The build up to this World Cup has been as much about who may not be there as to who will be there. Players have been ruling themselves out of matches or getting serious injury scares. It seems that a high proportion of these players, often influential players, are based in England and play in the Premier League.

Consider five groups international players can slot into: PL players who are fit and have been selected; PL players who are selected but have picked up big concerns; PL players whose injury status meant selection was impossible; PL players who have been selected unfit; and non-PL players who were selected but have picked up injuries. Straight up one can point out that any argument I make is flawed in that my focus is on quite clearly Premier League players. I’m sure it is possible to do a similar experiment with many of the world leagues. However, the Premier League is the world’s biggest league with the world’s best players – a very high proportion of players selected to play at the World Cup come from the Premier League.

Into those groups we can add names. The Premier League players who are fit and have been selected I will ignore as there are many. Into Premier League players who are selected but have picked up big concerns goes: Cahill (Everton, Australia), Altidore (Hull (loan), USA), Behrami (West Ham, Switzerland), Skrtel (Liverpool, Slovakia), Palacios (Tottenham, Honduras), Drogba (Chelsea, Ivory Coast), Ferdinand (Man Utd, England), Bendtner (Arsenal, Denmark), Ballack (Chelsea, Germany), Heitinga (Everton, Holland), Gerrard (Liverpool, England), Nani (Man Utd, Portugal). Without going into individual cases all of those players are either out of the World Cup through injury having been selected or are very big doubts.

Into Premier League players whose injury status meant selection was impossible I will only give a few examples: Brown (Man Utd, England), Hargreaves (Man Utd, England), Zamora (Fulham, England), Anderson (Man Utd, Brazil), Bosingwa (Chelsea, Portugal), Woodgate (Tottenham, England).

Into Premier League players who have been selected unfit can go: Torres (Liverpool, Spain), Rooney (Man Utd, England), Barry (Man City, England), Fabregas (Arsenal, Spain), Essien (Chelsea, Ghana), Mikel Obi (Chelsea, Nigeria).

Finally, into non-Premier League players who were selected but have picked up injuries can go: Pirlo (AC Milan, Italy), Robben (FC Bayern, Holland), Julio Cesar (Inter Milan, Brazil), Forlan (Atletico Madrid, Uruguay), Karhan (Mainz, Slovakia), Streller (FC Basel, Switzerland), Iniesta (Barcelona, Spain) – Iniesta was selected unfit.

Too many Premier League based players are included in these lists. It begs thinking about whether Premier League players play too much.

The structure of football in England means that a player can play 38 league games, 14 domestic cup games (excluding replays), and between 15-19 European games – totalling a potential 67-71 games in a season. That is a very heavy schedule.

In a World Cup year, the number of games a player plays is even more crucial. To the clubs it is the same as usual, the season is no different. To the governing bodies, in England – the FA, their motives are split. They want a competitive domestic system but they also want the national side to progress.

What can be done about the amount of football played in a World Cup year to try and stop these injuries from occurring? The two most common suggestions are to start the season earlier and incorporate a winter break. This would not change the number of games played but would allow for the players to have time off either at the end of the season or mid-season to recuperate. La Liga has adopted a full-time winter break. Such an idea has been advocated by club managers here. Sir Alex Ferguson said in January of this year:

“My experience tells me that when you get to December, it is draining for players to continuously play matches every Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday. It is difficult to play football through heavier grounds in cold weather. By December, everybody needs a break. With a break in January you can repair the small injuries the players pick up. Even the coaches need a mental break. Why don’t we use the whole of May to make up for the loss of matches that are held in January?”

Of course, Ferguson has the progress of Manchester United at heart when he made those comments but they become applicable to the national sides too.

One other suggestion I have heard is to cut the number of teams in the Premier League to 18 and have only one domestic cup. I don’t advocate this idea – other countries have leagues with 20 teams in, the Premier League should be no different.

When clubs do try and rest players in the Premier League, even if the motive is not for the sake of the national team, the idea is not supported by the FA. Wolves were fined £25,000 for fielding a changed line-up at Old Trafford which included all 10 outfield players being switched. Mick McCarthy believed Wolves would not win the game with his strongest team out so wanted to save them for the next, more important game against Burnley.

