Always one to lend a hand or advice to fellow managers, Brendan Rodgers latest helping is to offer some guidance to the English FA about fixture congestion.
However, is he being sarcastic? Especially after the grueling six months his squad has put in since July!
Celtic have played 34 competitive games so far this season before the year ends that number will rise to 39 matches in all competitions. English teams playing European football have only played on average of 26 games.
Celtic players have played 2/3 games a week since the middle of November. People from inside and outside Celtic are starting to blame the “invincible” tag as weighing heavily on the players when in fact it might be the minutes on the pitch.
Offering some feedback Rodgers said:
“I think it works very well up here. If I was working in England, I would be looking at what they do up here. “If the Carabao Cup was slotted in before Christmas, I think it would work very well. That would allow you to still play your Christmas games and then start the FA Cup a few weeks later.”
“It’s also the quality of the football. It’s very difficult to ask the players to play with the same intensity with two games in three days. Sometimes the level will suffer.”
The only advantage the SPFL will hold over the EPL is a 3-week Christmas break, Celtic play their last game of 2017 in a Glasgow Derby. They will be hoping to end the year unbeaten and after beating their Glasgow counterparts. Nobody deserves three weeks off more than the Celtic squad.
