Leeds United were riding a very high wave following the appointment of former head coach Marcelo Bielsa, but things soon turned when they finally returned to the Premier League after their long hiatus, and as Bielsa departed after struggling to push them up the table, United States born gaffer Jesse Marsch came in, but he too has struggled.
With domestic European leagues being forced to pause for the first ever winter World Cup out in Qatar, although the return of the Premier League is only a matter of days away now, Leeds went into the break sat in 15th place in the table, with only four wins and three draws from their opening 14 matches but you can bet on Leeds FC online for the remaining games of the season.
Plenty in the wider world of football will be torn on whether or not the break suited Leeds given the extra time available to their gaffer to work on things on the training pitch, as simply put it could also backfire as although they did lose the last game ahead of the break (Tottenham Hotspur), they had picked up to great wins just prior to that with hard fought victories over AFC Bournemouth, and most surprisingly, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side.
For clubs fighting for the title, and whose main aim was to avoid a potential relegation, the closely packed fixture schedule caused by the necessary winter break has undoubtedly caused problems on a momentum front, and the worrying thing for fans who totally value club football over international football, is that Gianni ‘I feel pretty’ Infantino is now planning on even more domestic disruption in the future.
He now wants a quadrennial Club World Cup to kick off in 2025 which features 32 teams from around the globe. Originally he wanted a similar 21 team competition to kick off in 2021, but the old questions about what happens then with the European Championships and the Confederations Cup still seem to exist.
With various club managers already criticising the international calendar following the introduction of the largely disinteresting Nations League campaign, this has obviously not gone down well with plenty in the wider game and former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher has not held back in voicing his own criticisms at what can only be described as being another FIFA backed money grab, as if it happens, Leeds United will not be the only side to suffer from it.
“Like the ridiculous idea of a FIFA World Cup every two years, this is another one from Infantino. Players need rest at some point, they are getting treated like cattle. FIFA hate the CL & want something similar themselves. European clubs should boycott it.”
Given the interruption this World Cup has provided, added to a more manageable AFCON break, it is highly unlikely such a tournament would not result in further mid season pauses for domestic European leagues – particularly if other competitions were not suspended – and then we are back to the issues of player injuries, potential burn out, and a total lack of momentum for sides in the competitions that actually, truly, make the game beautiful.
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