Red Rebels

547 Winter break during difficult labor

Almost every season, there will be some turmoil in the Premier League, but there is one thing that is mentioned again every year, but every year it ends in vain.

That’s the introduction of the winter break!

When it comes to proposing the introduction of the winter break, it is probably difficult to trace back to the earliest times, but the more famous one is at the beginning of the century. When Eriksson first took charge of the England national team, he proposed the idea of ​​introducing the winter break to the Football Association. It is felt that Premier League matches are longer and more frequent than other leagues, which will exhaust players' physical fitness in league and cup matches, leading to poor performance of the national team.

At the beginning, the Football Association did not take it to heart, but after the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, the Football Association began to consciously conduct a survey. The results of the survey showed that looking at the England national team's games, almost all have one characteristic. , that is, the performance in the first half was better than the second half.

If it is just a period of time, or a season, it can be said to be accidental, but if it takes several years, then everyone has to pay attention to it. What is the reason for this phenomenon?

In the end, most people admit that physical fitness has caused the England national team to always fail to show its strength once it reaches the second half. The main culprits causing the lack of physical fitness are the fierceness of the Premier League, numerous domestic cup competitions, and wealthy teams fighting on multiple fronts. , and there is no winter break.

After many layers of consideration and joint requests from head coaches such as Ferguson and Wenger, the Football Association officially stated that they are willing to try to introduce a winter break and stated that slight changes can be made to the schedule.

For example, in order to take care of the British people's tradition of watching football, games will remain as usual around Christmas in December. In other words, the schedule during Christmas will still be intensive, but after New Year's Day, the FA Cup will be played for the first time. After three rounds of competition, the Premier League will be suspended for two weeks, ushering in a rare breathing opportunity.

But with this arrangement, the Premier League schedule will be postponed to the end of May.

Regarding this point, Ferguson and others feel that it is not a problem at all, but FIFA feels that this problem is very big. The reason is very simple. In order to ensure the World Cup, European Cup and other events in even-numbered years, as well as events on all continents, FIFA Major European leagues are required to end their schedules before May 15.

The Champions League final is the only exception allowed. After all, this is a final that attracts worldwide attention, and its influence is not even weaker than that of the World Cup, so FIFA naturally has to take care of it.

As soon as FIFA's requirements were introduced, the Premier League's winter break was immediately thrown into the shadows, and the schedule adjustment originally discussed by the Football Association with the major clubs was in vain, because once the winter break was introduced, it would be difficult to adjust the schedule. The schedule compression will be completed before May 15th.

In this way, the originally turbulent winter break introduction was stillborn.

Over the years, many wealthy teams, including Ferguson and Wenger, have been constantly calling for a winter break. Mourinho, Van Gaal and others have even denounced the abnormality of the Premier League schedule, thinking it is the most unreasonable in the world. schedule, and these people will air the idea of ​​introducing a winter break almost every year.

This season, Ferguson was the first to make remarks about the winter break. He believed that England's performance in the World Cup was not worthy of the name because the players were overtired, and the weakness of Premier League teams in European competitions was also due to the lack of a winter break.

"When teams in other leagues stopped playing, and when players in other leagues were celebrating Christmas with their wives and children, our players still had to compete in the ice and snow. When they ushered in a rest period,

However, we have to usher in the most intensive schedule, which undoubtedly puts the Premier League teams in the most disadvantaged state. "

Wenger also supported Ferguson's views, which is one of the few common languages ​​​​between them. He believed that Arsenal was stopped in the top 16 last season not only because they encountered Barcelona, ​​but also because Arsenal players had just experienced a cruel experience. During the winter break schedule, their physical fitness was not as good as that of Barcelona, ​​which caused Arsenal to completely fall into passivity.

However, what is completely different from the views of the two famous Premier League coaches is that some teams in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League are satisfied with the current schedule. They even feel that there is no need to change the current schedule at all.

"Are they complaining about too many games and a dense schedule?" Bolton's 'chairman' sneered in an interview with the media.

