Southgate confirms major Premier League request with huge effect on Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs

[mawspurs]

England boss Gareth Southgate has confirmed that the Football Association have submitted a request to the Premier League asking that no match between the so-called big six takes place the weekend before the 2022 World Cup


Source: Football London

 

[McFlash]

England boss Gareth Southgate has confirmed that the Football Association have submitted a request to the Premier League asking that no match between the so-called big six takes place the weekend before the 2022 World Cup


Source: Football London

I haven't read the article but I'm not sure I like the idea of the national coach having the power to affect fixture changes.
Doesn't really seem fair to anyone.

 

[thecook]

“We have asked the Premier League to have a think about things but we also understand that they’ve got a lot of (things to consider),” the Three Lions' head coach said. “The fixture programme is very complicated you can’t have Manchester City the same weekend as Manchester United (at home) and so there’s all of those variations that we recognise are tough.

“We’d have a preference for none of those big games but to be honest the difference it’s going to make is fairly marginal. It could help us with perhaps a medical report if a team played Saturday it would give us an extra day to assess.

“Because we’re going to have to meet on the Monday and fly on the Tuesday and we’re going to have to make really quick decisions on medical situations in particular. So that’s the only thing that we’re looking at that might help us but we understand the landscape. We’d be stupid not to ask the question if it could make a difference.”


Having read the quotes, I'm still not sure exactly why

 

[Hakkz]

How about not having a world cup mid-season instead

 

[Col_M]

I haven't read the article but I'm not sure I like the idea of the national coach having the power to affect fixture changes.
Doesn't really seem fair to anyone.

The FA run the national team and the national game. They can implement rules that improve chances for the England team. So I don't see anything wrong with this request. But there is a fine line, what happens when he says, Do Not book Harry Kane or remove the 10 match ban for Grealish.

 

[Yid-ol]

I hope the fa now schedule all the big 6 to play each other the game before now! Or out top 6 sides vs next ones they think will be high in the league!

Can't see it happening, but it's what I would have done

 

[Col_M]

How about not having a world cup mid-season instead

£€ts £i$t€n to th€ fan$

 

[VoteMe4Prez]

At this point I am so sick and tired of Southgate as England coach. I wish he would resign and just fade away.

 

[Timberwolf]

How about not having a world cup mid-season instead

Still can barely get my head around that. Even in the current climate, FIFA giving Qatar the WC has to be one of the most flagrantly absurd, corrupt and ridiculous things to ever happen in sporting history.

8 stadiums to be built within an area not much bigger than Manhattan in a country where it's 40+ degrees in summer - thus requiring a revamp of the entire football calendar - with an awful human rights record, zero footballing heritage and a nightmare for visiting fans.

It's alternate-reality stuff we're living through with this World Cup.

 

[Trix]

Genuinely don't see the issue. It's his job to get the best out of the National side and that is all he is doing. He's asked a question nothing more than that.

 

[Hakkz]

Still can barely get my head around that. Even in the current climate, FIFA giving Qatar the WC has to be one of the most flagrantly absurd, corrupt and ridiculous things to ever happen in sporting history.

8 stadiums to be built within an area not much bigger than Manhattan in a country where it's 40+ degrees in summer - thus requiring a revamp of the entire football calendar - with an awful human rights record, zero footballing heritage and a nightmare for visiting fans.

It's alternate-reality stuff we're living through with this World Cup.

Yeah it's beyond a joke and anyone who takes part can share the blame for this farce.

 

[Spurs 1961]

Genuinely don't see the issue. It's his job to get the best out of the National side and that is all he is doing. He's asked a question nothing more than that.

Have to agree with Trix. Other leagues give help in fixtures to national teams and even clubs playing in CL games. We change fixtures on the whims of TV sponsors so why not help the national team? Probably won’t happen as TV will be stuck with games no one wants to watch

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Genuinely don't see the issue. It's his job to get the best out of the National side and that is all he is doing.

The evidence suggests he is not getting the best out of the National side... ?

 

[SirHarryHotspur]

On the same basis really think we should ask the Premier League to give us some nice easy fixtures before all our CL games next season plus not too much travelling like an away game at Newcastle.

 

[TOLBINY]

I have held a view for some time now that matches between the so called top 6 (we can argue forever about who they are - perhaps it is simply the top 6 teams from the previous season?) should not be played the weekend before or after a European mid-week fixture (CL, Europa). Also feel they should be arranged so that you have 3 x top 6 fixtures on the same weekend and have those 'top 6 weekends' spread out so you have say match day 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36 (make the last one match day 38 to be really interesting!)
At least that way you don't end up playing Liverpool, Real Madrid then Chelsea in the space of 7 days.
Eg:
Match Day 6; Liverpool v Chelsea, Tottenham v Man City (3 points!), Man Utd v Woolwich
Match Day 12; Chelsea v Man Utd, Woolwich v Tottenham (another 3 points!), Man City v Liverpool
etc, etc.

Ok I now know somebody on SC will look into it and say that those match days listed clash with European weeks, but I hope you get the point.

 

[onthetwo]

'Huge Effect' they say?

 

[Neon_Knight_]

By avoiding certain dates for games between the "big six", these games will be disproportionately close together at another point in the season - therefore putting extra strain on their star players (fatigue, leading to & diminished performances and heightened injury risk) and almost certainly disadvantaging one or more of the 'big six' teams by giving them a tough run of games against their immediate rivals.

I don't see how the Premier League could vote in favour of this.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Is playing against a "big six" rival any more strenuous than playing away to one of the more physical teams in the league? Perhaps hard tackling and intense pressing need to be banned that weekend too.

 

[Hakkz]

Is playing against a "big six" rival any more strenuous than playing away to one of the more physical teams in the league? Perhaps hard tackling and intense pressing need to be banned that weekend too.

My thought too. Apparently the rest of the league is shit according to mr Southgate.

 

[SirHarryHotspur]

So it will be OK for Spurs to play West Ham assuming WHU are not big 6 on weekend before WC starts according to Southgate and FA and also OK for Leeds home to Man U , it's nonsense.
Perhaps they should ask for all England players to be rested as well on the weekend before.