Tottenham: Controversial March decision a ‘pointless exercise’, it will be terrible
Paul Robinson can understand the business sense behind the decision to play a post-season friendly between Tottenham and Newcastle in Melbourne but says it will be a “pointless exercise” for players.
It was announced by the club on 18 March that the squad will jet Down Under shortly after their final Premier League game of the season against Sheffield United on 19 May.
Just four days later they will face off against the Magpies at the MCG on 22 May in a move that could earn Tottenham up to £3million plus incentives from food, drink and merchandise sales.
It marks another commercial venture from chairman Daniel Levy but Robinson, while acknowledging the boost to revenue streams, thinks it is a tough one on the players.
Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, the former Spurs goalkeeper, now a prominent pundit, said: “I completely understand why the clubs do it, from the point of view of increasing the financial revenue stream and building up the fanbase in a different country where they might not necessarily have a huge fanbase, and the commercial reasons, I completely understand it.
“From a player’s point of view, you absolutely hate it. It’s a pointless game travelling halfway around the world. Let’s not forget there’s a European Championships coming up, so half the squad aren’t going to be travelling, so the game’s not going to be competitive.
“You’re taking players away who have worked so hard for 10 months of the year, 11 months if you like, week in week out, day in day out and then you’re asking them to go to Australia at the end of the season.
“We talk about fatigue, we talk about the amount of games players have – alright Newcastle got knocked out of Europe this season early doors, Tottenham are not in Europe and they haven’t had that many games, but it’s a completely pointless exercise for a player.
“Tottenham did it a couple of times when I was there. Fortunately, I missed them because I was on international duty, I would have absolutely hated to go, there’s nothing you could think worse as a player, the season’s finished, you’re relaxed and oh no, by the way, we’ve got another game against Newcastle in Australia.
“Half the squad are not travelling, you’re going to build it up with Under 21s, the squad will be padded out, the game will not be competitive, there’s nothing riding on it. I don’t care what you say, at the end of a season players just want to get off on holiday and relax.
“Pre-season, absolutely I can understand it, you’re building up for a season, the commercial opportunities, the professional side of it, there’s an undertone to it, it’s not pointless.
“At the end of the season to travel halfway around the world to play a side you’ve already played against twice this season? Completely pointless exercise. The game is going to be terrible, it won’t be a good advert for the Premier League because it’s going to be a terrible game.”
Tottenham v Newcastle in Australia is a terrible idea
Look, you can argue about the financial sense all you want because obviously from a commercial aspect, there is a point in doing this.
But for the players, after a long, hard, gruelling season, it feels pretty disrespectful to ask them to finish up the Premier League season then hop on a plane to Australia.
It should be a time when players get a bit of downtime with their families, switch off mentally, or in the case of some just get ready for continental competitions.
Yes, there is a quick buck to be made here but, for the welfare of the players, someone really should have stepped in and kiboshed this idea.
In other Tottenham news, a different Levy decision makes far more sense.
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