Bin off the league cup, and bin off international football for all I care. Or keep the World Cup and euros but have them be straight knockout.
Jordan Henderson : voices player welfare fears | Rice: Obscene schedule of games
- Thread starter YzWayne
- Start date
Agreed if Rice has a problem he should be speaking to moyes about it not publicly whining.
He doesn’t have to play every single game……
Agree with both. Elite clubs have the money and technology to manage 1.5 games a week.
Seems like an odd strategy. League Cup is a great way to give youth a chance.
Squads are a lot bigger nowadays. Maybe they could figure out how to rotate more?
Hasn't the nations league just replaced some qualifiers and friendlies?
Some international fixtures should be scrapped.
There is no excuse for having more than one domestic cup. Top leagues should be reduced to 18.
No evidence of this. Clubs use league cups to give game time to fringe sebior players.
100%. Leagues would be so much better with 18 teams.
Players complaining about too many games should be a sign that their manager should be rotating more. League cup is only good enough for some when they have nothing else to play for but now they have European football for the first time in donkeys it’s no longer a competition they are interested in. Can’t have it all. The calendar this year is fecked because of the god awful World Cup schedule. Rice should probably say something to Moyes if he can’t handle the European games. Seems to have no issue rotating others in the team for those games.
Let’s just have straight knockout WC like it used to be and be done with the rest of the international schedule, even the Euros has become fairly dull. Let’s be honest, it’s not interesting. It’s not entertaining and no one with a choice would watch it over club football.
This is such a non issue. As others have said, its down to the clubs to decide how much to use their players. If its too much, the players should be speaking internally with their employers about the demands of their workload and how it is effecting them. Same goes for internationals. Players that generally concerned for their wellbeing should be having these conversations with the managers who are selecting them.
More games means should mean more players, not the same players used until they're run into the ground.
More games means should mean more players, not the same players used until they're run into the ground.
While I agree and understand people saying managers should rotate more, they obviously want to play their best players and the best players, despite hating the tough schedule, want to play every game, especially for their country or in europe. It gets to the stage where the only game that you could consider leaving them out for is the League Cup because it's one of the few which managers/players don't care as much about.
For me, the schedule is already packed enough as it is but they seemingly are always looking at expanding the schedule by enlarging competitions or making competitions like the Nations League/European Conference League when there is no need to and trying to make the 'friendly games' where players like Rice would usually be rested and rotated into more meaningful competitions that their managers then want to play them in.
It's easy to forget that winning the FA Cup/EL etc. also offers avenues to European football. All the competitions have added meaning to them aside from just winning it.
For me, the schedule is already packed enough as it is but they seemingly are always looking at expanding the schedule by enlarging competitions or making competitions like the Nations League/European Conference League when there is no need to and trying to make the 'friendly games' where players like Rice would usually be rested and rotated into more meaningful competitions that their managers then want to play them in.
It's easy to forget that winning the FA Cup/EL etc. also offers avenues to European football. All the competitions have added meaning to them aside from just winning it.
The problem with heavy rotation is it throws players off their rhythm. It's hard to perform at a top level consistently if you're only starting 1 in 3 games or something. I don't think the answer is more football more squad rotation. I really don't think there is any need for this many games, when a lot of these games are games fans generally do not care about and would not miss if they were scrapped - nations league, league cup etc.
Odd in what way? It’s a tournament nobody cares about
Absolutely agree.
Why doesn't the PFA get involved? I assume footballer welfare is the reason for their existence.
I do agree that the fixture congestion this year is ridiculous and Henderson's spot on.
I do agree that the fixture congestion this year is ridiculous and Henderson's spot on.
Boo hoo.
At least he'll be able to keep his heating on over winter
At least he'll be able to keep his heating on over winter
Iternational games outside of Euros and WC are there to ruin momentum without providing enough entertainment for the fans.
Delete them all. If we didnt have that break we would have done better against City. So for me its not about players getting knackered, its about clubs momentum.
Delete them all. If we didnt have that break we would have done better against City. So for me its not about players getting knackered, its about clubs momentum.
Players should be limited to a maximum of 50 club appearances in a season and 7 international appearances in a season*. It’s up to the respective managers of the club and country to plan ahead.
* if it’s during a tournament year, this should be changed to 10.
* if it’s during a tournament year, this should be changed to 10.
Just so you guys know, the national league will have South American teams joining it in 2024. More travel coming up
My blood boils when they (and managers) moan about games. They are fecking paid millions because of that. Do they think that money in football (and their wages) would increase every fecking year if they would be playing less games?
feck off with Rice and all other players who moan about games while getting pay rise by every contract and rise in signing fees and raise in bonusses and rise in sponsor deals.
feck you all. Go play in Croatian or Greece league where you will play one game per week for 10 times less money.
I know that most of football players are dumb as feck but when the feck someone will explain them that? More games=more money= bigger wage.
fecking spoiled prima donnas.
And managers too. They all have 2 or even 3 players on every position and they still moan. feck them too.
