The EFL fixture list has been decimated this weekend because of international call-ups.
And next year’s World Cup will also provide a major headache because the tournament is being played in the middle of the season from November 21 to December 18.
But the EFL are set to agree that the Championship will follow suit with the Premier League by “pausing” fixtures but they may restart games sooner because realistically few clubs will be affected by the latter stages of the World Cup.
Incredibly, only six League One fixtures have survived this Saturday because of call-ups but the EFL are set to allow both lower divisions to carry on during the duration of the tournament.
The reasoning is that the majority of League One and Two games get called off during international week not because of senior players but so many join up for under-21s and younger age groups which will not be an issue at the World Cup.
Therefore, the EFL will continue to play fixtures with final confirmation of next season’s schedule likely to come in the next few weeks as they will also have to decide when the Carabao Cup rounds will be played to avoid another fixture backlog.
Premier League clubs' meals for players at home
Emile Smith Rowe surprised a few people this week by revealing that Arsenal have hired him a personal chef to make his meals with the idea of improving his fitness.
But the reality is that the majority of Premier League clubs do something similar for their players and, for example, Chelsea even use the same chef because the players ideally live within easy distance of the training ground so he does a tour of the first team and their kitchens most evenings.
Another club says their chef takes round pre-cooked meals - often chicken and fish but many players have gone vegan to improve their health as well as help the environment - in special food containers and bags to be warmed up.
They chefs can either cook the meals or make one drop off of several meals to last two or three days. What a wonderful life they lead. But it means the footballers’ favourite of a Nandos every night is off the menu.
Newcastle hunting for centre backs in January
Eddie Howe made it clear at his unveiling press conference at Newcastle that he will not welcome endless transfer speculation in the build-up to January.
Good luck with that one, Eddie. But one of the reasons behind that may be that the words is that, despite their huge wealth, Newcastle do not want to go crazy in the next transfer window.
They definitely want a Premier League ready centre half - both Burnley ’s James Tarkowski and Wolves ’ Conor Coady have been mentioned - to bolster the defence but any other signings may be done on a loan basis.
Therefore, Howe is not expecting a crazy January window - and does not want to build up expectations only for it to end in disappointment.
Arsenal not given escort for 2006 Champions League final - but Barcelona were
There has been an Arsene Wenger love-in this week with a fund-raising night at the Palladium and the launch of Gabriel Clarke’s excellent new film Invincible.
One little nugget was revealed in Wenger’s chat with former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein which even this seasoned observer has never heard before.
Arsenal’s team bus only turned up 50 minutes before the Champions League final in Paris in 2006 because Barcelona were given a police escort and Wenger’s men weren’t.
Wenger is well known for cutting things fine with his time keeping but even he admitted that he expected the kick-off to be delayed - and it wasn’t. Hardly good preparation before Arsenal lost the final.
Dein does brilliant charity work with his Twinning Project to try and help reform offenders. The Palladium event raised thousands. And, incredibly, a meal with Wenger and Dein fetched more than two World Cup final tickets plus air fares and five star hotel in the auction.
FA cancel Christmas party
The Football Association have rather wisely postponed plans for the traditional lavish Christmas party bearing in mind the job cuts and savings that have been imposed this past year.
Rangers' long-running dispute with media
Steven Gerrard did brilliantly at Rangers which is why he got the job at Aston Villa.
And his success at Ibrox comes against the backdrop of major difficulties behind the scenes as former England midfielder Gerrard found himself in the middle of a long-running ugly dispute between the club and the media.
Rangers have been charging £25,000 for media access for non-rights holders which has created a lot of bad blood and affected coverage.
It is indefensible and was a shame to hear some media outlets being so gullible when it came to swallowing Rangers’ excuses for not allowing BT Sport pundits Chris Sutton and Neil Lennon into Ibrox to cover a game because of their Celtic links.
