Blatter takes off conservative mask: European football to change drastically (3 Viewers)

[Slagathor]

BLATTER: I HAVE THE SUPPORT I NEED

FIFA chairman Joseph Blatter intends to transform the European football calendar and introduce a pan-European winter break as well as limiting the amount of foreign players per club.

Blatter's idea of a calendar change would mean the entire European Continent would be playing its games according to the same schedule with leagues starting in late February or early March and finishing in late October or early November.

"It means the season would follow the regular Gregorian calendar and all competitions would be played in the summer months, the best months of the year for outdoor sports, as well as offer players a long period of time to recover during the dark and cold winter months", Blatter explained.

The UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Cup and all other (national) competitions would be ordered to use this new system.

"The winter months", Blatter continued, "would be mostly void of football and could be used to play the occasional European - or World Cup qualification matches. But there would have to be less of such games than there currently are. For instance, the Euro2008 qualification campaign has the nations divided in seven groups of seven teams. By introducing twelve groups, the number of matches to qualify would be decreased"

This way, international football would cease to interfere with club football, a big concern for Europe's top clubs.

Blatter claims to have the support of the G14 and he said to see little problems for the implementation of his plans.

Less foreigners

Blatter also spoke of introducing a limit to the amount of foreigners per club. He suggested a "six plus five" quota. Meaning every outfit would have to field six players eligible for the national team of their league.

Blatter agreed with a reporter the drastic changes might have to be phased in.

Source: www.vrtnieuws.net

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Good plan, let's do this. I'm sick of freezing my ass off in a football stadium watching the players put on an awful performance on a butchered pitch suffering wind and snow.

 

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[Boudz]

ummmm When will the World Cup be played? and the Euro?

 

[Slagathor]

I'm assuming in July like always, meaning the competitions would be on hold for a month.

Don't most Scandinavian competitions already have a schedule like this? How do they solve the EC, WC problems?

 

[sateeh]

interesting proposition to say the least but i hope the "less" forgeiners gets through as its more appealing imo

 

[Martin]

Oh put a sock in it already. Scandinavian leagues are so bloody boring when there's nothing going on in the winter and instead they play all through the summer vacation, so if you go on holiday you'll miss a defining part of the season.

How is compressing the existing schedule going to make it more comfortable for the players exactly? Instead of spreading the matches out over the whole year, with a couple of months for international tournaments in the summer otherwise serving as vacation, you want to compress the entire calendar of league and CL matches so we have 3 months of break in the middle? Idiotic.

 

[Slagathor]

Oh put a sock in it already. Scandinavian leagues are so bloody boring when there's nothing going on in the winter and instead they play all through the summer vacation, so if you go on holiday you'll miss a defining part of the season.

How is compressing the existing schedule going to make it more comfortable for the players exactly? Instead of spreading the matches out over the whole year, with a couple of months for international tournaments in the summer otherwise serving as vacation, you want to compress the entire calendar of league and CL matches so we have 3 months of break in the middle? Idiotic.

We currently have about three months of break, don't we? July+August and January.

Depends a little on the league in question, but those are the basic outlines.

Holland, England and I think Italy too unless they changed it don't even have winter breaks right now. They have June, July and August off. So whether you have three months off in summer or three in winter makes little difference pressure-wise.

 

[Dominic]

Summer months are for vacation, I want football to watch on the cold winter weekends.

 

[Martin]

We currently have about three months of break, don't we? July+August and January.

Depends a little on the league in question, but those are the basic outlines.

Holland, England and I think Italy too unless they changed it don't even have winter breaks right now. They have June, July and August off. So whether you have three months off in summer or three in winter makes little difference pressure-wise.

Currently we don't have three months of break. A month is set aside for the World Cup, Euro and Copa America. The African Nations Cup does not conform to that schedule, but perhaps it should. Are you in favor playing the leagues and the CL alongside those international tournaments?

Another thing is that after said tournaments, the players go on vacation. For some it's a month before pre-season, for some it's virtually nothing if they have to play CL quals/Intertoto. But this cycle has the major internationals marking the end of the season. If we had them in the middle of the league season, they wouldn't be quite so exceptional imo.

 

[Martin]

Don't most Scandinavian competitions already have a schedule like this? How do they solve the EC, WC problems?

The league runs alongside the WC. The number of players from the league who play in the WC is small, so it doesn't make a big difference. For the major leagues it would be a huge difference.

 

[Slagathor]

Currently we don't have three months of break. A month is set aside for the World Cup, Euro and Copa America. The African Nations Cup does not conform to that schedule, but perhaps it should. Are you in favor playing the leagues and the CL alongside those international tournaments?

