La Liga took its month-long break over the festive period with Messi, Ronaldo, et al. kicking back and relaxing while the Premier League pushed into its most intense and exciting three weeks of the season. People have debated whether English football should impose the same mid-season break. Some believe – in a year leading up to a major international tournament – that English players would be more capable of carrying their nation the distance in the Euros if they had a Christmas break. Well I’m here to tell you that it would not only be the worst thing to ever happen to the Premier League. It would also be the worst thing to happen to men.
This Christmas period is what sets the PL apart from everyone else. This congested time-table keeps everything more exciting. Would Sunderland have claimed Man City’s scalp if that fixture was part the standard schedule? Probably not. And would we have seen such a high level of fatigue in Man Utd last night. Most definitely not. I’m not taking anything away from that fantastic Newcastle win, but they were given an easy ride. This period throws up astonishing and the most exciting games of the season.
But just as things start to get a little more clear-cut at the top, the waters at the foot of the table on become further muddied. Bolton and Blackburn both picked up important wins which have acted to pull Wolves and QPR further into the dog fight. Together with Wigan they are five clubs certain to spend the rest of the season scapping for survival. You could even look as far up as Swansea. That’s nine clubs set to create some real excitement towards the end of the season.
If the winter break was to come into effect in England it would, surely, only act to stagnate the league’s progression. This year has once again shown that top to bottom any one team can beat any other. A winter break would only act as a push towards a league of two. That may sound dramatic but for all of Tottenham’s improvements they still can not realistically compete with City and United. Then there’s Chelsea, Arsenal who both seem to be stuck in the footballing doldrums while Liverpool, for me, are still two seasons away from making a real push.
But here’s the real flaw in the plan. To me and many others (mostly men) Christmas is about the football; the food; and the beer. If it wasn’t for Sky’s coverage we’d be left to fester and go slowly insane watching re-runs of Only Fools and Horse and Porridge. So even though the effects of a winter break would be terrible for English football it would be even worse the men of this country. Surely the FA wouldn’t take away our last excuse to not raise a finger over the holiday season?
‘As long as there is football on TV the domestic troubles of the Christmas period are (insert female’s name (in non-sexist manner) here) problem.’
Rhys Morgan