[Saba Sports News] Graeme Souness, in his column for the Daily Mail, tackles the topic of the fixture list and the tension between club and country. He says the recent withdrawal of nine players from England’s national team epitomises the challenges facing modern club football.
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Officials in England said, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Levi Colwill, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Cole Palmer, Aaron Ramsdale Ramsdale, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Jarrad Branthwaite were among nine players who withdrew from the national squad for the current period.
Souness has likened clubs to “factory owners” who are forced to lend expensive equipment only to risk returning it damaged. He argues that while players such as Harry Kane may express pride in playing for their country, in reality they need to risk injury for games that mean little. Especially as these top players are in the middle of an intensive schedule, playing between now and next May, the additional international burden is clearly detrimental.
Graeme Souness has reflected on personal experiences, revealing that during his time at Liverpool he was often encouraged by the club to forgo playing in friendlies. Although he has 54 caps for Scotland, he says it could have been more. He also referred to the exhausting experience of having to cut short Liverpool’s tour of the Far East in 1983 due to a national team call-up and rushing to play after a long journey through Bangkok, Tokyo and Vancouver. In contrast, his team-mate Kenny Dalglish managed to avoid the call-up.
Graeme SounESS is dismissive of England’s 3-0 win over Greece. The second tier of the new competition is more about generating revenue, something coaches like Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel don’t care about because his main goal is the World Cup. He added that while Jude Bellingham, Curtis Jones and Morgan Gibbs-White were strong performers, these were not unexpected.