A Rash of fixtures! EURO 2021 LOOKS A LONG, LONG WAY AWAY FOR TIRED PREM STARS
FOOTBALL supporters will be feeling like kids at Christmas next week when the new Premier League fixtures come out.
England boss Gareth Southgate, on the other hand, will be less excited.
Southgate (right) could even be forgiven en for anticipating the new schedule with h dread, considering he could well become e the biggest victim of a calendar that will ll push some of his stars to the brink of f physical and mental exhaustion.
Tonight in Cologne, Marcus Rashford d will line up for Man United against t
Sevilla in the semi-finals of the Europa a League.
The very same Rashford who was left on his knees and looking out for the count towards the end of United’s quarter-final al victory over Copenhagen in extra time.
And should they go on to reach the final – where Rashford will undoubtedly play – it will his 14th game in seven weeks.
While the forward and fellow England team-mates Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw are slugging it out in the heat of Germany, Kyle Walker, Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden and John Stones have been over in Lisbon bidding for Champions League glory with Man City.
We are in the middle of August and the 2019-20 campaign is still flowing due to the impact of Covid-19. But the real feast of football is still to come.
The domestic season will begin again on September 12 and the winter break has already been scrapped.
The campaign will kick off five weeks late due to the three-month lockdown from March as a result of the pandemic, leaving league bosses struggling.
In an attempt to ease the cluttered programme, FA Cup replays have been ditched while the Carabao C Cup semi-finals are reduced to one gam game instead of two legs.
But this will be of little help to
Sou Southgate, who knows that de despite these measures, th those teams competing in Europe next season will st still face the prospect of p playing every three da days for months on end.
S Southgate should be taking a squad that tha has a real chance of winning our first major trophy since 1966.
But what state will Harry
Kane, Rashford, Sterling, Mason Greenwood, Jordan Henderson and Trent AlexanderArnold be in when it comes to taking on the best sides in Europe?
This lot will feel jaded at best and knackered at worst, provided they haven’t been struck down with injuries by the demands of a season that will push all of them to the limit.
When next summer comes around the entire nation will be gripped with hope and expectation once again. It will be difficult to dampen the excitement – but it might make more sense not to expect too much.