Kick it off

The Football League season kicks off on Friday evening, and the Premier League a week later.

This may come as a surprise, or not, to those who think the previous season ended just a few days ago, on the 14th of July in fact.

So, many Premier League players had their season extended well into July, and their clubs are now finishing their multi-game tours of places like the US and the Far East.

Liverpool, Manchester City and United as well as Chelsea have been in the US playing each other.

Chelsea have just played their 5th game of the tour, losing 2-1 to Real Madrid.

Manchester Uuited have lost two players, one who had only just been signed, for two to three months.

Remember many clubs went on a tour between the end onf the Premier League season and the start of the Euros, with Spurs and Newcastle flying to Australia for a friendly the day after the final Premier League games.

And yet the clubs claim they play too many games.

Next season, or at the end of the season, there is to be a FIFA World Club Cup, with teams playing up to six extra games, and will of course be played in the US. I am worn out with it all, I watch from my sofa. So goodness knows how shagged out the players are. Clubs are rich enough to have large enough squads to cope with the games, but instead used the additional income to bid against each other for the same small group of talented players, then expect them to play 50 plus games a year, and with the accosiated travel that European and international football demands.

Its too much.

I am still looking forward to the new season, obviously.