Tottenham vs Newcastle friendly fixture set to have PFA involvement.
While Tottenham are looking to conclude the current season on a high, Daniel Levy and the officials are already drafting plans for the next season. Spurs are scheduled to visit Australia for a friendly, which is set to take place just days after the Premier League curtain closes for the ongoing campaign.
Tottenham face Newcastle United in Melbourne in a post-season friendly in Australia. Both clubs are aspiring to play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on May 22, which is only three days after the end of the ongoing season.
There are players on both clubs’ rosters who have international commitments, viz., Richarlison and Joelinton, who are looking to be involved in the Copa America that takes place over the off-season, while England players are squinting towards the European Championships.
PFA are reportedly unhappy with the 21,000-mile round trip, per the Daily Mail. PFA has aided in reducing the number of games played over a season for a long time, and a one-off fixture a million miles down south doesn’t help their cause.
England manager Gareth Southgate gave his bits about how a friendly at the end of the season is not an ideal preparation for those involved.
Gareth said of the possible Tottenham vs Newcastle United friendly,
“It (end-of-season friendlies) is going to happen more and more. Why? Financial fair play means clubs need to generate their own money, so we’re in a bizarre world where there’s more money in the game than ever before, and yet everyone is scrambling across federations and clubs to generate more.”
“The normal way of doing that is to play more games—so is that great news for us, in terms of preparation? No. But we’re going to have players in the FA Cup final (May 25) probably, the Champions League final (June 1) hopefully and a chance of a few other European finals, so we are used to preparing this way.
We had to go to Qatar with five days prep, so we adjust to whatever it is and hope there are no injuries from that game (in Australia).”
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Gareth Southgate raises an interesting point about FFP rules and how it has become a cause of concern for the clubs off-late, which is forcing them to generate funds in different manners. End-of-season friendly is another feather in the hat to travel to a new country and leverage supporters and sponsors to increase the cash inwards side of the financial statements.
Ample resentment is going to come from pundits and media over playing such a friendly, but fans in Australia will see this as an opportunity to have a look at their favourite club.
