Will England's winter break work?
By Don Riddell, CNN World Sport
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France's winter break hasn't saved clubs from the worst of the weather.
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LONDON, England -- It's going to be fascinating to see if football chiefs in England can make a winter break work.
While the idea is a good one in principle, I suspect the initial motion will turn out to be the easy bit.
Europe's continental leagues have long enjoyed the benefits of a mid-season rest.
The German Bundesliga has just returned to action after a six-week hiatus while Europe's other big leagues in Italy, Spain and France all give their players at least a fortnight to recharge their batteries.
For some, it's easier than others. For example, the Bundesliga only has 18 teams, so that's four less fixtures to worry about. Italy, France and Spain all have 20 teams, but they only have one domestic cup competition.
Congested calendar
In England there's the much maligned League Cup, as well as the FA Cup, to fit into the schedule. In the past the biggest argument against a winter break has been that the fixture calendar is congested enough already.
But there's perhaps some evidence to suggest it's worth it. The Premier League is reckoned by some to be the strongest domestic competition in Europe, yet its teams have only won the European Cup once in 20 years.
And England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has convinced the football authorities that a break is essential if they want the national team to perform better in international competitions.
Under the proposed new system, players would get a full week off before returning to training the second week.
Only one weekend would be affected, and it seems likely that the season will probably have to be lengthened to accommodate this change. Alternatively, the League Cup could delay the Premier League teams' involvement until the fourth round.
Lucrative tour
The break is proposed to give players a chance to recover their physical and mental strength, yet already there are concerns it could be hijacked by clubs eager to squeeze in one more lucrative tour to the far east. Such jaunts would negate the potential benefit of the break.
And when it comes to money, the break doesn't work for everyone. The Scottish Premier League recently abandoned their break because clubs were deprived of gate money for almost a month. They also claimed the December period became clogged up with fixtures, straining fans' wallets just before Christmas.
That perhaps was down to poor execution, but it does raise the question of whether a break is worthwhile if it creates bigger problems in another part of the season.
It'll be interesting to see how the English chiefs work it all out. Personally I think if it's worth doing at all, then it's worth doing properly.
I'm not sure the players will really feel much benefit from a handful of days off. But I suspect the loss of two weekends in January is probably asking too much of the money men that rule the game.
Don Riddell presents World Sport on CNN International at 0930 GMT, 1230 GMT, 1430 GMT, and 2130 GMT daily (also 0030 GMT at weekends and daily in Asia.)
