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Pep Guardiola: Man City boss says fixture list congestion a 'disaster' for players

Last updated on .From the section Man Citycomments608

Kevin de Bruyne was carried off at Crystal Palace
Kevin de Bruyne, who has the most assists in the league this season, was carried off at Crystal Palace

The Premier League's congested schedule is a "disaster" for players, says Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.

City, who have a 12-point lead in the table with a game in hand, face Watford on Tuesday, their fourth match in 11 days over the holiday period.

Guardiola saw key players Gabriel Jesus and Kevin de Bruyne suffer injuries at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The Spaniard said: "If you tell me that technically, physically it's good for the players: no, it's a disaster."

City confirmed on Monday that Jesus had suffered a medial collateral ligament injury and would "undergo further examinations to establish the extent of his lay-off".

Jesus later wrote on social mediaexternal-link: "Thank God it is not very bad and I won't have to go through any surgery. Promise to be back as soon as possible!"

City's run of 18 successive wins came to an end with the goalless draw at Selhurst Park, the first time they have failed to score in the league this term.

Their 246 hours between the four matches over Christmas and New Year is one of the longer gaps in the Premier League, with Leicester having only 213 hours between the start and finish of their four fixtures.

Having managed in Spain and Germany, where winter breaks are employed each season, Guardiola said of the British domestic structure: "It's a tradition. I have to adapt.

"Sometimes you have three days' recovery, sometimes four, sometimes two, everybody is the same.

"Last season we had less recovery than this season, maybe next season we will have a little more.

"It is what it is. This kind of thing I can give my opinion, but do you believe I am going to [get the authorities to] change something? No way."

Guardiola, who urged referees to "protect" players from overly physical challenges, will be without Jesus "for a little more than a month" and is still waiting to learn the extent of De Bruyne's injury.

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608 comments

  • Comment posted by etihsbog, at 07:16 2 Jan 2018

    English football was happy to take the gold when sky came calling - in return it sold its soul to the demands of TV and spent the loot on player wages. So any 'easing' of what we might jokingly call player workload should see a commensurate cut in pay.

    Or just stop watching this nonsense?

  • Comment posted by rtz62, at 07:32 2 Jan 2018

    You don’t hear cops, ambulance staff or nurses complaining of working Xmas eve, Xmas day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day with no time off, being threatened, assaulted and puked on by people who want them for the other 360 days, do you. And all for annually what PL players earn in a week or less. If PL players don’t like it, they’re recruiting at Tesco, min wage, stacking shelves..

  • Comment posted by Eric, at 07:22 2 Jan 2018

    Gabriel Jesus' injury is an accident, De Bruyne's injury is Puncheon's fault/nasty intent(?), not the congested schedule.

  • Comment posted by U16651010, at 07:19 2 Jan 2018

    I'm not in favour of a Winter Break. After all, if there was one, all the teams would be off to the Far East as quick as they could to play pointless friendlies thereby negating the point of the break.

    However, I think it would be sensible to reduce the number of games over Christmas from 4 to 3. Asking Leicester to play 4 games in 9 days is harsh.

  • Comment posted by rtz62, at 07:23 2 Jan 2018

    Shouldn’t Pep have said “If you tell me that technically, physically it’s good for the players to watch £100k+/week rolling into their bank accounts, no, it’s a disaster. Running around a field for 90mins a couple of times a week for that money? It’s outrageous!”. Pep, look at what season ticket holders earn, and how much they pay to watch your primadonnas. Get. A. Grip.

  • Comment posted by Az__07, at 07:17 2 Jan 2018

    Towards the end of the season I will be playing 90 mins on both Saturday & Sunday plus more than likely 90 mins on a weeknight to get Saturday fixtures completed, at a cost of £5 match fees per game along with also working 50 + hours a week. My heart bleeds for these poor footballers who have to manage on only £100k a week. How do they do it?!

