Managers whinging about workloads
It is invariably the managers with the greatest resources who make the biggest noise around fixture congestion and ‘workloads’. Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp are possibly the worst offenders in this regard, despite the rule changes in recent years that have directly addressed the problem of fatigue and burn out: a mid-season winter break and the introduction of five substitutes (which favours the so-called big clubs with multiple matchwinners on the bench). It’s true that some get tired and even injured as a result of being overplayed, but managers should simply utilise the rest of their squad (of full internationals) more often. Football is hard, a full season is not meant to be easy, but Guardiola has only used someone that would be classified as a youth player on three occasions this season – City’s final Champions League group game (where the group was already won), their second leg against Copenhagen (with the aggregate score at 6-2) and in the FA Cup at home to Huddersfield (with the score at 5-0). His and any other Premier League manager’s comments about burnout are increasingly a fugazi and only designed to create pressure and even more favourable conditions for the top sides. The scrapping of FA Cup replays – a decision that hurts those further down the football pyramid – suggests the authorities are falling for it.
