I wrote yesterday about the financial fallout for the Premiership, as a result of England’s poor showing in the World Cup Of Soccer. Conveniently, there was an intelligent solution from a very wise and respected gentleman, as to what may have been a factor in the Three Lions lousy showing in South Africa. None other than the esteemed manager of Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, suggested that the heavy schedule of weekly games required to meet Premiership TV commitments, is what may be a major factor in Fabio Capello’s club, looking as lethargic as they did in their World Cup games,including their embarrassing 4-1 loss to Germany in the first knockout round match, in which they were completely outclassed in the second half, after getting a bad break on a blown call by a game official, who did not see Frank Lampard’s shot go into the net, even though the rest of the world clearly knew the match should have been tied at 2 at the half.
In an exclusive interview with ESPN, Ferguson explained his reasoning in suggesting a winter break for the Premiership. “ ( The FA ) has to give the country the best possible chance of doing well in the World Cup and because of the nature of our game and because of the demands from television to have a program every week, the idea of a winter break, which I was first talking about 30 years ago in Scotland and have done since I came down to England, nothing has happened about it. They must realize that going into the World Cup, they have handicapped their team.”
The one thing you can count on, is when you get a strongly worded suggestion from an authority like him, especially after a brutal display by England, it would be difficult for Premiership decision makers to ignore his recommendation.This is especially true, when it is their league that loses at the box office, as was noted in this website yesterday, with the comments from the co - owner of West Ham, David Sullivan, claiming that the disappointing performance in South Africa by England, is costing ticket sales to several teams in the league. It makes you wonder, if Capello has ever discussed this point with league officials, or if he would feel too intimidated to do so, perhaps fearing for his job if he sounded like he was complaining, and not being more focused on his immediate responsibilities, from the perspective of those who hired him. Perhaps Capello whispered in the ear of Sir Alex Ferguson, and asked him to be the “bad guy”, knowing that he can say whatever he wants on any soccer related issue, and not have to fear anyone for any reason. In any case, It’s a smart piece of advice that the Premiership should pursue, and have in place for the 2014 World Cup.