As temperatures up and down England plummet to minus figures, football is one that is suffering from the recent bout of freezing weather to his these shores in the past few days. With only two Premiership matches going ahead at Blackburn and Sunderland over the weekend coupled with countless postponements from the lower leagues, it appears football, along with public transport and flying, has been hit the hardest by the Arctic conditions. So, with the temperatures struggling to reach above Zero and with the winter showing signs of getting worse as the years go on, is it worth bringing in a Winter break to the shores of England?
As a country, England can't deal with snow. A few hours of the white stuff and the country hits the panic button with no second thought. Airports are shut down, trains fail to show for passengers and with the roads icing over quicker than ever before, the country as a whole fails to deal with a few hours of snowfall. As a result, all are contributing factors to the halt of football that has swept up and down the country this weekend but is this the start of an un-foreseen break in English football? Well, I'm no weatherman but with games coming thick and fast over Christmas and New Year, it would be hard to predict every game being played during the current cold snap.
With the major leagues of Europe implementing a two week Winter break into their respective leagues, it would seem inevitable that England will, sooner rather than later, introduce their own break from top to bottom. The SFA have already begun discussing plans of bringing back their own Winter break with the weather playing havoc on the Scottish leagues and with the snow halting games up and down England, it may be a matter of when rather than if as to whether a Winter break is introduced by the FA. Granted, games over Christmas are pivotal to all teams with a huge number of points available in such a short space of time but with Serie A, La Liga, The Bundesliga etc. all giving teams a two week period of rest over Christmas, it may be the case that the Premiership introduces a similar period of break in the future.
The complications, however, may be enough to outweigh any potential introduction of any Winter break to the English leagues. With the FA Cup upcoming coupled with each teams respective league and the number of cups ongoing, fixtures are coming thick and fast over the weeks as the season draws on so a Winter break may be impossible to implement. Still, if the weather continues to worsen each year, it may be the case that the only resort is a period of no football over Christmas and New Year. All in all, as a football fan I wouldn't want to see a Winter break bought into the English leagues. The Christmas period is a great to watch from a fans perspective and with games coming thick and fast, it keeps the fans glued to their TV sets as the cold weather sets in. However, it may be the case that the FA are forced to introduce said break with the weather causing havoc up and down the country and should the weather worsen as the years go by, a Winter break may be the last resort for the FA to take to help minimise postponements in the future.
On a final note, with the weather taking its toll on the nation, I hope all those currently stranded inside and out of England make a safe trip home to their respective families in time for Christmas.
Anyway, I have got to go. Have a Merry Christmas from The Beautiful Game Weekly and I will post again once Christmas has made its pass.
Laters,
Macca
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