Are you not entertained? The diminishing returns of too much football
New York TimesYou imagine when Channel 4 secured the UK broadcast rights for Nations League football, they had high hopes for its showpiece. “The thing maybe not known by those who don’t play professional sport is it’s very rare you’re playing pain-free,” former West Ham and England striker Dean Ashton tells The Athletic. They’re playing within themselves to make sure that little injury doesn’t turn into a big one.” Fans across the country would name club and country players who fell short of their entertaining best. “The academic side has shown that fixture congestion, continually playing, hasn’t really diminished the physical output of players much,” says Dave Carolan, who is head of performance and health at Championship club Millwall. This Monday, the majority of the club’s players — whose summer holidays started after the season finale against Blackburn Rovers on May 8 — are back to begin pre-season training.
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