The Christmas schedule was never something I found to be a burden on my life or career. It was always something that was just a given, that you got used to.
When I was playing I didn’t take much notice of the fact players in Spain and Germany had time off. I just always knew that when December came along it was time to really knuckle down on recovery.
The games come thick and fast and you don’t really train. You’re always just recovering and there’s a lot of focus on eating the right foods, getting enough sleep, and perhaps doing more gym work instead of being out on the training pitch.
You’re essentially piecing yourself back together between games. During that time you’re just constantly in pain – you can’t escape it. It’s why pre-season is so important; it gives you the foundation to get through those tough periods.
When your body is at its weakest you have to manage yourself in games. We’ve seen in recent matches it can be manic for 60 minutes and then teams hit a brick wall. The players are feeling it and they are trying to manage themselves, searching for ways to conserve energy.
Things have got far more high-tech since I finished playing and most training grounds are places you’d like to be at. The technology is in a much better place for helping players get through this period.
Much is said about the Christmas schedule these days. I don’t know if it’s just because of Covid or because we have more foreign coaches in the league now, but there’s a lot more noise around how hectic it is – yet nothing has really changed.
For players that come to play in England from European countries the demands of playing during Christmas definitely hit them hard because it’s not something they’re used to – which is why I also think the coaches find it difficult to get their heads around it.
I was conditioned for so many years that this is what Christmas is. Thinking about when to go to bed, or if we had a monster game, your mind had already shifted to that, so you are not really ever in Christmas mode.
It wasn’t negative. It wasn’t something I didn’t enjoy. I definitely would have liked to see what impact having time off, as they do elsewhere, would have on my body and career. But it’s a part of football history in England and I don’t think it’s something that I want to see change.
What is really exciting about the Christmas period is it can define the next part of your season. Manchester City have had an unbelievable Christmas and it could essentially win them the title because the others have not been able to withstand the pressure of the games that are being thrown at them.
Chelsea may argue they are one of the only teams not to have a game called off and they’re at a disadvantage because of that. I feel it was the right decision to continue playing, and I think by March and April the clubs who were able to push through it will be thankful.
It’s a tough schedule and you feel it on your body, but the squads these days are built for it. Most modern squads in the Premier League have two XIs and it’s the teams in Europe, who have big squads to cope with that, I hear complaining the most. It’s why I don’t have much sympathy.
I would make some changes. Having a two-legged semi-final in the Carabao Cup is ridiculous.
Just pick a neutral ground and have a semi-final. There’s absolutely no need for Chelsea and Tottenham, and Arsenal and Liverpool, to play twice over the next few weeks. The only thing that will happen is it will diminish the FA Cup as those teams will put out weaker sides.
It does feel like the FA Cup has taken strides to make life easier for teams with no more replays and I do think it’s time for the EFL Cup to look at whether they need that two-legged semi-final. I’m not sure it’s good for anyone.
I say that as someone who had one of their best nights in a Tottenham shirt in the second leg of a League Cup semi-final, beating Arsenal 5-1 before going on to win the final. But logistically it doesn’t work for a lot of teams now.
I also don’t see a reason for some teams to have to play two league games in three days on 26 and 28 December.
Your body has not recovered after only one day of rest. It is not enough and it puts players at risk of serious injury. It just seems unnecessary and players should be given another day.
Something would have to give for teams to have a two-week break, however. It works in other countries because they only have one cup competition, so I don’t see how that happens unless one cup goes.
Would I like to see a two-week window for the player’s welfare? 100%. The players would benefit and I know I would have benefitted from it.
Making room for it is the battle. The only way I see it happening is with a drastic change – for example, Premier League clubs pulling out of the EFL Cup, or reducing the number of teams in the Premier League. They are two situations I wouldn’t want.
Jermaine Jenas was speaking to BBC Sport’s Harry Poole.
