Premier League get rid of winter break – Jurgen Klopp would not approve!

The Premier League has removed the mid-season break from the calendar in favour of what the league says is to allow an extended summer rest.

After Jurgen Klopp fought valiantly for player welfare, the English topflight has wasted little time in scrapping the winter break for the first campaign without the German.

A mid-season break was first introduced in the 2019/20 season but has been flippant in its execution in the years since.

Let’s not forget Klopp and his first team missed an FA Cup replay against Shrewsbury as it was rescheduled during their winter break, which the manager was hell-bent on his team making the most of.

But now it has been removed from the calendar altogether, with a later start date for the new Premier League season (August 17) cited as the reason it is no longer needed.

A statement published by The FA read: “The mid-season break is removed from the calendar to allow a mid-August start date for the Premier League.

“This longer summer break allows all Premier League clubs to be better able to ensure that players get a consecutive three-week break in the summer.

“This takes into account expert advice from medical and technical departments, which values a longer period of complete rest in the summer rather than a short break in the winter.

“The agreement has been approved by the FA Board and the Premier League Board and shareholders.”

What does it mean?

The winter break in the Premier League has taken place in January but it was not protected against rearranged fixtures and cup comPetitions.

It was intended to help relieve fatigue, with many players and managers attesting to the impact of a relentless schedule – which is only growing despite news of FA Cup replays being scrapped.

Simply put, it’s never been taken seriously in this country.

The new Premier League season starts on August 17, and when you factor in players who will take part in international tournaments in the summer and then pre-season obligations, a ‘three-week’ break should not be the bare minimum.

For Liverpool, their first pre-season match under a new manager is scheduled for July 26 in the United States, but training will commence before that date.

With international commitments and pre-season training on top of an exhausting season just gone and another one to come shortly after, you wonder what players make of the news considering they were not listed as being consulted in the decision.