Death_to_international_breaks
Iain Macintosh: End the current international break system
Nothing breaks up the excitement of a league season like international week. There's one in September, another in October, again in November and more during the second half of the season. Just when you're in a nice rhythm, everything stops for two weeks so that England can play Malta. It's a system that suits no-one. Clubs lose their players (sometimes for considerable periods if they get injured) and international managers don't get enough time to impose their ideas.
Wouldn't it be better to bundle these games and play them at one or two points in the year? Just imagine how much fun it would be if the qualifying campaigns were carried out over a single month in the summer -- it would be like another tournament. Managers would actually be able to build a team rather than hurling a selection of recently acquainted players onto the pitch. Perhaps two slots would work best, one in summer and one in winter. Far more sensible.