"Of course, of course it's intensive. In addition to playing in the league, League Cup, and FA Cup, they also play in European competitions such as the Champions League and UEFA Cup. Some teams, such as the Red Rebels, will go there in mid-December. Playing in the World Club Championship, they will naturally feel that the schedule is intensive, but compared to us, we feel that this schedule is very reasonable and there is nothing that needs to be changed!"

The same idea also came from Blackburn's "Chairman", "They do have reason to complain about too many games, but why don't they think about it, they have more players than us, their team has more income than us, they participate in the Champions League They can also get more money from the UEFA Cup, but of course they have to pay more than us, which is called fairness!"

"I think all the teams that will complain about the intensive schedule are not thinking about the players, but because the domestic competition conflicts with their participation in the European competition, so they hope to change the domestic competition to match what they get in the European competition. The needs of the greater good, but this is unfair to us!”

"Domestic competitions are traditions. The Premier League, League Cup and FA Cup are all traditional competitions in England. As the top domestic team, it is natural for them to participate in these competitions, if only to help them achieve better results in the European competition. We have achieved greater results and gained greater benefits, but in turn it has harmed our interests. My answer to this is only one word, get out!"

In fact, for teams like Bolton and Blackburn, the domestic league has no place for them. They can only make demands in the domestic cup competition. Therefore, under the current schedule, the top teams in the Premier League often Arranging substitute players to play in competitions such as the League Cup and FA Cup, the Red Rebels exclusively arranged youth teams and substitutes to play.

This is tantamount to creating opportunities for teams such as Bolton. After all, if they all play with their main players, it will be almost difficult for them to defeat these strong teams, so they are unwilling to change the status quo.

Another reason why they are unwilling to change the status quo is, after all, the gap between the rich and the poor in the Premier League, which makes teams including Bolton Wanderers have a potential hatred of the rich. In their view, teams including the Red Rebels After making so much money every year, it is only reasonable that he should play more games.

Many people think that the failure to come to the Premier League during the winter break is a problem with the Football Association. But in fact, the problem with the Football Association is relatively easy to solve. What is really difficult to solve is teams such as Bolton Wanderers, and even the Championship and League One. Teams from lower leagues.

It can be said that they are the main force that truly opposes the winter break!

Will the Premier League introduce a winter break?

With Ferguson, Wenger, Mourinho, Ancelotti, Van Gaal, Benitez, Pellegrini and other Premier League coaches signing a letter, this issue has once again come under the FA's attention. Pay attention to.

The defeat in the World Cup is just around the corner. The Football Association has just experienced the pain, so naturally it has learned from the pain and started to want to make some changes.

Perhaps you are not afraid to admit that changes have indeed helped the top teams, but the appeal of a league is often maintained by the top teams, not by middle and lower-tier teams such as Bolton.

Yes, after a series of previous improvements, the mid- and lower-tier teams have received enough attention. They are the foundation of a league, but football will always be a game in the pyramid. Everyone will only pay attention to the Red Rebels and Manchester United. Pay attention to Chelsea, not Bolton, Blackburn, or even newly promoted teams like Sheffield United and Watford.

In order to change the controversial situation, the Football Association specially invited Premier League officials, Premier League club owners, and some experts to attend an internal meeting, hoping to make another vote on the winter break issue.

In fact, similar meetings have been held before, such as in 2002, when the decision to introduce a winter break in 2004 was made, but it was cut in half by FIFA regulations, and now the old matter is brought up again.

There was still a lot of discussion at the meeting. Teams such as Bolton, which represented the interests of small and medium-sized teams, were arguing with the teams that represented the interests of the giants. None of them gave in to each other. For them, this place has become a This is the only place where they can challenge the wealthy teams.

Seeing this chaos, Walsh, who was sitting next to Xiao Yu, shrugged helplessly.

The advantages of *** are worthy of recognition, but the disadvantages of *** are reflected in front of us. Everyone knows that the winter break is good, but no one can make this decision because no one is willing to sacrifice their own health. Benefit.

The wealthy teams believe that they represent the Premier League, and those mid- and lower-tier teams should accommodate them; but the mid- and lower-tier teams feel that your wealthy teams make so much money and should play more games. If in order to accommodate you, it will cause Who will compensate for our losses?

