Defrosting the idea of the winter break

Despite being warmly welcomed on warmer shores, the winter break has been given the cold shoulder by the Football Association, despite temperatures plummeting as low as -17°C this week. The Christmas schedule, according to players and coaches alike, is hell; a hell that would have to freeze over before the FA would consider it unplayable. England’s footballing statesmen, unlike their political counterparts, should embrace the European ideal; other nations have proven that a short break during the season’s coldest snap is both feasible and favourable.

The idea of a winter break is one vocally championed by players and managers alike, but Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has shifted the blame onto FIFA and UEFA increasing the number of international and European fixtures. Factor in Carling Cup games before Christmas and FA Cup matches after it, and it soon becomes evident that there seems to be little room to manoeuvre, especially when little things like television revenue come into the equation.

Not that your average everyday fan would necessarily want the FA to budge on the issue. What better way to nurse hangovers on Boxing Day or New Year’s than with a bumper selection of Premier League games? I can’t think of anything better than watching Chelsea take on Fulham whilst picking over leftover turkey and stuffing. However, this isn’t reflected in the fullest sense by attendances over Christmas. Only Manchester City and Birmingham City experienced a substantial rise in attendance over the hectic winter schedule when set against their average attendances last season. If football is what the fan wants over Christmas, then it is evidently a fan of the armchair, rather than the terrace, variety.

Taking off my supporter’s head and putting on my pragmatic one, a winter break would benefit English football in general. Not only would the players be revitalised for the second part of the season, the national team would no longer suffer from burnout, a rectifiable hindrance that has affected the England setup for the last two international tournaments. Europe’s prominent footballing nations can all accommodate the winter break for one reason or another, be it fewer teams or fewer domestic competitions. Spain, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands only have one major cup competition; the latter two only have eighteen teams in their respective leagues. Portugal seems directly comparable – no winter break and two domestic cups – but the Primiera Liga contains four fewer teams, and its fixtures are played in far warmer climes.

One of the successful winter break models that we could adopt lies just across the Channel, from the land that gave us champagne, calculators and Eric Cantona. With twenty teams in Ligue 1, league and association cup competitions, a three week Christmas vacation and a less congested fixture list, why shouldn’t the FA take a leaf from the book of the French? The French Football Federation’s answer to the issue of congestion is simple: start the season one week earlier, finish one week later, and play one extra set of games in early May. The schedule is far less scattered, with all teams playing over a two day weekend in the majority of cases. If the FFF can accommodate a winter break amongst an equally full schedule, then there seems to be little reason why the FA cannot.

What is the answer to the Christmas conundrum? As a long line of England managers will testify, a break would revitalise the nation’s Euro and World Cup chances, and club managers would reap the benefits of a fresher squad in the second half of the season. Of the possible solutions – a continuance of the current system, the abolition of the league cup or a break similar to that in France – few seem satisfactory to all. For fans, Christmas fixtures are part of a well-established tradition, but it is a tradition that is slowly suffocating clubs and countries alike.

As in other affairs, England should be willing to compromise a little. Starting and ending the season the French way would allow leeway for two extra fixtures, and wouldn’t encroach too heavily upon pre-season or international preparations. Boxing Day and New Year’s Day are staples of the football calendar, but with that additional fortnight available, the other two games currently played in the Christmas period need not clutter the schedule. Diplomatic relations with France may be frosty at present, but Messrs Bernstein and Scudamore could stand to learn a thing or two from the FFF. I’m neither a Francophile nor a European sympathiser, but in this particular sporting instance, it only hurts English football in the long run to remain out in the cold.

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