Aston Villa boss, Unai Emery, has shared his view on the current schedule in football, which is getting even tighter than before.
Football today has become more and more demanding. The schedule is getting tighter. The fixtures are more congested and players’ wellness has been under threat, if they participate in all games for their clubs and national team.
However, Emery sees it differently as Aston Villa begins their busy schedule this week with the Carabao Cup match versus Coventry City. He shares his view on the current tight football calendar as reported in the club’s official site, avfc.co.uk.
“The players now, they must focus strongly, their lives through football – domestic football and international football. It’s no excuse for us, no excuse for me. I am so, so happy and our message is we will play 55 matches this season, hopefully, and with the national team matches, another 10 matches for some players.”
Emery sees the current football schedule in two ways. It is the reality of today’s football and privilege for the players today. Things have changed a lot compared to the first time he arrived in Villa Park.
“The players now, they have a new demand in their careers.Here, we were playing 42 matches four years ago – 38 in Premier League and some matches in the cup – 40, 41, 42. And now, we are playing 55 matches.
“This is the new calendar, and this is the reality of football now. We must respect it and we must accept it.”
For those who are obsessed with football like Emery himself, it might be exciting. Yet, not all players and managers have the same level of interest in football as him. Thus, there would be those who eventually face the danger of burnout or injuries.
Emery certainly hopes that Villa would be winning another silverware this season after last year’s Europa League so that there is something to achieve in the end after playing the entire games in all competitions, especially the domestic cups or continental competition, instead of just playing for nothing in hand.
The Lions certainly need all players in the squad to do so, as Emery added in his comments.
“We the need players, we need subs (rotating) players being ready, and of course we are adding (games) when they are playing with their national teams.”
However, it does not mean that they have to play all that number of matches. Emery should consider prioritizing one of the domestic cups to win for rather than both of them, for the sake of the team itself.
Villa definitely can’t sacrifice the Premier League and UCL, despite the slim chance to win, especially the latter, but The Lions should aim as far as they could reach for their own rankings and the prize money, which could ease their finances for example. So perhaps, Emery would focus more on clinching the FA Cup, the trophy they have not lifted since 1960 but they can sacrifice the League Cup.
Villa can just field the youngsters and the players from the reserve team to see how well they can develop their game against the Premier League team. In the FA Cup, The Clarets and Blue can field their best or second best lineup to advance further and hopefully win it. That way, his team could get a rest and focus more on the more reliable targets.
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