The failure of English teams qualifying further in the Champions League has led some people to believe is due to the demand of the Premier League. Some say that English clubs are not as fresh as their European rivals. Festive fixtures in the Premier are a staple in English Football with the matches around Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) and New Year’s. It is by the far the focal point for teams to maximize points and busiest period of the league schedule. There has been criticism in recent years over the physical demand and the way it takes a toll mentally and physically on players.

Last season, the failure of Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals had some say was to be blamed on the tactical naivety of English clubs in Europe or slipping standards in the Premier League. Managers like Jurgen Klopp and Sam Allardyce had no doubt that winter break could be helpful. “Playing as many games as we do through Christmas and New Year gives every club that plays in Europe a disadvantage” (Allardyce, The Guardian).

There is an obvious problem for the team during the long spell of winter games in the Premier League. An argument, voiced by ex Liverpool player, Luis Suarez in his autobiography, implies that it is not just about the number of games but their intensity. English clubs do not play considerably more games than their opponents in Europe, but, it is the intensity of games. “If you compare the intensity of the Bundesliga, La Liga and the Premier League you can see that the English league’s harder” (Luis Suarez).

Is there evidence that players in England face because of these physical demands? Well, possibly so. The Premier League only began to collect physical data last year so there isn’t a lot of information to go on, but the official EA Sports Player Performance Index—which, among other things, tracks things like distances and the number of sprints in a match—had found interesting findings. Last season English clubs involved in the Champions League “ran an average of 108.5km per Premier League game before Christmas, with an average of 508 sprints per match. After Christmas, their average kilometers per game went up slightly” (Ingle, The Guardian). However, this is not the only issue. The players have to compete in horrendous British weather which adds to the intensity of the game by 10.

Those calling for a winter break may be on to something even so that the Premier League is set to implement winter break from 2019/20 season. After years of deadlock, the FA and Englileaguesges have finally reached a compromise that should give players more rest without disrupting relationships with the various broadcasters and sponsors of the league.