Jol was speaking ahead of Fulham’s clash with West Brom
Fulham manager Martin Jol has said he would be in favour of the 2022 World Cup being moved to winter, despite the interruptions it could cause to the Premier League season.
Speaking at a pre-match conference ahead of Fulham’s match with West Brom on Saturday, Jol claimed he would be in favour of the Qatar tournament being moved to winter as it would be ‘impossible’ to play in the summer temperatures.
“They will need to find solutions,” said Jol.
“Either change the location or, if it has to be held there, then they will need to move it (to winter). They will need to finance some kind of air conditioning for the players as well as the fans. It’s impossible.”
On whether it would impact the football season in such case, Jol said: “Countries like Germany or Spain have a winter break during the season. I don’t see any problem with the world cup being held during that period as it wouldn’t disrupt their league season. Maybe it’s England that needs to introduce a winter break.”
Jol also spoke about the price of young British talent in today’s market, and how it is difficult for young British players to break into football.
“Clubs are now unwilling to risk the chance with paying too much for a player,” he said.
“Even proven goal scorers in the Championship do not always succeed in the Premier league. This league is totally different. It’s a big risk to take.”
He continued: “You can look at Sturridge, for example. Liverpool paid a lot for him and he wasn’t even playing all the time at Chelsea. I don’t even know how much Zaha cost (for Manchester United) but it would have been high. In Holland that wouldn’t happen. Maybe the market value for good young British players today is unrealistic.”
Fulham are currently 17th in the premier league with three games played, having failed to win any of their last five games at Craven Cottage. They will look to rectify that today when they host West Bromich Albion, who themselves lie bottom of the table.
“Our away form used to be a concern and now we are all talking about the home form,” said the manager.
“We have good players here. It’s now all about gelling them together and finding the right balance.”
Photo courtesy of Fulham FC, with thanks.
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