Although with the Premier League's series of subsidies and the rising Premier League broadcast fees, the mid- and lower-tier teams have gained a lot every season. As long as they are diligent and thrifty, healthy operations are not a problem, but this does not mean that they can make sacrifices easily. Their own interests, especially for those wealthy families who harass them all day long.

David Dunn stood up several times to stop the quarreling participants, but as soon as he sat down, the two sides immediately started arguing again. Fortunately, England is a country that pays attention to gentlemanly manners. Otherwise, they would probably be like Taiwan. It's like the leadership election, with big fights and shrews swearing in the streets!

At the end of the whole day's meeting, not to mention a conclusion, there was not even a fart, and everyone was so angry that they were very dissatisfied with it.

But just when everyone thought that the meeting was about to end, Xiao Yu suddenly stood up.

Speaking of today's meeting, the Red Rebels really didn't say much. No one paid attention to it before, but now that I think about it, the Red Rebels don't seem to be keen.

You know, with the progress of the series of reforms promoted by Xiao Yu, the mid- and lower-tier teams have benefited greatly from them. He has become the most influential club owner among the Premier League teams. Many mid-tier and lower-tier teams have Everyone gave him face, and everyone believed that as long as he stood up and said a word at this time, he could affect the current situation.

"First of all, I think what you both said makes sense!" Xiao Yu said.

Everyone present immediately started talking, and some even almost laughed. If I didn’t say this, would it mean I didn’t say it?

"I don't understand any big principles. I only know how to settle accounts. Now I hope you can give me some time and I will settle accounts with you. Maybe by then, you will know something clearly!"

At this point, everyone suddenly became quiet. They were all looking forward to what Xiao Yu wanted to say.

“Let’s talk about something vulgar first, let’s calculate the revenue of the Premier League! According to our analysis of Sky TV and overseas copyright sales, the reason that affects the increase or decrease in the sales price of Premier League broadcast fees is the influence of our league, and influence depends on Yu, first, the giants; second, European results; third, the intensity of the competition for the league title."

"In other words, once there are no Red Rebels, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and other teams, once the Premier League cannot gain anything in the European arena, once the league championship completely becomes an oligarchy game, I specially asked an authoritative organization to conduct analysis. The broadcast value of the Premier League will fall by 55%, which means that all our current broadcast fee income will be reduced by half!”

"Of course, my data is based on domestic and foreign copyright sales. If we only count domestic copyright sales in the UK, the decline is estimated to not exceed 30%. We have to thank our fans, they are the best in the world. The most loyal football fans, but overseas copyrights will drop by nearly 90%!"

Xiao Yu's words left everyone present unable to refute. If you don't believe it, look at La Liga. Even the TV broadcast fees of the two-person La Liga have completely turned into an oligarchy game. Barcelona and Real Madrid shared 45%. Why are other clubs The team did not dare to resist because they knew that without these two teams, they might not even be able to get the remaining 55%.

Looking at Serie A, giant teams such as AC Milan and Inter Milan have each sold their own broadcast rights and gained huge profits. However, among mid-tier and lower-tier teams such as Chievo and Parma, some even find it difficult to sell their broadcast rights. Gotta get out, why?

Football, especially professional football, can be so cruel sometimes, the jungle of the jungle and the survival of the fittest!

Relatively speaking, the situation in the Premier League is relatively fair. After all, half of the broadcast fees are divided equally, and another 4 shares are divided according to the number of broadcasts, and the remaining 4 shares are divided according to the number of broadcasts** * Share, which greatly guarantees the interests of the mid- and lower-tier teams.

Some people may say that the fairest thing is to divide them all equally.

But think about it carefully, is this really fair?

Those wealthy teams spend a lot of money to buy stars, take on more salary pressure, and work hard to strive for better results, but in the end they get the same money as relegated teams. Is this fair?

The order in this world is created and observed by someone. From the day there is order, there can be no fairness!

"Then according to what you say, Mr. Xiao Yu, doesn't that mean we have to sacrifice ourselves to accommodate you?" Someone immediately stood up to refute Xiao Yu.