Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson believes the Premier League needs to adopt a winter break in January.
Speaking from United’s training camp in Doha, Ferguson said on Tuesday that players struggle to play three games in eight days as the pitches get heavier in winter and are also unable to get over any lingering injuries.
“My experience tells me that when you get to December, it is draining for players to continuously play matches every Saturday-Wednesday, Saturday-Wednesday,” Ferguson said. “It is difficult to play football through heavier grounds in cold weather. By December, everybody needs a break.”
PHOTO: AFP
“With a break in January, you can repair the small injuries the players pick up. Even the coaches need a mental break,” he said.
Ferguson suggested matches be played throughout May to allow a break.
“Why don’t we use the whole of May to make up for the loss of matches that are held in January?” he asked. “This idea is supported by all managers in England but never been considered.”
The 68-year-old also said he still has the motivation to manage despite having won 11 Premier League, five FA Cup and two Champions League titles among others since joining Man United in 1986.
“When you are a football manager, and when you reach my age, you need good health,” he said. “But criticism and speculation of sorts can derail a manager’s ambition. I know expectations are always high at my club. So I have to be on the top of my game.”
“I am at the right club, at a great club. So, it is easy to be motivated for such a long period of time. My energy is there,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ferguson will not face disciplinary action over his latest criticisms of a referee, the Football Association (FA) announced on Tuesday.
Ferguson was furious with Mark Clattenburg for sending-off Darren Fletcher during United’s game at Birmingham City on Sunday.
Afterwards he suggested Clattenburg had been inconsistent this season but the FA, England’s governing body, have decided his remarks did not mean he was alleging bias or questioning the official’s integrity.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
In-form teenager Mirra Andreeva on Thursday crashed out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, after going down in straight sets to fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16. World No. 7 Andreeva, who already has two titles under her belt this season, lost 6-3, 6-2 against the 22nd-ranked Alexandrova in just over an hour. The 17-year-old Andreeva had defeated her elder sister Erika in the previous round on Wednesday, but Alexandrova quickly took control as she claimed her fourth win over a top-10 player this season. The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in February became the youngest winner of a WTA
RSS