And while we’re at it...

A SMALL difference of opinion this week over the physical demands of Premier league football. louis van Gaal, manuel Pellegrini and Arsene Wenger all blamed it for the erratic recent performances of English clubs in Europe.

Van Gaal called the Premier league a rat race. Pellegrini said English clubs have a lot of more games and no rest in winter. Wenger was adamant. ‘The Premier league is demanding and consuming energy-wise, mentally more than physically,’ he said. ‘It makes every game very difficult. It demands a lot of concentration to get it right.’

On the opposite side, Mauricio Pochettino of Tottenham. He knows precisely what tires players out. England Under 21 fixtures. Harry Kane (below) played in 56 matches last season, including three for England in the European Under 21 Championship.

It is this brief distraction Pochettino blames for Kane’s low-key opening this year. Not his 39 first team starts in 2014-15 or his 12 substitute appearances. Not the 21,000-mile round trip to malaysia and sydney at the end of that campaign. Not preseason in Denver, Colorado, another 9,500-mile slog, or the tournament in munich that Tottenham played in the week preceding their opening 12.45pm start at Old Trafford.

Just those Under 21 matches — and only for England, considering that ludwig Augustinsson of sweden, the eventual champions, has started every league game this season for FC Copenhagen, Oscar lewicki has barely missed for malmo and John Guidetti has played five out of six for Celta Vigo, now fourth in la liga.

Indeed, the Premier league elite must be thankful so few young English players feature in their starting XIs. One can only imagine how exhausting they would find Europe otherwise.