Town boss Paul Lambert believes there is too much football played over the Christmas period in England and says he was a fan of the winter break during his time playing in Germany.

The Blues are in action at Portsmouth on Saturday, then at home to Gillingham on Boxing Day, at Lincoln on Sunday 29th December and then away against Wycombe on New Year’s Day, four League One matches in 12 days with a trip to Exeter in the Leasing.com Trophy following on Saturday 4th January.

“The games come thick and fast and the travelling comes thick and fast,” Lambert said. “And you’re asking fans to fork out a lot of money and I think that’s the unfair thing, and I think the quality dips.

“People can say ‘It’s a poor game’, well no wonder, you’re asking people to go week in, week out all the time and it’s tough going.”

Given the number of games, does Lambert expect to have to utilise the full extent of his squad over the course of the festive fixtures? “It depends who is injured and who’s carrying knocks. We’ve got to watch guys so we wait and see who’s going to be fit and who’s not, or who gets a red card, nobody knows.”

Lambert says he was a fan of the winter break during his time as a player with Borussia Dortmund between 1996 and 1997.

“When I played in Germany I loved the winter break, absolutely loved it,” he said. “It was great for everybody, great for the fans.

“I always think when you have too many games the quality goes down and you’re asking fans to fork out money after money after money, and I think that’s wrong, I think it’s unfair.

“Spain has a break, Italy have a break, Germany have a break and I even think Scotland are doing it this year, so England must be the only one of the big countries to carry on through.

“I’m not a great fan of [playing over Christmas] because I know the benefit of [a break] if you carry knocks or have injuries, I think it’s good when you have the break.

“Germany was great because you could go anywhere you wanted, you could go to Italy on holiday, you could go to Spain or anywhere.

“I loved it. I came back in really good condition and a few months later you win the Champions League.”

Although the Premier League has instigated a 10-day break starting from February 2020, that doesn’t apply to the EFL.

Reflecting further, he added: “I think it’s up to the individual. You asked me personally and I liked the break, especially when I was over in Germany, I really enjoyed my time there.”

Managers don’t get much time off over the holiday period, but Lambert says that’s something he’s used to and he’ll be able to kick back and relax once his career is over.

“That’s been my life,” he said. “When it does happen and I do stop I’m looking forward to it.

“I don’t know how long that will be, but when I do eventually stop I’ll look forward to sitting back with no stress, not talking to you guys [the media], looking from afar somewhere.

“When it’s time to say it’s enough, because I’ve done this now since 1985 as a footballer and then a manager from 2005, so it’s a helluva long time to be in football.

“I made my debut when I was 15 and I’ve never really been out of it for that long, so it’s just been continuous pressure, pressure, pressure, success, success, success or failure, it’s been like that. Thankfully I’ve had more highs than lows.”

Photo: TWTD

Bert added 16:40 - Dec 20 Funny how people read different things into what Lambert says. I read it primarily as saying it's too much for fans to keep forking out and players and managers in English leagues would benefit too from a short winter break. Why can't he give his opinion as a past player, plenty on here give theirs. I was in Spain in January this year and a German side were having a three week winter break training in the sun. The scout I talked to thought the lack of a winter break in England was more to do with Sky TV and income than anything else. Says it all about those running the game.

2

therein61 added 17:03 - Dec 20 Maybe just maybe the games coming thick and fast is just what we need because we have been dreadful after international breaks!!!
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Michael101 added 17:26 - Dec 20 Cut the number of teams in each division then they could have a break.only problem is the likes of chelski,man cheaty,Liverpool etc. Would be off to usa ,Dubai,etc to play some sort of micky mouse cup.therefore the players would not get a rest.
1

Skip73 added 17:29 - Dec 20 Considering some of our players have only played about 4 games since the end of October they should be able to cope.
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heathen66 added 17:43 - Dec 20 Bert, you are exactly right. Sky and BT pay all of these £ms and therefore want something back. Football in this country has sold its soul and therefore is at the mercy of these broadcasters. We could easily go back to the old days and only have the Live FA Cup final to look forward to, and match of the day that only show Man Utd and Liverpool for 50 mins. What it does then is leave third tier sides like us only able to pay the players what they alone can afford (mainly from gate reciepts and club sponsors) which in reality would be a fraction of what the currently earn (say £500 a week tops). Some of them may then need to work Boxing Day (and beyond) to supplement their wages. In the words of Mick and Jonas...be careful what you wish for as without TV money and the sacrifices that go with it, some of players would not be as privileged as they currently are.

0

Westy added 17:44 - Dec 20 There is not too much football over Christmas. Germany generally has harsher winters than England. Under Jim Magilton we played five games in ten days without a word of complaint from him when pitches were not as good as they are today. I recall games at Portnan Road on frozen pitches, snow - you name it. Players and fans turned up and a football match broke out !
1

cat added 18:15 - Dec 20 So the great SKY debate rambles on and I entirely agree that it's ruined football for clubs like ourselves. I watch sky in some capacity daily so I would be a hypocrite to come on here slating them. Look at it another way, the revenue created by sky has launched the prem into one of the most exiting, most watched and richest league in the world, it also helps attract some of the best players in the world, it ain't all bad, it just doesn't suit us.

1

AlanG296 added 18:19 - Dec 20 Once again he uses the fans to try to justify his views as he did with his moan about the Trophy draw. It's 44 league games from August to May, never regularly spaced, and most fans are more than capable of arranging their spending on attending as many games as they want to afford, regardless of how close together or far apart they are.
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DerbyBlue68 added 19:55 - Dec 20 I don't think we are playing too many games with the squad that we have. None of this squad will be playing every game. And none will be playing 66 games in one season like Russell Osman did in 80-81.
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Daleyitfc added 20:45 - Dec 20 I agree with Lambert : it's ridiculous for professional sportsmen to have to play more than once a year ...
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dukey44 added 22:19 - Dec 20 Sorry but can he stop moaning and coming up with excuses and train the players how to shoot... Also stop making so many changes as there's not any player that's going to be tired doing what they get paid for?
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dirtydingusmagee added 22:36 - Dec 20 he's having a laugh, the way he rotates the team the players only play once a fortnight, its almost shift work, He wasnt bothered about fixture congestion when postponing games, im ginning to get bad vibes about PL.
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Cloddyseedbed added 09:12 - Dec 21 Most of the squad have had damn good breaks already.
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r2d2 added 09:20 - Dec 21 The trouble with Lamberts players is that they dont play anywhere enough games! Thats where things are wrong. Rhey step out on the pitch and look like strangers for the most part. And on another note, can we try and shoot a few times at Pompey today Lambert?
2

shakytown added 11:02 - Dec 21 Stop whining and start winning.
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