Rant over
feck off with Rice and all other players who moan about games while getting pay rise by every contract and rise in signing fees and raise in bonusses and rise in sponsor deals.
feck you all. Go play in Croatian or Greece league where you will play one game per week for 10 times less money.
I know that most of football players are dumb as feck but when the feck someone will explain them that? More games=more money= bigger wage.
fecking spoiled prima donnas.
And managers too. They all have 2 or even 3 players on every position and they still moan. feck them too.
Rant over
Can't wait until UEFA find a way to bring back the CL second group stage!
You are right about the money but the science is there for all to see, there’s more injuries as a result of more games. There should be a happy medium and perhaps yes, it should include a wage reduction because it’s obscene what they’re paid. Particularly Haaland.
They would still earn millions with reduced games.
So it's ok to put players at high risk of injury and to belittle their welfare because they get paid a lot of money?
That's bizarre rationale, they only get paid that money because you and I watch it on TV, if you have an issue with the wages, stop watching.
By your rationale, would you be happy to accept double your wage to work double the amount of hours, and when you've finished your hours have your boss control what you eat, how long you sleep for and say where you can and can't go in? And then on your rest days have another company from abroad call you up and ask to work for them for a couple of days before heading back to your normal place of work?
Agreed, though I wouldn't even stop at top leagues. The EFL schedule is bananas too. 24 teams in each football league division is excessive, in addition to playing in the earlier rounds of the cups and the EFL trophy. The justification of how much they're paid also doesn't apply at that level.
Weird comment. Why does money matter here? Is health and fitness not important?
I agree with big squads though. Should rotate more.
I don't understand what being laid millions has to do with this.
The Premier League and FA have had a meeting recently whereby it was discussed that from 23/24 season the top six clubs, ie clubs in Europe, can play their Under 21s squad in the League cup legitimately.
This would go some way to assist, however I still feel that cutting down international games alongside this is the way forward.
Seems like there's more international games now then there ever has been.
This would go some way to assist, however I still feel that cutting down international games alongside this is the way forward.
Seems like there's more international games now then there ever has been.
I’m also part of this minority.
The only downside is the additional advantage for state-run clubs who can afford a 25+ squad stacked with excellent players as opposed to most other clubs.
1) With more games came bigger rosters. Rotate ffs.
2) Amount of games on tv raises sponsorship money and part of that money finishes in their pockets.
3. Despite what Ronaldo said (
), they are not slaves. They can always sign for less attractive club and play one game per week. Just as you can refuse pay rise in your job and go to work somewhere less. Who is stopping them? Ah, i know; money.But not this much. Club have bigger and bigger income with every year but wages are raising even more.
I suppose but can see the other argument. We live in a world where some people risk their lives for peanuts. Players risking injury for obscene amounts of money per week is a lot fairer than a lot of scenarios. They also have access to top class medical care and sports science monitoring which can hopefully pick up on and drastically reduce the risk to their lives.
However, there's still been cases over the years where players have nearly died and I think the gruelling schedule has something to do with it. We all know FIFA didn't consider anything other than money when they decided to move the World Cup to Winter. Player welfare should be a stronger consideration. We are 100% risking a disaster where someone suffers a fatal cardiac arrest playing 4 times in a week or something.
It's not just about injuries etc. though when it comes to player welfare. The tight schedule and travel involved with these schedules mean that the home/work life balance isn't the best as a footballer either. Of course there are other much less paid professions where this is also the case but that doesn't mean we should ignore it here either due to them being paid more.
3 games a week I say
There's more than enough money in the top leagues to grow the squads
There's more than enough money in the top leagues to grow the squads
I personally disagree. I go to all the games I can and can't wait for the Villa game in November.
There's plenty of evidence. City defence last year in the Carling Cup; Egan-Reily, Burns, Mbete, Wilson-Esbrand - all teenagers. They had an 18 year old in centre mid and made two subs, both of whom were teenagers. Liverpool did the same, giving 6 or 7 youth players a run out.
Because they all cry about games but at the same time they ask for obscene contracts every few years.
As i said; they have many, many options. Don't go to United, Real, City etc...
Sign for Southampton or Alaves or Koln and you will play average amount of games.
Or talk to you manager/club owner when you are signing contract and stand your ground about number of games.
Look at us and City this season. We both have 25 players plus kids but managers are using same 15,16 players. Players and managers must also take some blame in all this
It's not about ignoring the plight of footballers. I mean, they only train for around 4 hours a day don't they? I reckon their work/life balance is pretty darn great, relative to the vast majority of other human beings they share the world with. They also get to retire at about half the age as the rest of us.
The fact that people are forced to risk their lives for peanuts is a big problem that we need to rectify - not a reason to pay footballers loads and force them to risk their lifetime health for it. Do you think treating football players thus will increase working and living conditions for other people? Rather the opposite, I’d say. The way working people are treated in Abu Dhabi is brushed aside for the same motive that will have Haaland and Henderson play tree games a week - to help a minority of people safeguard and increase their wealth and power.
Hmm not sure about that. It's not just about injuries agreed - it's more about severe health risk. Being away from your family a couple of nights a week when you're being paid £200,000 a week for playing football really isn't an issue that needs tackling.