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The Germans want us to play in the Summer



red star portslade

New member
Jul 8, 2012
1,882
Hove innit
Winter campaigns have historically not gone well for them so:


Premier League should play in Summer suggests top German football manager.


German football legend, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, now top man at Bayern Munich says it's time winter football was put on ice - and he means across all the top European leagues, including our very own Premier League.

Rummenigge, who is also chairman of the 207-member European Club Association that lobbies for the rights of European clubs, told France Football magazine that it made no sense that European clubs played in mid-winter.

"Everywhere, be it Germany, France or England, summer is the best period of the year. And that is the season we don't play," Rummenigge said. "In deepest winter, when it is very cold and snowing, we play nearly all the time in conditions that are disagreeable for both players and spectators. It is not logical."

Rummenigge said Fifa and Uefa were "seriously thinking" about an overhaul of the soccer calendar so European leagues would open in January and wrap up at the end of autumn.

"My sense is that we are heading straight in this direction," the former West Germany international was quoted as saying of possible January-autumn European leagues.

Asked whether soccer's traditional summer break could be abandoned, Rummenigge replied: "It's completely possible, even if this idea does not thrill our friends in South America."

ECA vice chairman Umberto Gandini was not aware of the plan. "That was a really nice surprise ... he is not reflecting the position of the ECA," Gandini said.

A sweeping overhaul of league and international schedules for the world's most popular sport would likely be far more complex than Rummenigge's comments suggested, perhaps impossible.

The suggestion that club soccer could monopolise the calendar and that Fifa's principal source of income, the World Cup, and Uefa's European Championship could be tacked on at the end of the year, when club soccer is finished, won't likely thrill officials at either of those governing bodies.

There are also major financial, broadcasting, geographical, sporting and cultural obstacles to any drastic overhaul - not least the issue of whether Europeans would attend and watch soccer in summer months when many of them traditionally sun themselves on beaches.

Rummenigge told France Football that one "advantage" of modifying the calendar would be that club and international soccer could be separated entirely so players aren't called up by their countries when their clubs are still playing.

"In future, there could be two phases: one for club competitions, the other for qualifying matches or finals of the World Cup or the Euros," he said. "For one month, national teams would be completely free to call up their players."

Fifa's plans for the 2022 World Cup to be held in host Qatar's scorching summer months are also feeding debate about soccer's international calendar. Some in soccer, including Uefa president Michel Platini, have appealed for the flagship tournament to be moved to the Gulf state's somewhat cooler winter months. But that could punch a hole in the European club season as it now stands.

The English Premier League said a winter World Cup in 2022 "is unworkable and unacceptable to domestic European football".

Rummenigge suggested that any change in scheduling for Qatar could be used to make permanent changes to soccer's calendar.

"It is clear that there will soon be negotiations to examine what can be done. My point of view is that an eventual change to the calendar shouldn't be viewed critically but more as an innovation that could improve the general context," Rummenigge said. "Changing the calendar carries risks but it is also an opportunity. The issue of the calendar will become more important the closer 2022 gets."

You could imagine the outcry from the Cricket lobby in England if this became a reality!
 

albionite

Well-known member
May 20, 2009
2,753
To be honest I would love for it to be changed to summer. Going to away games drinking in a pub garden, not having to wear heavy coats, not freezing your nuts off in a wind exposed stand.
My favourite games to go to are the ones in august, September- april, may.
 

strings

Moving further North...
Feb 19, 2006
9,965
Barnsley
Interesting, Rugby Union was looking at switching to summer recently in order (partly) to avoid clashing with football.

I think football lends itself to the winter, if I'm honest. Whereas Rugby Union would benefit from harder pitches (hopefully encouraging more running rugby).
 

Common as Mook

Not Posh as Fook
Jul 26, 2004
5,627
It'll be the death knell of cricket in this country so hopefully it won't happen.
 

hans kraay fan club

The voice of reason.
Helpful Moderator
Mar 16, 2005
60,984
Chandlers Ford
I'd hate this. Winter is shit enough already, without taking football away.
 


Pavilionaire

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
30,499
Is Rummenigge divorced, does he have any kids or semblance of family life?!?
 

severnside gull

Well-known member
May 16, 2007
24,540
By the seaside in West Somerset
Crowds would decline significantly as people go on holiday resulting in increased prices to counter lost revenue. TV fees would also decline as audience numbers would be lower. Okay if clubs want it but possibly a case of be careful what you wish for. IMO it would be the desrh knell for professional lower leagues as we currently know them.
 

Giraffe

VERY part time moderator
Helpful Moderator
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Aug 8, 2005
26,421
Rubbish idea, You only have to look at attendance figures for clubs throughout August. It's a stupid idea. Football is a winter sport, leave it there.
 


Gullflyinghigh

Registered User
Apr 23, 2012
4,279
Think I'd prefer it to be honest; evening games would instantly become more appealing for one!
 


SeagullSongs

And it's all gone quiet..
Oct 10, 2011
6,937
Southampton

Pavilionaire

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
30,499
There's much I'd miss about the passing of winter football. The only orange ball we'll see in the summer will be when David Dickenson's trunks come loose at the side.
 

South Stand Rebel

New member
Sep 6, 2012
169
I think KHR is right. In order to compete at a national level, we should be playing on the best surfaces during the domestic season. Players need to develop their technical skills. Like or loathe Gus' tippy tappy passing football, it is the probably the only way you can be successful in the final stages of tournaments.

Apart from that, it's not nice sitting in the freezing cold watching your team - although it's a whole lot better than sitting in the freezing cold, being soaked through a la withdean style.
 


Pantani

Il Pirata
Dec 3, 2008
5,445
Newcastle
Would love it! With our climate, it would make a lot of sense - but the problem is that fixtures are congested & hectic enough without being out of sync with southern Europe... and as for international football.. ?

Exactly this, Seville in August is 35 degrees average. So you really could not play there, as for inland Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece etc it would be totally unworkable. The weather here in the winter is not bad enough that Northern Europeans should be dictating to the rest of the world when they should play football (anymore than we are all ready).
 

beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
35,238
Well Mr Rummenigge, go ahead and get your German league to do this. let us know how well it works out when half the crowd are in the Med with their towels and not at your ground.
 


brakespear

Doctor Worm
Feb 24, 2009
12,326
Sleeping on the roof
hmmmm, Rummenigge jockying for the number two job at FIFA when Platini gets the top job?
 

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