Hoddle speaks ;)

[Cemetery]

Glenn Hoddle has dismissed claims by Sven-Goran Eriksson that English clubs play too much football.

England coach Eriksson has again complained about the number of games Premiership clubs have to play, and appealed to his bosses at the Football Association to find a way of reducing fixtures.


But Tottenham boss Hoddle, himself a former England coach, believes the players can cope with the demands of today's game.

"I don't go along with the view that we play too much football in this country," said Hoddle.

"My argument against it is just have a look at the Brazilian players. The Brazilians play 70-odd games with one season merging into another, yet they still have this drive and love for the game.

"I am not disputing the fact that there are a lot of games, but there are plenty of other countries who play just as many as we do and if you have got a love for the game then I think you can cope - it is all about frame of mind.

"Perhaps the answer is to structure our system a bit better, and we should be more in control rather than have to abide by television. I don't see why we can't bring games forward to a Friday before a big international week.

"I cannot understand why Arsenal had to play on Sunday and then again on Tuesday, so Sven has a point on that one. Also, if you are playing on a Tuesday in the Champions League then you should be able to play your league game on a Friday night - things can be juggled around.

"We played three games in nine days then went a month with only two games, so maybe the structure can be looked at."

Wotcha reckon?

 

[memphisto]

finally a football manager who speaks the truth


yeah i can see his point I still think we should get rid of the worthless cup though in this country but hoddle is defiently right abou the way we constantly have to abide by TV. If games could be moved around a bit more playing on say thursday and friday it would give a lot more scope for matches to be played after longer breaks and rest periods.

 

[Big Kev]

It probably doesn't bother Hoddle as spurs are never in Europe and don't have too many cup games.

The English game is just about the fastest and most physical league in the world, so the players have much more taken out of them that Brazil for example.

The scheduling does need sorting out, playing on a Sunday and then the following Tuesday isn't an ideal solution and could cost us dear.

 

[memphisto]

Originally posted by Big Kev
playing on a Sunday and then the following Tuesday isn't an ideal solution and could cost us dear.

aslong as you draw or lose i couldnt give a damn

 

[Cemetery]

Originally posted by Big Kev
It probably doesn't bother Hoddle as spurs are never in Europe and don't have too many cup games.

To make up for that though we have all of our players injured so no one rests

Must say I agree with him though. Even though we have the fastest/crowed league ratio if they could be arranged sensibly I don't really think we play too many games at all. Brazillian games aren't exactly slow & to play 70 odd games is more than us, just arranged better.

 

[Davey_Pitch]

Originally posted by memphisto
yeah i can see his point I still think we should get rid of the worthless cup though in this country

That's a selfish point of view. While the cup means little to Man Utd, to a lot of smaller teams (including some Prem teams) it means much needed revenue, so scraping it just because you don't want Man Utd to play it in is failing to see the big picture.

I do agree with Hoddle for once though. These are professional players who should be fit enough to play two games a week all year around, if the games are scheduled correctly.

 

[memphisto]

Originally posted by Davey_Pitch
That's a selfish point of view. While the cup means little to Man Utd, to a lot of smaller teams (including some Prem teams) it means much needed revenue, so scraping it just because you don't want Man Utd to play it in is failing to see the big picture.

totally irrelevant that i support man utd and would like to see the end of the Worthless Cup. I actually dont like it when Man utd field much weakened teams in the cup because AF believe it till this season to be worthless.

Think of the impact that it would have on clubs if they decided to cut down the PL by say 2 teams ? That would have dire financial implications on the 2 extra clubs moving down to the 1st division then the 2nd division etc etc. This would be far worse than getting rid of the worthington cup in my view.

Who is to say that removing the Worthington Cup wouldnt increase revenue to the smaller clubs through extra sponsorship money and TV money that could be pumped into promoting the FA Cup even further ?

I simply think that by having two cup competitions, PL, Europe and National games is too many games.

I feel it is you that is failing to see the big picture in that clubs and players want the number of games that they play cutting down to allow for more rest time and hopefully more meaningful time to be spent within the national team setup.

 

[Davey_Pitch]

I think you'll find the only clubs complaining about too many games are the teams who are in Europe. There's not one team from the lower reaches of the league who complain, so I don't see why the minority at the top should be listened to. They all have big enough squads to cope with the demands of being successful, so cutting the Worthington Cup basically to appease those few teams is nonsense IMHO.

 

[HangTime]

The biggest joke is of course when Fergie and Whinger moan about playing too many games, and then go crying to UEFA when their beloved European fixtures are reduced for next season.

Maybe England is unique in it's belief that we should be as supportive as possible to the 'grass roots' of the game and try to provide competetions like the cups which are a source of revenue to smaller clubs. We also have the largest top division of any of the major european nations, if it wasn't for this "community spirit" surely we would have cut it down to a more manageable 18 teams by now... a 4-down, 2-up system would work quite nicely in my view. Provided the top 2 get promoted, none of that places 2-5 in playoffs rubbish like we had when they moved from 22 to 20 teams a few years ago.

Bear in mind that the financial boost given to clubs playing in the premiership is tempered by the need for higher wages and signing new players, which can backfire when they slide back down to the 1st division (see Derby, Leciester, Ipswich etc). I don't think moving from 20 to 18 teams would be too disastrous, in fact it might help stabilise things by reducing the number of '1-2 season wonder' sides. Also it would strenghten the 1st division, perhaps allowing for more revenue for league clubs.

Anyway, reading some of what I've just written it perhaps sounds a little snobbish, so I'll get back to the original point. The majority of clubs don't play too much football imo, players are very very well paid and if they didn't feel tired from time to time I would be worried. Scheduling could definitely be handled better, although I'm not sure how happy some fans would be to see their team playing on Friday night instead of Saturday afternoon. I think the complaints about too many games are in part due to the high-speed nature of the english game - something which may need to change if we want to acheive success on the european and world stage.

 

[[ASSE]Hinchy]

I don't see how the style of play in the Premiership is going to be changed unless we put limits on the amount the players are allowed to run around hehe

I think the top clubs should stop moaning. They get enough money from being involved in the Premiership and European competitions to develop big enough squads to cope with these demands. It also is a good reason for them to invest in their youth team policies. Something that more clubs should be looking to do in my opinion.

Overall opinion - top clubs should stop whining their arses off as no one cares what they have to say. Nothing is going to change.