Put a stop to Prem interruptions for England games and give us all a break
WHY do we suspend the football season for a fortnight when England internationals are so boring that fans have to throw paper planes for entertainment?
It deprives the title race of momentum and continuity.
And it’s absurd that when the Premier League resumes next week, every team will have played only seven games by mid-October – yet most big clubs will have to play eight games in December alone.
After four more league games between now and the first weekend in November, guess what happens? Yes, the music stops again for yet another international break.
England have gone 38 games without defeat in qualifiers for major tournaments yet their record at recent European Championships and World Cups is dreadful – four wins out of the last 15 games.
Whatever else these repetitive international breaks do for England, it’s not helping them win matches when it matters.
I understand qualifying matches have to be played. I know you have to earn the right to play at big tournaments.
But I just wish the season didn’t grind to a halt every three weeks to accommodate England’s fourth game with Slovenia in three years or their third game against Slovakia in 15 months. It’s hard to get excited about them.
I can’t wait for the Premier League to return – because as pleased as I was that Scotland managed to stay alive, Wales have battled to rekindle their Euro 2016 heroics and Northern Ireland have punched above their weight, I have been bored out of my brains watching England.
We need a thrilling title race and it looks like we’re going to get one. Before a ball was kicked, I said it would be a shoot-out between Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho and the trophy would go to Manchester.
That’s the way it’s shaping up. Guardiola is a year older and wiser about the consistency needed to win the Premier League and Manchester City’s win at Chelsea last week was a big statement.
But Mourinho looks like he means business again and Manchester United are going toe-to-toe with their noisy neighbours.
During the boring passages at Wembley the other night – the first 92 minutes – I jotted down my combined City-United XI based on current form and longterm/persistent injuries.
On that basis, Vincent Kompany and Bernard Mendy – who would both have made my hybrid XI when fully fit – miss out.
Here’s my combined team, playing a diamond formation in midfield and two up front. DAVID DE GEA:
Although Ederson has been brave and his distribution excellent, I’ve gone
for De Gea because he’s the best keeper in the Premier League. KYLE WALKER:
Antonio Valencia has been a revelation at right-back and his goal against Everton was sensational, but Walker’s mobility takes some beating. ERIC BAILLY:
He’s the firstchoice in an area where United needed to improve and in his performances there’s a sense of cream rising to the top. PHIL JONES:
Perhaps a shade controversial, but he has done exceptionally well this season. In Kompany’s absence, I can’t leave him out in favour of Nicolas Otamendi, John Stones, Chris Smalling or Daley Blind. ASHLEY YOUNG:
His days
at Old Trafford appeared numbered last year. Now he’s playing ahead of Blind and Luke Shaw at left-back on merit. NEMANJA MATIC: Arguably United’s most influential player this season and I would rather have him sitting at the base of a diamond than any other holding midfielder. KEVIN DE BRUYNE:
I once queried whether he was worth the £54million City paid for him, but he’s been fantastic. PAUL POGBA:
De Bruyne on the right, Pogba on the left – this central midfield dream team would take some beating. DAVID SILVA:
I never tire of watching him play, especially in a No.10 role. Nobody is better suited to a diamond formation.
SERGIO AGUERO: I fancy City’s all-time goal-scoring record will fall as soon as he gets back from his broken rib. ROMELU LUKAKU: In a 4-2-3-1, I might have left him out for Aguero. But he is so awesome I had to find a way to keep him. JOSE MOURINHO (coach): He has won three titles and can scent a fourth.
The Manchester derby is not until December, so you have two months to argue over my selections, which are 8-4 in United’s favour – although a fit Kompany and Mendy would have evened up matters.