Brentford boss Thomas Frank has insisted that the Premier League should take a ten-day break, to ensure all Boxing Day fixtures go ahead.
The 48-year old expressed his club’s concerns about the situation and does not want it to get any worse.
“We think we should postpone the full round of Premier League games this weekend,”
“Covid cases are going through the roof at all Premier League clubs, everyone is dealing with it and having problems.
This week, five Premier League matches have been postponed due to the number of positive COVID cases appearing in Watford, Leicester City, Brentford, and Tottenham Hotspur.
With that being said, is it time for the Premier League to take a break until all COVID cases in those clubs are reduced by making sure that all players and coaching staff have completed their period of self-isolation?
In the Premier League’s latest statement, it is revealed that:
‘The safety of everybody is a priority and the Premier League is taking all precautionary steps in light of the recent rise in COVID-19 cases across the country.’
‘The League has reverted to its Emergency Measures and will increase the frequency of both Lateral Flow and PCR COVID-19 testing of players and staff.’
‘The League can today confirm that between Monday 6 December and Sunday 12 December 3,805 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19. Of these, there were 42 new positive cases.’
‘The Premier League’s COVID-19 Emergency Measures, which are applicable to all clubs, include protocols such as wearing face coverings while indoors, observing social distancing, and limiting treatment time. These are in addition to the more frequent testing.’
‘We will continue to work closely with the Government, local authorities, and supporter groups while being responsive to any future changes to national or local guidance.’
‘The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency.’
‘No specific details as to clubs or individuals will be provided by the League and results will be made public on a weekly basis.’
Meanwhile, managers from other clubs including Leicester City Boss Brendon Rogers also back Frank’s idea of a two-week break.
“We have looked at it but unfortunately for us, we weren’t granted dispensation. It is disappointing because as a team and a club we have always wanted to support all the measures,”
However Reds Boss is against this idea.
“Stopping the league is probably not the right thing but with the schedule, we have to be more flexible,” “I don’t see the massive benefit of it [stopping the Premier League] because we come back {and] it is still the same.” “If the virus will be gone then I am the first that stops and goes home and waits until it is gone. But that is probably not the case, so where’s the real benefit of it?”
Jurgen Klopp-BBC Sport
He also added another statement on Football Daily.
”I won’t apologise for the view I hold on the vaccination, no matter how unpopular it might make me in certain sections of society.’ ‘I am the same privately as I am publicy on this.’ ‘If I come across friends or peolple I care about in my life away from football and they tell me they haven’t had a jab yet, I do my best to encourage them to listen to experts.’ It’s never a case of ‘listern to me’-it’s always listen to those who know.’
Jurgen Klopp-Football Daily
During the 2019/20 season, the Premier League took a mid-season break for the first time ever, but that was not the case for the following season as the pandemic took its toll on the whole country.
But with most clubs losing their players due to this horrific virus, it may be a wise decision to think about another winter break, not only for the safety and wellbeing of the players but the spectators too.
According to BBC NEWS, more than 51 million people have had a first vaccine dose – some 89% of over-12s. Nearly 47 million – 81.5% of over-12s – have had both doses. Moreover, since the uptake of both doses has dropped off, there has been a steep rise in people having boosters. That means more than 25 million booster doses have been administered across the UK, with a daily average of about 540,000 jabs.
So there is light at the end of the tunnel if we football fans are able to stay patient and ensure that we are fully vaccinated. Hopefully, by then, things will get back to some sort of normality.
We all know that football is not the same without fans, but it is also the players who make the fans who they are, and that is why their health and safety well-being is paramount.
That is why managers are itching for the Premier League to ask the FA if a proposed mid-season break can take place?
There will, however, be a mid-season break during 2022-23 as the Qatar World Cup takes place in November next year.
The new season will start on August 6th and then stop on the 13th of November. Players will then have just over a week to join up with their respected countries before the tournament begins on November 21st.
But then, the difficulty is that if the final is on December 18th, and the season is supposed to restart on Boxing Day, that is only an eight-day gap, which could be a concern for most clubs, particularly if most of their first-team players are from the countries which have reached the latter stages of the tournament. This could be a massive problem, especially if they were carrying an injury or have COVID.
Now is the time for the FA to respond. Whether they do that by enforcing a mid-season break is a matter to be discussed, but they cannot just have some games going ahead, while others are not, because it would then leave a very packed schedule, towards the end of the season, which may cause problems in the Summer Transfer Window as well.
There are another five games being called off this weekend, and this is getting more and more frustrating, not just for the clubs but for the fans as they don’t know when their team will be playing next?
Hence why a mid-season break could be beneficial in ensuring that all teams are fit and ready to resume the season.
What are your thoughts on the topic?
Should the Premier League have a mid-season break?
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