Does the Premier League's Holiday Schedule Hurt the England National Team?

The English Premier League's holiday schedule is arguably the best part of the season. The glut of fixtures over the festive period is great for fans, who can watch up to 30 matches in seven days. However, it could be one of the reasons for the England national team's underachievement in international tournaments.

Three games over the course of a week is torturous for any club. It leads to fatigue and injury. Rotation helps, but some teams do not possess the quality depth of a Manchester City.

Some managers, such as Chelsea's Jose Mourinho, chose to keep almost every starter in the lineup in each match. Most of the blame can be pinned on the coaches.

Every European club has to deal with its domestic league, but England has three competitions on home soil. France does as well, but teams have the winter break to recover. That's not even accounting for sides that participate in the Champions League, Europa League or other international tournaments. 

France, who won the 1998 World Cup, had just three squad members from English teams. Arsenal's Emmanuel Petit was integral in that tournament, but fellow Gunner Patrick Vieira and Chelsea's Frank Leboeuf were sparingly used. 

Every other Frenchman played their club football in France, Italy, Germany or Spain. All four leagues have winter breaks for at least two weeks.

Italy's 2006 World Cup squad was entirely made up of Serie A players, who were definitely fitter than others in that tournament.

Spain's teams between 2008 and 2012 had a handful of English-based players, most notably Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas, who started a fair amount of matches during the run of European Championship and World Cup success. On the other hand, the core of those teams played for Barcelona.

Germany had four Premier League players in their 2014 squad. However, Per Mertesacker, Mesut Ozil and Andre Schurrle were the only members from English clubs that participated in the majority of the matches.

The Bundesliga's winter break is six weeks long this season. Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1 halted just before Christmas and will resume a few days after New Year's Day.

That extra rest allows players to recover from niggling injuries and to regain fitness.

France, Italy, Spain and Germany having winter breaks and international success can't be a coincidence. Ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann said that Mesut Ozil's poor play last season was due to the lack of rest over the holidays. Ozil can't be the first player to feel that stress.

There are several factors and arguments against the winter break helping certain national teams. Sami Khedira was hurt for most of the 2013/14 season, and Bastian Schweinsteiger missed significant time as well. Rest isn't a sure-fire technique to prevent injury.

However, it wouldn't hinder English players. Take Raheem Sterling of Liverpool, for example. He was criticized for being "too tired" to play for The Three Lions in October. England manager Roy Hodgson and Reds boss Brendan Rodgers ended up fighting over the issue.

Ex-Wales assistant and conditioning specialist Raymond Verheijen came to the defence of Rodgers on Twitter, stating that players of Sterling's ilk need to be specially treated after games. If Sterling got an extra two weeks to recover, he would probably become even more explosive on the pitch. 

Michel Euler/Associated Press/Associated Press

Team	League	Total Matches	League Matches	Domestic Cup Matches	European Matches
Manchester City	Premier League	56	38	11	8
Liverpool	Premier League	43	38	5	N/A
Chelsea	Premier League	56	38	6	12
Arsenal	Premier League	56	38	8	10
Juventus	Serie A	47	38	3	6
Roma	Serie A	42	38	4	N/A
Napoli	Serie A	53	38	5	10
Atletico Madrid	La Liga	62	38	11	13
Barcelona	La Liga	59	38	11	10
Real Madrid	La Liga	60	38	9	13
Athletic Bilbao	La Liga	44	38	6	N/A
Bayern Munich	Bundesliga	53	34	7	12
Borussia Dortmund	Bundesliga	51	34	7	10
Schalke	Bundesliga	47	34	3	10
Bayer Leverkusen	Bundesliga	46	34	4	8
PSG	Ligue 1	54	38	6	10
Monaco	Ligue 1	44	38	6	N/A
Lille	Ligue 1	43	38	5	N/A

Breaks at key times during the season would benefit England and enhance their standing in international tournaments.