In essence we have three months of break, Euros and World Cups don't come by every year. When they do, a month off is sacrificed. I'm assuming that, under Blatter's system, the competitions would be halted during major tournaments like that meaning they would end later in autumn: turning a three month winter break into a two month winter break.

Another thing is that after said tournaments, the players go on vacation. For some it's a month before pre-season, for some it's virtually nothing if they have to play CL quals/Intertoto. But this cycle has the major internationals marking the end of the season. If we had them in the middle of the league season, they wouldn't be quite so exceptional imo.

I don't appreciate the vacuum football fans land in after those major tournaments finish. Especially not because the vast majority of fans will have been disappointed (there can only be one winner). It's good to get back to business as usual asap.

 

[Martin]

I don't appreciate the vacuum football fans land in after those major tournaments finish. Especially not because the vast majority of fans will have been disappointed (there can only be one winner). It's good to get back to business as usual asap.

But this gives those tournaments a special place in the calendar. It's what makes them special. Just like when there's no WC/Euro, the last matches to be played are league and CL. Equally so then, people are disappointed "because there can only be one winner", but starting a new league the following week would be silly, it would diminish the meaning of the league that just ended.

 

[Slagathor]

But this gives those tournaments a special place in the calendar. It's what makes them special. Just like when there's no WC/Euro, the last matches to be played are league and CL. Equally so then, people are disappointed "because there can only be one winner", but starting a new league the following week would be silly, it would diminish the meaning of the league that just ended.

I disagree. I don't see how one tournament can effect the image of another tournament just by starting/ending nearer/further from each other.

The World Cup is special because it involves teams from all over the world representing their nation. National pride, rivalries, history, the fact it features the best players in the world... That's what makes it special. Not when it is played.

 

[flieeeekke]

thats just plain wrong. i want to go out on summer weekends, not watch football.

 

[Slagathor]

thats just plain wrong. i want to go out on summer weekends, not watch football.

That's a valid enough point. Going out in summer and saving football matches for winter days when you can find some cozy bar and watch top notch stuff with other fans is definitely a good tradition.

But something has to be done about the pitches in winter. Introduce artificial turf everywhere if necessary but I hate seeing football turning into rugby when winter kicks in.

 

[Martin]

That's a valid enough point. Going out in summer and saving football matches for winter days when you can find some cozy bar and watch top notch stuff with other fans is definitely a good tradition.

But something has to be done about the pitches in winter. Introduce artificial turf everywhere if necessary but I hate seeing football turning into rugby when winter kicks in.

I agree, I would like winter football in Scandinavia as well, if only they could find a way to get around the bad weather. It makes the winter months more interesting.

 

[flieeeekke]

also, thought the weather is quite often terrible in winter, it'd be too hot in summer. i mean, how many players complained about the heat this summer? and that was in germany, ffs..

 

[Boudz]

Blatter can you FVCK OFF and leave this sport to someone who knows what he's doing!! go head a croque federation you shmuck

 

[Geof]

Oh come on. Playing on muddy cold pitches, or putting your warm coat on to go the stadium is part of football.
In the summer months everyone is on holiday at some point, and don't want to miss the games when you paid for a season-ticket, or satellite TV...

No football in winter is lousy FIFA talk as ever. And he says he has support for it? fuck that, you really think the english are gonna give up football on boxing day?

Football is not a perfectly clean beautiful sport with superb pitches and clean players. Go watch some american football or play some playstation for that.


I think professional football shouldn't be too different of the game we all used to play on the muddy dirty pitches when we were 12. That's football.

I could agree on the foreigners thing though.

 

[Geof]

also, thought the weather is quite often terrible in winter, it'd be too hot in summer. i mean, how many players complained about the heat this summer? and that was in germany, ffs..

Yeah, go play 90 minutes in Andalusia in August, Sepp. We'll see.



Oh and another point:
Nowadays the season ends when the wheather gets better and the days longer. It's all part of it, it gets hotter, the last matches are played, the support grows...

And would you prefer to play a CL Final on a nice May evening, or in November rain?

 

[Jun-hide]

I agree with Martin

The general solution doesnt necessarily tackle the real problem of modern game - too many matches - especially too many meaningless domestic matches with teams that doesnt deserve top flight game. Personally I would like to see all the domestic league contracted down to 16. I am not too sure as to whether it is possible juggle around the schedule to solve the problem.:undecide: .

My general view is the solution is designed not to release the pressure on players but to improve the general quality of international matches which has been questioned in last 8 years or so due to to players tiring out. Its like "you look tired for international matches and I tell you what. Get some rest before you start making money for FIFA and other Football Governing Bodies".

As for the domestic quota - that is actually one of few good things that came out of that old fart.