You can’t be too careful
Tottenham have defended resting eight players for their League Cup defeat to Liverpool, insisting they needed to be fresh for an exhausting three weeks of not playing football.
Spurs made sweeping changes to their starting XI despite having just one more match before an international break running from September 19th until October 10th.
A club spokesman said:
‘People don’t understand the physical demands placed on the modern footballer.
‘Some of these lads were facing the very real possibility of playing two games of football within the space of a week, followed almost immediately by 21 days without a Tottenham fixture.
‘You simply cannot expect the human body to cope with that’.
The club’s medical department reportedly became concerned after discovering several first-team players had played football as recently as last weekend.
One source said:
‘We looked at the data and some of them had run around for nearly 90 minutes – minus goal celebrations, obviously.
‘A few days later we were being asked to consider doing it again. At that point you have to put player welfare first’.
Tottenham therefore rested eight players against Liverpool, ensuring they will be in peak physical condition to spend most of the next month wondering what to do with themselves.
Manager Roberto De Zerbi rejected suggestions Spurs could have fielded a stronger team in an attempt to win a trophy, describing the League Cup as ‘exactly the sort of unnecessary competition that leads to footballers having to play football’.
‘We’ve got Aston Villa on Saturday. After that, there’s an incredibly demanding period where our players will be expected to wake up, eat breakfast and occasionally visit the training ground for a rub,’ he told reporters.
‘We have to manage those workloads’.
Supporters have questioned whether a club famous for not winning trophies should be quite so relaxed about deliberately making it harder to win one.
Spurs fan Dave Chaz said:
‘I was disappointed at first, but apparently several of the players are now fully rested for their upcoming rest.
‘And ultimately, that’s what football is all about. Well-rested, well-paid lads enjoying three-week-long glorified spa treatments’.
Tottenham are now expected to field their strongest available side against Aston Villa before immediately beginning preparations for absolutely f*** all.
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