English football won't benefit from a winter break

Around Christmas the issue of a winter break in the Premier League often comes up. We consider some of the arguments for and explain why we think it would be a bad idea.

There are several points in favour of having a break and in my opinion all are flawed. Probably the main one is that it would help the England side perform better at World Cups and European Championships. Players would get a rest midway through the season and thus arrive at major tournaments mentally and physically fitter with fewer players injured. This point of view is often aired every couple of years following a dismal performance by England that ends (in good years) in a quarter-final defeat on penalties. The argument goes that Spain, Italy, Germany, France and others all have a winter break in their domestic football and do better than us in international football -  therefore we need one too.

This is poor logic and ignores the fact that these countries have far better players than England. Their players are technically and tactically better due to better coaching methods, less emphasis on winning and superior facilities. These other nations are also not burdened by expectation that produces ridiculously low odds for England to win if we should so much as produce one good result. It also assumes that most English football fans place country over club when it comes to football. That simply isn't true, as several surveys have shown, so why disrupt club football for some perceived national benefit?

Another significant issue with imposing a winter break is that it doesn't solve the problem of too many fixtures. The same number of games still have to be played and so the season would have to be extended at one end or the other. Unless the number of teams in the top flight is reduced, say to 18, as in Germany and Holland, little is solved. Few other countries have one domestic competition that is taken seriously by the top clubs, let alone two. Removing the league cup from the Premier League calendar would help but like moving to 18 teams the financial implications mean it is unlikely to happen.

Another supposed benefit of a winter break is that we would have fewer games postponed. Whilst the winter of 2011/12 has so far been a kind one, in the past two years many matches have been postponed due to snow, ice, burst water pipes or hazardous conditions getting to the grounds.

However, little is as unpredictable as the British weather and such conditions can occur anytime from Autumn through to early spring. As such there is no way of guaranteeing fixtures going ahead by having a three week hiatus in December or January and the odds are we would still have disrupted games.

Most importantly of all, fans want fixtures over the holiday season. Whilst many call for modernisation, the majority prefer tradition. It is almost a part of our culture to have football over Christmas and the New Year and fans love it. It's a safe bet that players' moans about the weather and injuries are of little concern to people who may never earn in a lifetime what some of these players earn in a month. In short, stop moaning and get on with it!