Earlier this week, Arsenal Women announced they would be playing a post-season friendly against an A-League All Stars XI in Melbourne on 24 May. This has naturally led to questions about player welfare and travelling to Australia for a game immediately after the season finishes.
Arseblog News asked Jonas Eidevall what that discussion looked like with him and the players and balancing the commercial benefits of such a game with the player welfare benefits.
‘Let us acknowledge the great thing which is that it is commercially viable for us to do a post season trip like this,’ Eidevall said. ‘That shows the club’s investment and the popularity that the team has, not only in the UK but across the globe.
‘When you see Australia as a football continent, I was there and lucky enough to experience the World Cup last summer, you can see the enthusiasm and interest women’s football has there and it is great that can continue to build.
‘This is another opportunity to do that, for women’s football in general and Arsenal as a specific club. Once the decision was taken we were going it is about making the best and the most out of that opportunity.’ Eidevall admits that some players may be left behind if it is felt that is what they need come late May.
‘That means for some players it will be the right thing to go and for some players it will not be the right thing to go, if we talk about it from a loading perspective and a football perspective. We need to take good decisions on that.
‘It is a great opportunity for us to see our first year professionals get experience, travel with us, play with us. We really need to grab that opportunity as well, in combination with having a strong team there and going out and showcasing Arsenal to fans in another continent and how we play football.
‘It is about finding that balance to do that. I have high hopes that we are able to do that.’ Asked by Tom Garry of the Telegraph whether playing such a game weakens the negotiating position of clubs when it comes to reducing international pressures on the calendar, Eidevall explained the game will happen partially due to the international schedule.
‘The reason we are having activity in this period of the year is because of the calendar. We play our last competitive game on 17 May and the normal thing would be to go on holiday because our season is done.
‘But there is an international period of fixtures which starts on 27 May, where they play competitive games. So it was a clear wish from players and associations to not go on holiday in that period to help players prepare for those international fixtures.
‘That was the first decision for us to make was to not go on holiday during that period. After that, different opportunities come up. But it was never the case that players would be off because of where the international fixtures are.
‘If there wasn’t international fixtures here, the decision might have been very different, in terms of where we plan our training and matches. Then you see from a calendar perspective that they play end of May and beginning of June, after that, we have no training sessions.
‘But the international games have a camp in the second week of July and we have no training there because we need to give the players time off. But they need to prep to play qualifiers again and that comes into the association and it’s a very, very complicated situation.
‘Then when you look from the players perspective, of course you ask when they will have time off and they definitely need to raise that with all the relevant stakeholders. I don’t think that’s right, I don’t think the summer is planned right from the players’ perspective in order for them to switch off and get time off.
‘But the reason we are having activity is because of the calendar and because of the request from the players and associations to be able to train and prepare for those international games.’
I see we have had a morning of cliches, sound bites and quotes from the managers handbook this morning.
Just leave
Not sure I see any cliches here? This is a very particular and specific situation. I don’t really see how and where ‘cliches’ comes into this?
At the end of the day, when push comes to shove, you’ve got to look yourself in the mirror and take it one game at a time and I’m sure the Arsenal ladies will be sick as parrots for not leaving it all out on the field. The most important game is the next one so now it’s about taking stock, refocusing and trying to forge a path to those next three points. I can only imagine that Jonas and his team will be champing at the bit to give it a hundred and ten percent in the next game… Read more »
Just googled “sick as a parrot”….I’m a little disappointed it’s a legit phrase, but that won’t stop me using it….thanks Mr. Hats!
It’s a team effort and all the lads did brilliant so although it’s nice to get individual praise, as long as we come away with lots of cliches then that’s all that matters.
*disgustingly clears snot from nose before congratulating a fellow player who is off screen*
We go again!
S no time off realistically for any players who are in the Olympics. Another difficult start to the season next season, potentially. Infuriating as this is, it isn’t JE’s or the club’s fault. Australia is a long way away, but if we weren’t going to Australia, they would be playing somewhere, just not for us.
Fifa, Uefa, all the national federations, for goodness’ sake get your act together. How many soft tissue injuries will it take?
These two, replace Eidevall by any other manager and they probably had said that in the past:
1) That shows the club’s investment and the popularity that the team has, not only in the UK but across the globe.
2) It is a great opportunity for us to see academy players [editor’s note] get experience, travel with us, play with us.
Really? That seems an incredible reach to describe either of those things as a cliche?
I completely understand people having issues with the tour or the manager, this just strikes me as inventing things to get angry about.
I understand everyone’s intense frustration with the Chelsea result, but looking at everything through that lens isn’t constructive in the slightest.
It sounds like we had the opportunity to give players a 10 day holiday before they presented for the international fixtures, and according to JE, the national teams weren’t in favour of this (for obvious reasons).
Fitting in a trip to Oz is obviously a mission but nice for the Aussie players to show off their stomping ground and spread the Arsenal love.
Uefa should being questioned on the July international fixtures
So, after the season, the team is flying all the way to Australia to play one match? Seems totally bizarre. Is the club going to make a lot of money from the game? I assume the trip is promote the Arsenal brand on that continent, which translates to what–selling a bit more Gunner merch? It just seems odd timing and a lot of travel for one match.