The issue of fixture congestion and player welfare, perhaps predictably, came back to the fore recently as it seems to at this time every year. Multiple managers, and most notably Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, have spoken out about the demands on players during the festive period. The usual debates surrounding fatigue, recovery, and injury have now been heightened by squad depletion that has hit many teams due to Covid-19.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson belives player welfare should be give greater consideration during the festive fixture period.
The Premier League remains the most physically demanding league in the world. Data shows increases in total distance covered, high speed running and sprints, as well as the number of accelerations and decelerations. Managers including Jürgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte have been vocal in their views about the need for ample recovery time. Progressing the debate, Henderson raised issues associated with injury and its broader consequences. This includes the difficulty players face mentally when not included in day to day playing and training. He highlighted that during the Christmas period, players are being asked to play when typically their bodies would still be in a recovery phase.
In 2021, the attention given to this issue has come under increased scrutiny because of Covid-19. In the week up to the 26th December, 103 Premier League players reported a positive Covid-19 test result. The week prior, it was 90, meaning that in two weeks almost 40% of the players in the EPL tested positive (based on 524 Premier League players listed on TransferMarkt) This has put significant strain on playing squads and player availability. In a recent interview with the BBC’s Olly Foster, SSA’s Head of Sport Science Dr Tom Brownlee suggested that the research regarding an increase in injury rates, is mixed, and that squad rotation was the way in which clubs had been able to deal with fixture congestion.
With increasing numbers of players isolating, the ability to rotate and therefore support their recovery will be significantly impacted. However, supporting recovery isn’t just an injury issue. The Premier League returned to its emergency Covid-19 measures in early December. Whilst many of its clubs are now reporting high vaccination rates and therefore the likelihood of serious illness amongst players would seem relatively low, illness is also a major factor to be considered as a consequence of increased fixture congestion.
In the UK, sport scientist Palmer-Green and her team have produced a number of review studies regarding injury and illness amongst elite athletes. They have shown that while injury accounts for the majority of training or competition days missed, illness was responsible for a third of these interruptions. In light of the current Covid-19 situation, this balance is likely to have changed.
The likelihood of illness generally increases in winter. With the regularity of the fixtures and the increased physicality of the Premier League illness could become an issue for players and clubs. Morgans et al (2014), studied player immune markers at a leading Premier League club during this critical period. Under normal season conditions (one game per week) immune markers do drop following a match, but generally return to normal levels within a number of hours. However, when the team looked at players over five games during the congested 15-day festive period, they found that immune markers were beginning to fall following the second game. They were then significantly lower than baseline levels following the third and remained that way for the fourth and fifth. It seems that fixture congestion doesn’t give players the appropriate time to recover according to this well researched immune marker. The obvious conclusion is that with decreased immune function players are increasingly likely to become ill. With record Covid-19 rates among players, decreased immune function will be of concern to medical, performance and coaching staff.
Under normal circumstances, illness could result in players being unavailable to play, train and in some cases, excluded from tactical sessions in order to reduce the risks of infecting others. During these Covid times, a decreased immune function could increase the risk of extended isolation periods resulting in time away from training and games.
A plethora of opinions have been voiced regarding the congested fixture schedule over the festive season. Whilst fans are generally sympathetic to the increased demands that are put on players, very few want to see fewer matches during the holidays. Injury concerns remain the main objection from managers; but as football begins to pay more attention to player welfare, illness has become an increasing factor in the calls to reduce the congested fixture list throughout the festive period.
The Premier League winter break in late January does little to alleviate the short recovery times players experience over Christmas and New Year. If Boxing Day and New Year’s Day are to remain anchors of the fixture calendar then games around these dates need to be assessed. It’s time to take Jordan Henderson’s concerns seriously, it’s time to examine the Christmas schedule, it’s time to increase recovery periods and give player welfare greater emphasis.
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