Clubs’ post-season dash for cash puts

Liverpool and Spurs are globetrotting this week but short-term gain may be costly in the long run Liverpool will spend more time sleeping on the plane than they will in Australia

In a world where players, managers and support staff are increasingly commodified, the physical and mental health side of the game seems increasingly under threat. Now is the time in the season when players, managers, medical and performance teams should be resting their weary bodies and topping up their mental wealth; instead, Tottenham and Liverpool are flying thousands of miles in pursuit of a very different kind of wealth.

To call them post-season tours is slightly offensive. These are extremely long-distance away games where all involved would rather be somewhere else, and positively recovering from the stresses of an intense season that had followed the European Championship and included the Africa Cup of Nations. While there may be additional swelling of the coffers, the swelling of limbs and the realistic downside risk of losing a player or staff member to long-term injury or a deep vein thrombosis seems unnecessary.

You can imagine the conversation between the playing and commercial powers in the clubs. Breaking the news that the well-deserved summer holidays were on ice for another week, compounded by a mad dash across time and climatic zones. Through gritted teeth, both managers and their respective medical and performance departments now have actively to manage the risk of injury and player disenchantment. It will feel like a punishment for not making it through to either the Europa League or FA Cup finals, and it will be the physio’s treatment couch rather than the infamous Gascoigne dentist’s chair that both teams will be seeking to avoid.

On a practical level it is difficult to tell which of Liverpool or Spurs have the worst hand to play. Leaving within 48 hours of Sunday’s Premier League final day, both will be travelling overnight towards the rising sun. It is more than 6,200 miles and 12 hours to Hong Kong (seven hours ahead), and 10,500 miles and 23 hours to Sydney (nine hours ahead).

The scientific evidence suggests that to counter the effects of long-distance travel and a significant change in time, the arrival time in the destination is key. Long-haul travel can result in both jet lag (de-synchrony between internal circadian rhythm and local day-night schedule) and travel fatigue (the effect of actual plane travel from sitting in airline environments).

Travel-fatigue symptoms are induced by the lower oxygen levels, dry air, prolonged inactivity and disruption of sleep patterns and nutritional intake. Teams can blunt the effects of travel with a well-planned schedule, and by utilising a specially chartered plane and customised flight times.