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Weather talk

As you all know, I have often mentioned the fact that the English League is one of the hardest around. Nothing seems to get in its way - not even the weather.

So far, this season has not been too hard and only a couple of games here and there have been cancelled due to the ground not being in playing condition due to the weather. This is obvioulsy more of a problem for the lower divisions as they have less money to spend in keeping their grounds in tip top condition. Some grounds have special equipment to keep the ground warm and hence melt any snow or ice that may fall. But it has happened that the snowfall is so severe and widespread that the whole weekend sport is disrupted.

Due to this, and maybe to give the clubs a break, some countries have the month of January off. Other countries, with similar climates to that of England also do so – such as Germany, Holland, Croatia and, this year, Scotland.

It is not that the footballers have a holiday. Instead, their clubs arrange for friendly games abroad, in warmer climates. In some cases, some clubs from some of these countries may arrange a tournament among themselves - for example there was one in Maspalomas (Canary Islands) among teams from Norway, Germany, Croatia and Holland. And also one in Turkey among German, Dutch and also Turkish teams.

These friendlies give players that are not normally in the teams an opportunity of playing at international level. However, they also have their downside as often players that are essential to a team may get injured and thus become unavailable on their return to the league.

This question as to whether this is a good or bad idea is often tossed about in England. Until this year Scotland had continued to play throughout the winter months - this was their first January off and it will be interesting to see whether the experiment works out. Only time will tell.

As to whether England will ever join, somehow I doubt it. Of course, it would solve the problem Man Utd had when it competed in the FIFA championshp matches. As you know they had to pull out of the FAS cup as games coincided with the tournament. Had they had the month of January off, this would have represented no problem at all.

Football is almost a religion in many parts of England. Going to a match on Saturday is part and parcel of many person's weekend - fathers take their sons, families meet and go together for an afternoon out. They have been doing this for many many years - Januarys would not be the same if they could not go and support their team from the terraces.

(Gameplan)