  • Comment posted by PJH, at 07:05 2 Jan 2018

    So all these Premier League matches make the players tired. But those pre-season tours of the Far East, America etc....
    Oh hang on, they make more money. Of course.

  • Comment posted by U16616497, at 07:49 2 Jan 2018

    You all get paid silly money to play a game you love yet still moan. Try a real job for a while and I'm sure you wouldn't mind playing every day.

  • Comment posted by Its Better With Arteta, at 06:58 2 Jan 2018

    Give me their wages and I will play as often as you like.

    Do agree with Guardiola about players being targeted by the well known cloggers.

  • Comment posted by Mike, at 08:02 2 Jan 2018

    It's amazing how many people fall for the old journalist's trick of asking someone a question, and then taking a couple of words out of context to present the answer as some sort of rant. Read what he actually said, and I think almost none of you would disagree. What you're all kicking off about is the journalist's twisting of it, not his words.

    Don't be so gullible.

  • Comment posted by Bursaspor16, at 07:56 2 Jan 2018

    We all love the Xmas fixtures, it's part and parcel of English football and I hope it remains. The only bit which is unfair is that the recovery times between games for each club are inconsistent. If all the clubs played on the same days, then they'd all be in the same position. But TV/Sky won't allow it. Maybe the club's need to reject Sky's money!

  • Comment posted by blue_chico, at 08:45 2 Jan 2018

    Did anyone read the article, Pep wasn't complaining, he fully accepts it as part of the English game. Jesus had been rotated and was fairly fresh - it was just an awkward fall. KdB was physically assaulted - in fact Palace lost 2 players to injury both chopping KdB.

    Hopefully Siva will be back and fresh tonight and we can get out of this slump!

  • Comment posted by spaniel2, at 08:04 2 Jan 2018

    Injury can happen after ten,twenty days rest, it is not to do with the amount played. Perhaps more attention should be paid to those responsible. Never seems right that a thuggish tackle can put the recipient out for months but the perpetrator for a few weeks. Why not make it comparable?

  • Comment posted by WSV, at 07:20 2 Jan 2018

    Managers should be allowed to pick their teams from a squad of, say, 25 players. That would solve the problem.

  • Comment posted by EmersonV, at 13:13 2 Jan 2018

    My heart bleeds for them , 250,000 a week and having to work 4x 90 mins ..

    Get in the real world, overpayed, pampered

  • Comment posted by Finkelstein, at 08:20 2 Jan 2018

    I am afraid I have no sympathy as the TV and sponsors pay huge money which the clubs willingly accept and the players who earn staggering wages unlike most fans who pay a fortune to see game. Teams like City and Man United have huge squads so they can rotate without much impact. Always the big guns who complain. Not a word of complaint from the like of Sean Dyche who just gets on with the job.

  • Comment posted by U15557609, at 07:59 2 Jan 2018

    Pep hasn't managed his squad well enough then!
    If he thinks it's destroying the players, why play them?

    Klopp rotated his squad & made 6 or 7 changes in their last & difficult away fixture. He reintroduced Lallana & gave 2 new kids & 1 signing a run out - excellent for club moral.

    Pep's excuse has limited merit; Jesus wasn't exactly overused & City have more depth than any other PL team.

  • Comment posted by Juan-Malcolm-Patone, at 07:46 2 Jan 2018

    #34 rtz62

    My son is a NHS paramedic. He is looking for a different job for an agency because he has had enough. My wife is a nurse. I remember all the Christmases I spent alone with our children. We complained like hell. Enough is enough. End this madness of Premiership clubs picking their third team in between Christmas and New Year.

  • Comment posted by steviescouse, at 07:15 2 Jan 2018

    Hey Pep, stop moaning and go ask your rich Arab owners to buy another team.

  • Comment posted by Wackford Squeers, at 11:09 2 Jan 2018

    Try wiping geriatrics bottoms on the nightshift over the Christmas period for just above minimum wage or getting abuse from drunks in A&E then tell me you have it hard.

    No sympathy

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