Manchester City face an absurd fixture pile-up as the problem with football is laid bare | OneFootball

Following the current international break, the 24/25 season will kick into gear. The schedule will ramp up and Manchester City will enter territory they know well. Games will come thick and fast as the Carabao Cup and UEFA Champions League campaigns begin for Pep Guardiola’s side. But despite City knowing the road ahead well they will face an absurd fixture pile-up next month. The coming hectic schedule is just further proof of just how absurd the football calendar has become.

Manchester City’s third-round Carabao Cup tie against Watford is set to take place on Tuesday, September 24. That in itself wouldn’t be a problem but Pep Guardiola’s side face Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium in Premier League action only 49 hours beforehand. Jack Gaughan has reported for the Daily Mail that due to Manchester United hosting FC Twente in the Europa League on Wednesday the 25th of September that City agreed to have their Carabao Cup tie a day before United’s match. Furthermore, Gaughan reports that local police can’t manage both clubs playing in Manchester on the same day.

Taking out the factors that force Manchester City to play two games in 49 hours the fixture pile-up faced by Pep Guardiola’s side does highlight a major issue with modern football. The football calendar is becoming too crowded. With UEFA club competitions expanding and international fixtures growing the players are being pushed harder and harder every season. Yes, they are paid well, but they are human. Sizable wages don’t allow players to continually be at their best. Proper rest and training do. That fact is consistently being ignored by crazy fixture lists. It doesn’t appear to be an issue that is going to change anytime soon. That could pose a problem for the game going forward.

READ MORE: There is a risk attached to the international break for Manchester City.

There is also another problem that is being neglected in the ever-growing football calendar. Fans are being asked every season to pay more and more to watch their teams in person. Manchester City aren’t immune to this. But why should fans pay top dollar to watch second string elevens or heavily fatigued players? That topic is barely covered as the football calendar grows.

There are factors at play that force Manchester City to play two games in 49 hours. That cannot be denied. But that fixture congestion issue is looking like becoming commonplace in football going forward.