West Ham United manager backs captain Declan Rice over unsustainable schedule
West Ham United manager David Moyes has backed captain Declan Rice after the midfielder made comments about the hectic fixture schedule.
Rice confessed he is “knackered” and claimed the number of games he played last season is “obscene” something Moyes completely agrees with.
The Irons’ boss declared the current crowded fixture schedule isn’t “sustainable” and that players need a good rest to enjoy their lives away from football.
“It’s not sustainable and actually it’s something I hope the authorities in football are going to look into,” Moyes said, as quoted by The Times.
“We might be on the back of the pandemic, we might be in the first year with a World Cup [in the middle of the season], but I hope that once we get over the World Cup the levelling out for football players is a bit better.
“Even for their own life — it is a great life being a football player, it really is, and they’re fortunate in a lot of things they do — but they also need some time with their families. Declan has a young baby and probably had very little time to be with his new baby.”
Moyes right.
Moyes is right on this one, more needs to be done in helping players get a sufficient amount of rest between games, last season became ridiculous.
This is mainly down to the unneeded Uefa Nations League fixtures plonked right at the end of the Premier League season, something which the players, fans and managers didn’t want or crave.
Hopefully, as Moyes stated, once the World Cup is out of the way, the campaign will become a bit less hectic and there will be more time for talents to enjoy their time off the pitch.
West Ham United invested heavily in their squad this summer because of this and they have probably now realised the harsh reality of being a top football club now they are playing in European competition.
No one is denying the huge benefits footballers get from their careers but for their mental states and the team’s overall performances, sufficient rest periods need to be welcomed within the English game.