Are there too many games?

[Dave]

Ditch the tours, ditch the club world cup, ditch half the internationals

Absolutely not.

[usav]

I just looked and in the 81-82 season we played 65 games including the European Cup final.  We played 65 games last season.

Squad sizes were a lot smaller 40 years ago, pitches were a lot worse so had to take more out of the players.

[Demitri_C]

Count me in the ditch Internationals. Dont care for them

[paul_e]

I've had my say on this a few times now but in short yes there are too many games, getting rid of pointless games (like the club world cup) should be a priority and, more importantly, we should do a lot more to ensure a proper summer break and pre-season is possible. The start and end of the season have both been allowed to drift and, with the silly pre-season tournaments, pre-season serves a completely different purpose now.

Comparisons to the past aren't really all that helpful because the physical demands of football have sky-rocketed in the last 20 years.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Yes the physical demands are greater. But they are better looked after, more comfortable travel and stop overs. Everything is done for them so there are no distractions.
Does it take the edge off performance ? On occasion yes but it's the same for all teams.
Anyway I hate the two week international break when we have no Villa game and Summer is unbearable.

71/72. We played 3 games in 4 days over Easter
Wrexham (A) on Friday, Swansea(H) on Saturday, Bristol Rovers(H) on Monday.

The team was Cumbes, Wright, Aitken, Nicholl, Ross, Turnbull, McMahon, Rioch, Anderson, Lochhead, Graydon for all three, apart from Vowden replacing Rioch against Bristol Rovers.
 
https://www.11v11.com/teams/aston-villa/tab/matches/season/1972/

[cdbearsfan]

I've had my say on this a few times now but in short yes there are too many games, getting rid of pointless games (like the club world cup) should be a priority and, more importantly, we should do a lot more to ensure a proper summer break and pre-season is possible. The start and end of the season have both been allowed to drift and, with the silly pre-season tournaments, pre-season serves a completely different purpose now.

Comparisons to the past aren't really all that helpful because the physical demands of football have sky-rocketed in the last 20 years.

I don't think they have. Players are fitter than ever before, have better diet than ever before, have better medical treatment than ever before, get kicked less than ever before and play on better pitches than ever before. Even if they're required to cover more ground, as you suggest, I think it's more than offset, even before you take into account that they get subbed and rested all the time, now.

[Sexual Ealing]

There are too many games for me. I found a stream for last night, watched the first 15 minutes and then thought 'life's too fucking short to watch our reserves struggle at Wycombe'. I can't remember what I did instead, but I don't regret it.

[ADVILLAFAN]

Too many games. Knock international matches on the head, nobody cares about them.

[Demitri_C]

I've had my say on this a few times now but in short yes there are too many games, getting rid of pointless games (like the club world cup) should be a priority and, more importantly, we should do a lot more to ensure a proper summer break and pre-season is possible. The start and end of the season have both been allowed to drift and, with the silly pre-season tournaments, pre-season serves a completely different purpose now.

Comparisons to the past aren't really all that helpful because the physical demands of football have sky-rocketed in the last 20 years.

I don't think they have. Players are fitter than ever before, have better diet than ever before, have better medical treatment than ever before, get kicked less than ever before and play on better pitches than ever before. Even if they're required to cover more ground, as you suggest, I think it's more than offset, even before you take into account that they get subbed and rested all the time, now.

Its wierd because alot of them are as fot as paper even with those resources e.g keinan davis.

For me they should allow bigger squads then for europe and domestic league. Only solution

I bet the players complaining wont be happy when someone else takes their starting spot in the team.

[cdbearsfan]

That just sounds like it would be even more difficult to compete with the cartel clubs who can afford to have thirty or forty megastars knocking about.

[PeterWithesShin]

Bigger squads means more on wages which means the 'big' clubs will want even more games that are lucrative. And means everyone outside of the top clubs are left even further behind. And we'd do well to remember that up until last season we were one of those also ran clubs that are only playing 41 or 42 games a season.

[VillaTim]

I just looked and in the 81-82 season we played 65 games including the European Cup final.  We played 65 games last season.

Squad sizes were a lot smaller 40 years ago, pitches were a lot worse so had to take more out of the players.

It's interesting how players get "injured" more nowadays and what we used to call a sprain now gets a more technical term and 3 months off for the player. game is gone.

[Demitri_C]

Bigger squads means more on wages which means the 'big' clubs will want even more games that are lucrative. And means everyone outside of the top clubs are left even further behind. And we'd do well to remember that up until last season we were one of those also ran clubs that are only playing 41 or 42 games a season.

This is the thing the cartel clubs all wanted a super league that would have been a shit load of games and more travel. It does seem a but ridiculous

[Steve67]

Erm, let's lead a revolution and start a European breakaway league!  Only really big clubs need apply.

[SaddVillan]

Think some people are confusing games with "income maximisation opportunities"

The money mad fuckers running the game want fewer games for which they can't jack up the prices and more sell-out "spectaculars that they can flog off to Sky/Amazin/TNT et al.

Hence the change from a 42 game First Division to the 38 game EPL and the emasculation of domestic cup competitions to carve out more mid-week nights for spurious Euro competitions.

The same is true with international competitions UEFA and FIFA have expanded the Euros and the World Cup to generate more income and now we've got the recently announced World Club Competition.

The genie's out of the bottle.

I'm not sure it's going to go back in.