Glad to be back: it’s quality not quantity that football wants

 

So, where were we then?

Fortunately, the last act of the final game of the Premier League mini-season – before it was so rudely interrupted – is frozen in time.

It was the moment after Ederson had missed a cross and the ball landed at Fabinho’s feet a metre from a gaping goal.

The City keeper couldn’t get back and no players were near the Liverpool man.

The Brazilian had time to call home before making contact with ball. Or so he thought. There did not seem any way he could miss.

And what a climax to a classic match it would have been for the home side to finally clinch a see-saw, five-goal thriller at the death.

Anfield was already half celebrating.

But from the deep recesses of nowhere came Manchester City’s Rodri to stretch out a telescopic right leg and make one of the great blocks of all time.

And somehow, the realisation that Fabinho hadn’t scored, that Liverpool hadn’t won, slowly dawned.

The disbelief – shared by both sides – was palpable. Even now, it’s mystifying.

It wasn’t that Fabinho had contrived one of the misses of the millennium – he hadn’t – but just where had Rodri come from?

And so, a pulsating game ended in a 2-2 draw and club football, as we know and love it, was shut down for two barren weeks.

If the first half had been forgettable, the second will live long in the memory.

By common consent, the two best teams in the league are duking it out at a level we’d not seen before – and then the music stops.

Just when the orchestra is warming up, when the cream is rising to the top.

And, now deep into October, with the clocks a fortnight from going back and winter hovering at the door, incredibly only a paltry seven games have been played.

Worse still, we haven’t done with these infernal interruptions: there’s another in November.

To be fair, the Nations League did produce a couple of decent games and the tournament is a serious upgrade on all those meaningless friendlies.

But – and it’s a massive one – there are just too many games.

As Belgian keeper Thibaut Courtois noted this week: “We are not robots. If we never say anything, it will always be the same. All they (FIFA and UEFA) care about are their pockets.”

Simply because of distance, it’s the South American players (and their clubs) that suffer the most.

The situation is so critical that several of the EPL’s top clubs have been driven to cooperating with each other!

They are sharing the cost of a charter plane to fly their Argentinian and Brazilian players back in time for this weekend’s EPL resumption.

Shockingly, until Thursday’s (Malaysian time) game, they had played only once since that last EPL weekend.

All that time to fit in two World Cup qualifiers and it will be Friday before they arrive back in the UK.

With a Saturday lunchtime kickoff, Liverpool are resigned to Fabinho and Alisson not being ready, but the others may have theirs at least on the bench.

No matter how comfortable the flight, 12 hours across several time zones is no preparation for a big game.

The so-called best league in the world’s integrity is being damaged by an inability or unwillingness to accommodate the clubs who pay the wages.

And the solution that FIFA – in the hands of Chief of Global Development, Arsene Wenger – has come up with is to have a World Cup every two years!

The ex-Arsenal manager, once renowned for a reluctance to release players for internationals, appears to have experienced a Damascene conversion since he took his new job.

He’s now maintaining that a rejigged calendar could squeeze all the qualifiers into one month (October).

Critics concede that not everything about the new plan is negative but why the need for twice as many World Cups?

Courtois gave us the answer. And the players union, FIFPRO, agreed. As did all the fans and clubs in Europe and South America.

But, with the rest of the world apparently in favour, the chances are that FIFA will get this through.

And so, the unsustainable calendar will clog up even more with clubs complaining and players run into the ground.

So, where were we?

Chelsea (16 points) led the table by a point from Liverpool (15) in second, with City, Manchester United, Everton and Brighton all on 14 points.

Based on the Anfield thriller, Liverpool and City look a class apart with Chelsea showing vulnerabilities in their last three games.

After being surprisingly held by Villa at home, the Blues were beaten by both Juventus and City.

Perhaps they’re not as watertight at the back as we thought.

Nor are they getting the best out of Romelu Lukaku whose hat-trick for Belgium was a timely reminder of his pedigree.

And they look very dependent on Mason Mount and N’Golo Kante.

Liverpool look almost back to their best if lacking depth up front. But Mo Salah is playing even better with many judging him the world’s best on current form.

United have a candidate for that honour but Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival has meant a slow start for Jadon Sancho for whom they paid £73 million.

And now Raphael Varane is injured, they’re hardly getting value for their big transfer spending.

And inevitably, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under pressure.

Everton and Brighton are surprise packages in the top six with Leicester and Spurs struggling with injuries and poor form respectively.

Arsenal have recovered from a shocking start and all eyes will now be on Newcastle after their controversial takeover by Saudi Arabia.

But Brentford and West Ham are enjoying good seasons. There’s interest throughout the league and it’s a pity it has to withstand this infuriating stop-start schedule.

If the governing bodies prefer to listen to an old timer whose views may have been swayed by the perks of a top job to current players and coaches, there’s little hope of a solution.

And classics like the one from two weeks ago will become even more precious rarities. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.