Sometimes the need to generate column inches can lead to a falsely compelling narrative. For people who make a living from the show, it doesn't do to say the show isn't up to its usual standard. If we were to tell the truth about Euro 2024, however, we might say that the overarching theme was footballers with no energy trying to run around in energy-sapping heat. Sure, Austria bucked the trend and became everyone's second team, but generally, the standard was a bit naff. England and France, despite their undoubted talents, threatened to bore their way to victory without playing well – and can that be any surprise? Remember, Jude Bellingham basically missed all of England's tournament preparation because he won the Champions League. Spain were by far the best team, winning by exerting midfield control and preserving energy.
Tired players isn't a new thing. It's been around for a long time, long before Jurgen Klopp was kicking off about 1230 Saturday kick-offs. Last season we had Rodri complaining of exhaustion, even hinting he would not play in certain games. The message from the players and the managers is clear: there are too many games. If we look around at the start of the season, we see players like Phil Foden being eased back into action slowly, we see Trent Alexander-Arnold being substituted after 75 minutes to preserve him for the challenges ahead. We see Kylian Mbappe pulling a thigh muscle. And then, sadly, we see Rodri succumbing to a long term knee injury, robbing him of one of his peak years. Only a couple of weeks, he had been speaking about players going on strike. He has the right to say 'I told you so'.
It's not easy to prove exact causality when it comes to overloaded players suffering injuries, but it's pretty obvious it increases the risk to some degree. And yet there seems to be an attitude from clubs and fans that they are well-paid, and they should get on with it. We'd all love to earn millions for doing something we love, after all. While rival fans might rub their hands together at Rodri being out so everyone else has a chance, in general, we want to see the best players at their best. Only, not if it comes at the expense of less football. Well, we can't have our cake and eat it. It seems a very odd way of thinking to just accept eventual physical injury due to overloading when there are obvious things that can be done to minimise the risk.
But what we have there is employees asking to work less for the same pay. A nice idea, but not a novel one, and definitely not in keeping with these hyper-capitalist times. And isn't that what this all comes down to? Good old capitalism? Football is big business, one which has been expanding much faster than inflation for over 30 years – just look at the growth in revenues, transfers and wages. And for the people who have so much money that the only thing to do is generate more money, this is too much of a good thing to leave alone. Of course, capitalism relies on growth underpinned by indefinite natural resources; humanity's greatest lie. In the case of football, the primary product is football matches, and for that, you need footballers willing to run themselves into the ground.
Football can be chopped up into three sections. International, continental, and domestic. It's an uneasy alliance where the governing bodies of each jostle for position in a calendar which, unfortunately for them, contains a finite number of days. If we look at developments in recent years…
FIFA have expanded the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams. There was a point at which it looked like it would still be seven games to reach the final, but they've crumbled and gone for a format which maximises the number of games. From 64 games in 29 days and seven matches for the finalists, to 104 games over 38 days, with eight matches for the finalists. The tournament will finish on 19th July, further compressing summer rest periods. On top of that, we have the expanded FIFA Club World Cup with 32 teams happening in 2025 across a full month. The top players get a summer break once every four years.
UEFA have expanded their tournaments such that the winners will play at least two and maybe as many as four extra matches. But the expansion means a big increase on the number of games overall.
All of this needs to fit around domestic calendars, which are increasingly squeezed. But there barely any concession. The EFL Cup continues to exist, and the EFL would rightly argue why they should be the ones to relent. FA Cup replays have been canned as well. But aside from the Bundesliga – an enduring bastion of sense – the top domestic leagues all have 20 teams. And in a quest to print more money that they surely don't need, their answer is to televise an ever increasing proportion of the 380 games.
But I think these governing bodies should be careful, for an alternative is waiting in the wings, that solves the issue for everybody. Imagine a situation where the players and the clubs could be involved in fewer games but earn more money. Enter the European Super League.
It had a go already. Backlash from the fans and UEFA alike dimmed the flames, but they didn't completely extinguish them. The ESL proposals proved one thing: the owners of the biggest clubs in Europe want it. Furthermore, national and European courts have issued rulings that FIFA and UEFA have no right to interfere with the development of the ESL.
It's not hard to imagine a scenario where they get the players on board. Play fewer games, and earn more money. We like to think that players are interested in tradition and heritage, but look at what happened with LIV golf. Money talks.
I think, eventually, the ESL will come to fruition. It's the natural next step for the business side of the game. It offers a guaranteed income for many of the biggest clubs in the world, and also the guarantee of more competitive fixtures. There is surely only so long domestic football can persist with the total domination of one, maybe two clubs, winning the league every year.
But there is also a note of caution for the players as well. Because if the ESL does take over and is successful, there is only one certainty.
Expansion.
TME