West Brom boss Alan Pardew says hectic Premier League festive fixtures are dangerous for players
Pards insists his weary West Brom stars will risk injury tonight by putting their battered bodies on the line against a fully-charged West Ham side
ALAN PARDEW has accused the Premier League of gambling with his players’ safety — by forcing them to play again two days after facing Arsenal.
Pards insists his weary West Brom stars will risk injury tonight by putting their battered bodies on the line against a fully-charged West Ham side.
While Baggies battled their way to a dramatic last-gasp 1-1 draw with Arsenal on New Year’s Eve, the Hammers have been able to relax and recharge their batteries since their 3-3 Boxing Day draw at Bournemouth.
SunSport can reveal Albion chiefs were so incensed by the huge advantage handed to David Moyes’ men they sent a stinging letter to the Premier League saying the match should be CALLED OFF.
Pardew moaned: “It’ll be a tough game — they have had six days’ rest.
“The bigger issue is how we have two games in two days, putting players at risk of injury. It’s not right, that.
“We all know there’s pressure on TV companies for ratings, I understand that. But the league’s got to be stronger.”
The anomaly arose when West Ham’s original trip to face Spurs at Wembley was selected as a live TV game and switched to Sunday.
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London Transport admitted they could not cope with the strain of a Wembley sell-out plus New Year’s Eve revellers in the capital.
Tottenham objected to a compromise offer of a reduced attendance of 40,000 and Prem bosses agreed to move the match to Thursday.
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Albion immediately called for their game against West Ham to be postponed to preserve the integrity of the competition.
When their pleas fell on deaf ears, chairman John Williams called the Premier League’s executive chairman Richard Scudamore to air his grievances — to no avail.
The Premier League have defended their decision.
A statement said: “The scheduling of fixtures is complex.
“Over recent years, Fifa and Uefa have taken more dates from the calendar, restricting the opportunities in which to schedule 38 Premier League match rounds.
“With the World Cup... these restrictions are tightened further this season with an early conclusion to domestic competition.”