Festival Footy!

It is finally here, the thing I have been waiting for all year and no it is the arrival of Santa. The football Christmas period will start this weekend, which means a tremendous amount of games in a very short time frame. Every Premier League team is looking at the fixture list and seeing that they have to play five games in eighteen days. Children around the world look forward to the morning of the 25^th, but for me it’s the morning of Boxing Day that I cannot wait for. Waking up to leftover food, pubs re-opening, and football, is the best present you can give a person. This year the Premier League will be offering this gift, but there are many people around the world that disagree with me. It is not just your everyday fan that disagrees with me, its names like Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger who want away with this part of the season. The two legendary coaches want to see a winter break implemented in the English game, so I will be giving you both sides of the argument and let you, the readers, form your own opinions.

Happy footy fans during the
 Xmas period

Every time England lose a game, whether it is in September or in the aftermath of a disappointing exit from a major Championship, the talk of a winter break and players being tired resurfaces. I believe that every other country in Europe with the exception of England has a winter break, which supposedly benefits all nations around the globe as Europe is the hot bed of football. As I mentioned, Sir Alex Ferguson and company have been asking for the break for many years. The foreign managers that ply their trade in England wonder why the FA put their teams through such a grueling schedule. A winter break would have seen last Saturday being the final week of Premier or Football league action until the second week in January. My friend Denny Herzig, who plays for German Second Division side, Eintracht Trier has experienced both playing over Christmas and now enjoying a winter break. Speaking to the midfielder, he couldn’t remember how he survived a season without a break. Mr. Herzig uses this two week period to enjoy himself without worrying about games and work related issues. Herzig can go on holiday with his friends and forget all the stresses and strain that football brings. All the while, players like Frank Lampard are putting their bodies through hell in wet and windy conditions. The top players can play in the region of 60 games which, I admit, must have a dramatic affect on your body both mentally and physically. This being said, would the extra rest really help our chances this summer? Ex New England Revolution striker, Perek Belleh believes the answer to this is yes. The University of Rhode Island alum was quoted saying “The Christmas period may be the reason why England does not win the European Cup”. I can see the arguments, and another reason why there is not a break is the amount of money made over this period. Is it enough to ‘supposedly’ dent the nation’s chance of glory this summer?

Trying to stay
warm

When a professional footballer that has experienced both sides tells you he enjoys his two week break during the season, you have to listen. This being said, I still believe that the reasons for having one are not good enough for me to give up football of the festive period. Football over Christmas is ingrained in our culture, just as much as turkey is the meat of choice on tables across the country. People are excited due to the build up to the special day, spending time with family and friends, and to top it off there is football on most nights of the week.  I am certainly not thinking about how Fabio Capello will be ruining my summer over this wonderful period, neither is Rio Ferdinand or John Terry. They are looking forward to training less and playing more which is the best part of being a footballer, correct? Who wants to train when the lucky few can play in front of 50,000 people. Talking about training, a winter break means upon your return back to work you face a mini pre season. I would love to ask Mr. Ferdinand if he would enjoy a week off and then endure a mini pre season involving running, more running, and run some more. This might sound to you like I am putting club football before my country, and you would be right. I love the festive time of year and the fact that it can make or break a club’s chances of promotion, relegation, or their championship aspirations. If I still haven’t won you over let me ask you this question. During the early days of January when you’re broke and breaking all your New Year’s resolutions, what are you looking forward to? Football, we have the FA Cup and some tasty games to enjoy, while in Spain they have to wait until mid January to watch the teams they care about.

I am not certain that a winter break will help our national team win a major championship. Will the extra break really give England a better chance of beating the Germans or Spanish? Personally, it is another excuse to mask the fact that England is simply not good enough to beat the best teams in the world.  As for Sir Alex, looking at Manchester United’s record over the holiday’s, he surely cannot hate it that much. We at Defensive Discussions would love to hear your thoughts and feelings on this subject, so please leave a comment or tweet us at @DefDiscussions.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!