Kane at Bayern Munich; Bellingham with Real Madrid: Why fatigue no longer England Euros excuse

COMMENT: A lot of attention has been paid to England’s previous successes—as well as its utter failures—at international competitions, with a lot of people blaming the Premier League for not having a winter break.

Despite the fact that a significant portion of the world’s best players compete in England’s top division and go on to win prestigious titles abroad, England managers in the past have frequently used season-long fatigue as an excuse for their team’s lackluster and uncompetitive performances at World Cups and European Championships.

Former England boss Fabio Capello remarked back in 2013: “They (England) are the least fresh of the contending national sides since their league doesn’t have a break.

Similar to driving a car, if you stop midway to fill up the tank, you will undoubtedly reach your destination.

However, there’s always a danger that you won’t have enough energy to finish before reaching your objective if you don’t.

“In my opinion, the football played in the first half of the English season is much better than the second half – and because of that, if you want to be a competitive team in the Premier League, you need a really big squad – which is a luxury you don’t get with the national team.”

Just so you know, these remarks were made three years after Capello chose Rob Green to be England’s first-choice goalkeeper in the 2010 World Cup.

In 2012, immediately after losing to Italy in another terrible tournament, even Roy Hodgson, in his own wholesome and grandfatherly way, expressed his want for a winter vacation, saying, “It would be lovely to think that one day we could all get together and say ‘England is important’.”

Over a pint of wine, Sam Allardyce would have undoubtedly said the same thing.

When the Three Lions arrive in Germany in June as the pre-tournament favorites at Euro 2024, current manager Gareth Southgate won’t be able to complain about anything.

His current team not only has an incredible depth of players never seen on these shores, but the Premier League and the FA have also made a valiant attempt to enforce a winter break without giving up too much in the way of TV rights earnings, which inevitably come before any kind of sporting merit or historical glory.

The Premier League has implemented winter “breaks” in certain seasons where international competitions have taken place, such as this year and the peculiar World Cup in Qatar. However, the scheduling of games only permits a few days off occasionally, not much more than a week for some, and hardly anything at all for teams playing in the FA Cup or League Cup semifinals or FA Cup third round replays.

The bulk of these breaks are still generally consumed by training camps, effectively amounting to a high-end and very expensive warm-weather camp rather than an actual holiday.

However, things are starting to take shape a little differently now that more of England’s best players are participating overseas.

And not just any great players, but possibly their finest as well, in Jude Bellingham and captain Harry Kane, who play for Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, respectively (in case you didn’t already know).

The all-time highest scorer for England, Harry Kane, took advantage of his first-ever Christmas break in the last few weeks, taking time off from December 20 to January 12 when his club returned to play against Hoffenheim, where he duly scored.

In order to recuperate and protect those bad ankles that every England supporter depends on before the summer, he took advantage of a calm, hot vacation with his family at that period.

Dec. 1: “We’re going somewhere hot, so we’ll spend 10 days and just enjoy that time,” declared Kane.

“I’m going to text all my mates in England a picture of me on the beach somewhere.”

It’s inevitable that those “hotdogs or legs” photos will have thumbs covering the edges, considering how hard it is to imagine H’s vision as a photographer.

The center-forward is famous for being the all-time leading scorer in Premier League Boxing Day games, but this time he’s been able to replenish his energy, so the diligent (i.e., never stops bloody running) number nine should have some extra stamina before England’s opening game against Serbia on June 16.

Jude Bellingham, who moved from Birmingham to Dortmund and now Madrid, has also had a pleasant short vacation, but it’s nothing unusual for him.

The fact that he appears to have spent some of his vacation time in gorgeous… Sunderland… watching his brother Jobe toil away in the bitter weather of the Championship doesn’t change the fact that he is England’s next generational star and an essential component of Southgate’s ambitions for dominating Europe this summer. Give the boy some time to relax. At all costs, keep him safe.

The old “they look surprisingly knackered because they’ve played over” explanation is no longer acceptable, even though there are other reasons as well (think club rivalry divisions, fractured metatarsals, WAG distractions, dental chairs, overpaid, overhyped, secretly Scottish, to mention but a few examples).

Although most Premier League stars are playing at teams like Manchester City, Chelsea, and Tottenham, which have squads the size of a definitely not overcompensating Wembley arch on a warm day, they may still be puffing and huffing a bit at that time of year. There’s much for even the fiercely competitive Aston Villa to choose from.

Therefore, even though we still have a ton of domestic content to get through until June, it’s important to state this now: if England doesn’t make it to the Euro 2024 final, it can’t be because the players are in dire need of a proper winter break, and anyone who suggests that they should be banned from discussing football.

Additionally, let’s  face it, any crushing disappointment will probably be because of a slow-motion VAR howler anyway.