http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,27-1528838,00.html Study supports call for winter break By Matt Dickinson, Chief Football Correspondent THE leading managers in England have demanded a winter break and, for the first time, their argument has been supported by detailed medical analysis. A comparison of injuries between the Premiership and German Bundesliga provides strong backing for a pause in December or January and, according to researchers, helps to explain England’s poor record at big championships. The research discovered that, while injury levels are consistent throughout the German season, the rate soars by almost 60 per cent in the second half of the English campaign. The findings, made by sports insurers, are based on a study of all serious injuries (lasting 30 days or more) in the past three years. “It is difficult to escape the conclusion that our players would stay fitter and be less injury-prone if we followed most other European leagues in having a mid-season break,” Paul Murray, an actuary at EMB Consultancy LLB, said. “This would have obvious benefits for the national team and also our top clubs as they approach the closing stages of the Champions League. “The one big difference (between Germany and England) is that their players enjoy a rest while ours do not. It’s no surprise that Germany (with five appearances in the World Cup final since 1966) regularly outperform England in major international championships when their league is geared towards producing its lowest injury rates towards the end of the season, while the Premiership has very high injury rates at the season end.” The research, conducted by EMB in conjunction with Converium, a Swiss reinsurer, found that the number of days lost to injury was similar in both countries. The difference was in the timing, with the number of Premiership players missing through injury in the crucial late months of the season almost as high as the August peak. Sven-Goran Eriksson, the England head coach, has persuaded the Premiership clubs to agree to a winter break in principle, but the congested fixture calendar makes it so unlikely that the FA has reduced the number of FA Cup replays. The different demands on German and English clubs was rarely more apparent than when Arsenal met Bayern Munich in the European Cup round of 16 first leg last month. Wenger’s side had played 14 times in the previous two months, compared with Bayern’s five matches. --

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