, as I said, Prem teams have access to the best medical staff and treatments money can buy.
Can go round in circles all day but the fact remains that there is very little sympathy to the argument when it comes from those in the Premier League.
They'd do better to save their energy for matches!
Sides are spunking out so much money on individual players these days that there's no money left after the First 11. Clubs are crying if they can't have their First 11 Every. Single. Match.
There's no stomach for rotation any more, but most players can't handle 50 matches in a season.
Teams that play in europe have 6-8 games a month. Typically 6. Let’s call it 8 games if players play two international 90 minutes a month. Understand that this will be an overestimate.
8 x 90 = 720 minutes per outfield player. A team has 10 outfield players so that’s 7200 minutes a mont that a team needs to field players for.
If a top pro can play five 90 minute games a month that’s 450 minutes. That doesn’t seem like overkill.
7200/450 = 16.
Clubs need just 16 fit outfield players to give players reasonable rest and breaks ie 3 games off a month.
And this assumes they always play 90 minutes.
Seems to me the problem is clubs don’t use their squads properly and consider some players undroppable. Clubs have a lot of money and should rotate more. Either that or stop complaining
8 x 90 = 720 minutes per outfield player. A team has 10 outfield players so that’s 7200 minutes a mont that a team needs to field players for.
If a top pro can play five 90 minute games a month that’s 450 minutes. That doesn’t seem like overkill.
7200/450 = 16.
Clubs need just 16 fit outfield players to give players reasonable rest and breaks ie 3 games off a month.
And this assumes they always play 90 minutes.
Seems to me the problem is clubs don’t use their squads properly and consider some players undroppable. Clubs have a lot of money and should rotate more. Either that or stop complaining
Ten Hag has been one who has been often attacked for never rotating unless forced by injures.
I had no issue Ange testing the 2nd string in the league cup. Ideally we should have a 2nd string nearly as good as the first who are pushing for starting spots to provide back up, rest, competition.
If we are going down the route of less games then it obviously means either smaller squads or less wages. I don’t see that being changed soon as TV deals, players contracts, sponsorship would all need to mature. If the league was to be cut in numbers, the FA Cup and League Cup have less games it’s a 3-6 year move to prevent clubs taking losses.
It's balls too in as much as we've already had Kompany moan about it (6 games in, ffs!!!) and Burnley sure as fuck aren't gonna be battling on 4 fronts and be plagued by international call ups.
I think there's more than likely more to the story as well. The two probably already didn't have a good relationship after Ten Haag revealed last season that Sancho was dealing with mental health issues without the player's consent.
Guy seems like a massive prick.
