Winter break: the case against

At the end of December 2009 and the beginning of 2010, the United Kingdom found itself in the grips of the coldest and most prolonged period of bad weather for 30-odd years. It had an unprecedented effect on the English football programme, from the regional divisions of non-league to the very top of the pyramid.

The dubious nature of one or two high-profile cancellations has fuelled the annual debate over winter breaks. As we discussed in the podcast recently, there are strong arguments both for and against adopting a winter break in England. So we thought we'd tackle the issue head on. In this post, I'll explain why I'm not in favour of the break. Gary Andrews, whether he actually disagrees with me or not, will be writing a rebuttal.

Let's get down to business.

I'd like to begin with a story - don't worry it's only short. A couple of weeks ago, with the north of England buried under a blizzard, I left snowless Tooting to head to Lancashire, where Aston Villa were due to play the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final against Blackburn Rovers. I began my journey knowing that the match would probably be postponed, and, sure enough, news filtered through just north of Oxford that the game was off.

Two days later, I was back in Oxfordshire, admiring the beautiful snow-covered countryside near Burford. Where we were stranded at a crossroads which was somehow at the bottom of four impossibly steep, icy hills. In the snow. With no phone signal.

The point is that January 2010 has been an exceptional month in weather terms. And to implement a winter break because of a one-off winter strikes me as unnecessarily short-sighted.

Think back to previous winters. How many times per season are you generally inconvenienced by weather postponements? None? One? Certainly, the age of compulsory undersoil heating in the Premier League had all but eradicated festive cancellations at the top end of the English game. I have no idea of the meteorological accuracy of this statement, but for now I'm happy enough to go out on a limb. This is a freak winter.

And for me, avoiding knee-jerk reactions in football policy is as important as in the legislative process, medical diagnoses and life-changing decisions. You know, relatively speaking. Let's be sensible about this. If the next couple of winters deliver the same white evil, I'll happily reassess my position on the idea of a winter break. But for now, I'm simply not buying that we need one because of the weather. This is England, not Greenland.

Previously, of course, the main argument in favour of a winter stoppage was that of fitness. With the big clubs in the Premier League playing upwards of 60 matches a season, I can see their point. Furthermore, in even-numbered years, our top players are expected to play in a major international tournament in the summer.

And that is where the arguments in favour of a break begin go contradict themselves. The likes of Wayne Rooney must play a season at the top of the Premier League before being expected to peak for his country in June and, hopefully, July. For Didier Drogba, the fitness expectations are worse. On a recent episode of the BBC show World Football, Manchester United's fitness bod pointed out that the best African players are expected to succeed domestically as well as progressing deep into the Champions League, peaking for the Africa Cup of Nations and then doing it all over again at the World Cup.

But I don't agree that a winter break solves anything here. If anything, the moved fixtures would create an unnecessary intensity at the business end of the season. Let's remember, domestic leagues work to a FIFA-mandated cut-off point in a World Cup year, so it's not even possible to extend the season to accommodate a winter breather.

None of that explains my main reason for opposing a winter break in England, though. I consider it to be another affront to the supporters, another kick in the chops for football tradition. It's another example of football, unwittingly or otherwise, sticking two fingers up at us, the deluded mugs that give it life.

You see, the arguments in favour of a winter break may well be many, various and sensible. But football isn't about 'sensible'. My message to the football clubs calling for this break, in the Premier League, is this: fixture congestion is a side-effect of your expensive success and of globalisation, and so is the ludicrous size and depth of your squads. So suck it up and use them - you can't have it all ways, chaps.

Meanwhile, I'm sitting here as a supporter fretting about the further erosion of the game's roots. I'm genuinely passionate about festive football. I love that I can either go to a match on Boxing Day or watch three on television. I love that I can do the same two days later. And I love that the third round of the FA Cup is right in our faces after New Year.

That's what it means to us, and that is why our football clubs, players and trainers need to man up and start reaping the squad rotation inevitabilities they've sown. The supporters, believe it or not, are more important than some Premier League manager having his cake and eating it. Sorry, footballing establishment. That's a fact.

And yet in my frenzied activism, I do see the logic behind a break - really, I do. But in refusing to back down in December, what about January? I suggested on Twitter that the only bearable compromise would be to have a break between the third and fourth rounds of the FA Cup, with knockout games book-ending the stoppage. To my delight, nobody was having a bit of it. The January weather, as Gary Parkinson, the editor of FourFourTwo.com pointed out to me, is just too unpredictable. Unexpected weather: how's that for 'full circle'?

And so all of a sudden, this is a supporters v football issue. In my opinion, it's time we started to stand up for ourselves.

I'm not the only one who doesn't want a winter break. I did some preparation for this post on Twitter, so I'll close by sharing some tweets from our followers:

Do you want English football to implement a winter break?

FourFourTwo: No.

YorkshireSponge: What will we do on Boxing Day if they have a winter break...eat more chocolate?

yo_mikey_: No.

piav86: from a fans perspective it would be a bad thing. No Xmas / New year football?

MarkWhyy: definitely not the prem. I like my football too much for a 3 week break

FourFourTwo: Weather too unpredictable (and calendar too full) to block-book time off.

moodonthepitch: A league break only. Use 2wks for FA Cup, Carling Cup, etc.

Okay, ignore that last one. Power to the people!

(Pic via deekster @ Flickr)