The issue of a mid-season break for the Premier League is raised every year as players face four games in a busy holiday period but fans want to see football.
Christmas and New Year is a busy period for the footballers of the Premier League. They play four games in that holiday fortnight, something that foreign players and managers are not used to. On the Continent most Leagues have a mid-season break but in England the tradition is to play right through the holiday period.
Older players and supporters will remember that it used to be even tougher with teams playing on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The fixture list used to include a double-header of games with teams playing each other, home and away, on those two days. However, the Christmas Day games were scrapped in the late 1950s. These fixtures often threw up very unexpected or high-scoring results.
Chelsea and Aston Villa got into the holiday spirit with their 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day. That's the type of exciting game that spectators want to see - with eight goals and three red cards, Chelsea coming back from two goals down and Villa equalising with a last minute penalty. Tottenham and Reading followed suit in their ten goal thriller on Saturday.
While players and officials may favour a break at this time, the fans want to see their team playing. Even allowing for supporters being away on holiday or other family commitments, most clubs show record attendances during the holiday period. Fans support football at this time and want to go to matches while they are on holiday from work and have time to enjoy their football
