The future for protected international fixture dates

This is a short blog post today, after the International break to look at what the break does for players of the top clubs as they return. The new Euro qualifiers have changed somewhat, and the games are now spread over several days - I suspect to make the most of the television opportunities. And it wasn't until I watched some of the Wales v Israel game that I thought about the impact it has on the players and their clubs. The commentator stated that Wales had the worst of it, because they played away on the first day of games, so had little time to prepare their players and then played again soon after - this time at home. Now. I'm not one of these people that thinks that players should just play and not complain. I've seen and heard people argue that when players are paid so much, they should just get on with it. I, however, think that when a club pays millions upon millions for a player, they want them to perform to their best. And this involves having them rested at certain points, and playing every 3 or 4 days at other points of the season. And there is always (in this modern world) the business side of things to consider. The players are seen as assets, appearing on the balance sheets and many players are discarded for a fee in the last year of their contract, rather than let it run down and they go for free.

So, where does that leave international teams, international fixtures and the fans of the national teams? I'd consider myself a mild England fan. I've not been to an England match for years, I don't watch England friendlies on TV. I don't hold out much hope for us as we enter the big tournaments. But I'd dearly miss the national team if they disappeared. The nuances of players having loyalties to clubs and countries is a major part of the modern game. Sir Alex Ferguson's "rotation" system where he would only let a certain proportion of his squad go on international duty at the same time epitomises the feeling a that clubs have towards national sides. The World Cup is still the pinnacle of the game and stands above the Champions League. But the gap between them is getting smaller every year (or every four years.)

As a club manager, having your players potentially returning from international duty in different days, and in different states of fitness must be a major headache. Players travelling back from the four corners of the earth having played only 24 or 48 hours before can disrupt the best laid plans. Add in the knocks and injuries that players pick up and you have to assess your whole squad in no time at all to establish your best eleven for the next match.

But football is relentless - as is the demand from the broadcasters. I've read somewhere that when the draw was made and the teams were sorted into groups, that the groups with seven teams in were protected so that they had to contain the big nations - Germany, Spain and England. And this was so they didn't end up in the smaller groups, playing less games, having less games on television.

I can't reconcile this in my mind. The big clubs pay huge transfer fees and cashes for the best players and then lose their services for many weeks of the year. The players will want to finish their career with as many World Cups under their belts as possible. The national teams want their best players representing them at the peak of their fitness.