Just as the Premier League season nears it’s pulsating climax it happens. What happens, (we don’t hear you ask)? What happens is one of those pesky international breaks.
It is called a break because the players, particularly the English ones, can have a rest. All of the ones not included in their national team squad can sit, feet up, and watch the dross churned out by their so-called “betters“.
All of the players selected by their national team manager can also have a rest as the pace of the games, at least those involving England, will border somewhere between snail and tortoise.
José Mourinho can have a rest. Pep Guardiola can have a rest. Antonio Conte doesn’t know how to rest and will probably draw a line in his garden and spend the entire break running up and down it, gesticulating wildy before throwing himself over the fence and into the arms of his next-door-neighbour.
Arséne Wenger may have announced his retirement, desertion or even elopement by the time of the break so he could well be having an extended rest. Or he could stay at Arsenal. Judging by the fans reaction to yet another defeat, the latter seems an unlikely option.
However the top managers choose to spend their time during this latest affront to football fans everywhere, they will be glad of the relative calm offered during the week of the break.
In other earth-shattering news Manchester United, according to José Mourinho, have enemies everywhere. They made his team play on a Monday. They then made his team play with ten men. They then conspired to organise a plane delay which meant that a coach trip back to Manchester was required, resulting in a 4:00am arrival back home.
These enemies continued to target José and his team by making him play a game on Thursday, at home, against a second rate Russian team, then giving him a mere two full days before insisting that he plays again up in Middlesbrough, against a managerless team facing relegation.
Mourinho has not yet come to terms with the fact that the FA and UEFA arrange the fixtures and fails to understand why they don’t consult him before they release them. He also fails to understand the lack of sympathy when United have to play three games in six days. It is simply that, Chelsea apart, two of the three are games United should be winning without breaking sweat. Had the second and third games been against Liverpool and Manchester City he may have got the sympathy vote!
Roy Keane made a fair point regarding Mourinho even if he did make it in his own inimitable and very over-the-top way. Read about it here if you haven’t already done so.
Roy, to be fair, can’t have a rest. He spends most of the season doing just that and now is one of the very few periods in the year where he can show everybody just what he actually does to justify the moolah being shovelled into his bank account on a regular basis.
Goofy Gareth gets to do exactly the same with England although, judging by the players selected, he doesn’t think much of the opposition. Either that or he wants the games to be a lot closer than they would be normally. It doesn’t really matter Gareth, nobody will be watching anyway.
This is the time of the season when marriages are arranged. When husbands finally take their wives for that romantic weekend. When fathers take their kids fishing and camping. When a last minute holiday is booked. Anything to relieve the boredom.
When the dreaded end of season arrives, at least there is a transfer window to keep the fans salivating and looking forward to the next one. There are even pre-season friendlies to look forward to and these are much more eagerly anticipated than any friendly involving the England team.
So here’s to the return of the Premier League in a couple of weeks time. Then to the return of the Premier League next season. We can all do without the national team and their fixation with London and Wembley, but don’t keep taking away the weekly nationwide fix.
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 