The Premier League clubs will be concerned by how many of their players will come back from the World Cup and find a season starting in the very near future. Many will not have a proper break from football and be thrust into pre-season training soon after returning. Such is the concern that Manchester United have admitted that all their players at the World Cup will be given a month off and the club have accepted that they will be forced to start the new season without some important players.

This all makes for nice reading – in hindsight we can make suggestions to counter all these injuries that are happening to players associated with the Premier League. However the reality is a little bit different.

Premier League based players are professionals. They are monitored, primed and shaped to play a lot of football at an intense level. Players in Europe’s other top leagues will be playing as much football as Premier League players. There are more Premier League based players at the World Cup than from other leagues therefore the proportion of players injured who play Premier League football is higher.

The biggest factor I believe is conditioning and the nature of the Premier League. English domestic football has become frantic, quick, strong and very competitive. Players who want to play in England at the top level must be at the top of their game. There is more chance of a player being injured in the Premier League than other leagues for this reason.

When a Premier League player now goes on international duty he will find the standard of football and the speed of the football fall from what he is used to. Premier League players are conditioned to play at a high tempo. At a World Cup, the training sessions are so controlled that the players are finding they are have to hold back. The matches are so different from what they play week in week out that the body has to make an adjustment. No longer are tackles flying around. The players find they have a tiny bit more time on the ball. These conditions lead to injuries.

I would argue that the Premier League has become too strong. No longer is international football the ultimate form of the game. Injuries will occur at international football – because of the strict conditioning a Premier League player is used to; their bodies are so in tune to the hustle and bustle of the Premier League that when it stops, the body can’t handle it.

I find it amazing that the FA do not try and support a more drastic type of break in the season, especially in a World Cup year. The Premier League may be the strongest league in the world but it may also be prohibiting some of its biggest stars from appearing on the biggest stage in football.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter

Didier Drogba fired Chelsea into the final of the FA Cup after a howler from Lukasz Fabianski the Arsenal goalkeeper. Fabianski was celebrating his birthday, however it was he who giving out all the presents yesterday.

Didier Drogba, who played for Ivory Coast in the 2006 World Cup, scored six minutes from time after he latched onto a through ball from Frank Lampard. The big frontman held off a challenge from Silvestre before being confronted by Fabianski who was completely out of decision. Drogba took full advantage of this rash decision and rounded the keeper before slotting home with a left foot shot into an empty net.

Theo Walcott had given Arsenal the lead before Malouda equalised. Drogba then scored the winner with minutes to go to give the FA Cup winners of 2007 a place in the final. Drogba also scored the winning goal in the last final that Chelsea played in against Manchester United – who if overcome Everton today – will play again in the final.

As the league season draws to an end the Arsenal skipper insists he and his team mates will fight till the end in pursuit of trophies.

In a bid to end all of Arsenal’s unwanted critiscism at the start of the season Fabregas is sure they can stay unbeaten till the end of the season and land at least one trophy to end a four year drought.

Arsenal’s up and down form and inability to kill games of in the leauge has left them fighting for fourth rather than first, but as they face Chelsea in the F.A. Cup semi’s and if they avoid defeat on wednesday they will be in the Champions league semi’s. The return to form and return of key players from injury at a key time has seen Arsenal go 28 games unbeaten(albeit a 1-0 loss to Roma but won the tie threw penalties), They are also the only side in England who haven’t lost this year and they haven’t conceded at home also this year, Robbie Keane’s goal for Liverpool being the last one conceded.

Arsenal face three massive games in the next ten days, Villarreal in the 2nd leg of the champions leauge quarter final, Chelsea at Wembly in the F.a. cup semi-final and then Liverpool in the league at Anfield. Fabregas feel’s confident Arsenal can win all three and the rest of the games to finish the season on a high and win his first trophy as club captain.

Arsenal will be without former captin William Gallas for the rest of the season, Gael Clichey and Johan Djorou both picked up knocks in the last week so both are a doubt for Wednesday.

Arsenal scored two goals in the last 15 minutes of their Quarter Final game against Hull last night, setting up a mouthwatering Semi Final clash with Chelsea.

The Gunners were one nil down for a large part of the game, former Tottenham man Nick Barmby scoring his first FA cup goal in 8 years – giving the away team a surprise early lead when his deflected shot looped over Fabianski.

Arsenal were off the pace in the first half with some sloppy passes and the failure to turn decent possession into any good opportunities.

Hull were the better team at the beginning of the first half – Geovanni’s free-kick saved by Fabianski and Barmby having another goal disallowed for offside.

Kamil Zayatte headed over from Peter Halmosi’s cross as Arsenal struggled to get a hold on the game in the early stages.

Arsenal seemed to have chance after chance in the second half, Abou Diaby’s header from a corner missed by only inches, Arshavin had a powerful close range shot blocked and Alex Song shot wide from 6 yards out with back to goal. Van Persie had a curling 25 yard effort saved by a fully stretched Hull keeper; the Dutchman also saw a looping header from a corner clip the top of the bar.

Vela and Song were replaced by Bendtner and Nasri just after the hour mark and it was after these changes that Arsenal really took the game to Hull.

Hull defended valiantly, thwarting Arsenal chances with a string of diving tackles and blocks from Sam Ricketts in particular.

The Arsenal bench were becoming increasingly frustrated with what they saw as time wasting from Hull, Mike Riley eventually lost patience with Hull’s time-wasting tactics, and he gave goalkeeper Myhill for moving delaying a free kick.

Van Persie finished off a lengthy spell of Arsenal pressure when he slotted home Arshavin’s pass from close range after excellent work from Bendtner on the right bye line.

A few minutes later, Hull were left protesting in vain for offside as Gallas headed in the winner with only 5 minutes later.

A typical fast paced FA cup clash was marred by even more controversary after the game, with an incident involving Assistant Hull boss Brian Horton and injured Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas.

Tigers boss Phil Brown said after the game: “You know you don’t get the rub of the green at places like this but for their club captain, Cesc Fabregas, to spit at my assistant tells you what this club’s about.”

Wenger was asked about the Fabregas incident, said: “It’s completely new to me. I don’t know anything about this at all”.

Fabregas has responded this morning by saying: “I categorically deny that I spat at anybody after the match. I have never done this in my whole career on the pitch, so why would I do it when I am not even playing?”

Brown was also fuming about the Gallas goal and added: “Its an absolute disgrace, we’ve been beaten by a referee’s decision.”

Arsenal however march on, a Wembley date with their bitter London rivals Chelsea now the only obstacle to Arsene Wenger’s 6th FA Cup Final with The Gunners.

Brian Horton, Hull City’s assistant manager, is to report Cesc Fabregas after the Spanish International allegedly spat at him in Hull’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup on Tuesday. Fabregas wasn’t playing in the match as he is still recovering from an injury suffered against Liverpool in December. Fellow Spaniard – Xabi Alonso – tackled Fabregas in a 50/50 challenge, which resulted in the young midfielders injury.

Fabregas was quoted as saying: “I categorically deny that I spat at anybody after the match. I have never done this in my whole career on the pitch, so why would I do it when I am not even playing? I can understand the frustration of losing a game to a dubious goal, that has happened to me many times in my career as well. But this is not the fault of me or any of the Arsenal players.”

Phil Brown also wade in with his recollection of events “I was there and I witnessed it, he spat at my assistant manager down the tunnel,” Brown said at a post-match news conference after William Gallas’s controversial late header knocked his side out. He spat at his feet.”

As usual Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he had not witnessed any incidents at the end of the game.
“I went early and haven’t seen anything,” he told journalists. “I don’t know what he has seen. I’m sorry I cannot speak of something I have not seen.”

Phil Brown also stated that ‘Brian Horton would receive the backing of everyone at Hull‘. He also spoke again about the Arsenal captain’s presence on the pitch at the final whistle: “One, being on the pitch after the game – whether there is a ruling against that I have no idea but he had no right to be there. Two, dressed in the manner in which he was dressed. Three, the pictures in the national papers verify the aggression he was showing towards players and staff after the game. I could go on but I’m not one for crying over spilt milk. I then witnessed him going down the tunnel and turning round and spitting at my assistant manager’s feet. Whichever way you want to look at it, he addressed that spitting incident at my assistant manager who has managed probably 1200 games in his career. Disgraceful act.I’m not going to report it, I’m not going tittle-tattling to the FA – if they want to investigate that’s their decision, if Brian Horton wants to take it further he’ll get the full support of Hull City.”