Northampton Town manager Kevin Nolan has warned that the current League One schedule is pushing players to breaking point, insisting he is ready for what he calls a scrap with the EFL over the demands placed on squads throughout December.
Speaking after the Cobbler’s 1-1 draw with Huddersfield on Tuesday, Nolan laid bare his frustrations as his side enters a punishing sequence of six fixtures in 22 days. Their run includes trips to Peterborough, Burton and Huddersfield, plus home games against AFC Wimbledon and Stockport County, all squeezed into a festive window that is already littered with injury concerns across the division.
“It is a busy schedule and we go to Huddersfield again at the end of the month after going away to Burton,” he said. “The league really needs to have a look at the fixture list because it is incredible.
“It is incredible what these lads are having to go through and it is no wonder that lots of players are suffering with injuries at the moment, but I am not going to worry about that.”
Nolan reiterated that the workload is ultimately an issue he intends to raise formally.
“If the authorities want the product to be really good, they need to look after the lads because then you will get the best teams and the best players having a right go at each other every week. Overplaying players does not help, but that is probably for me and the EFL to have a scrap over.”
Fixture Congestion
For City supporters watching the division closely, Nolan’s comments underline the same wider issue that affects The Imps every winter. We have been poor at Christmas in recent seasons, when injuries take their toll, especially on clubs with tighter budgets and smaller squads.
Of course, this season we hopefully have the structure to cope a little better, but it still makes the period difficult. Fixture congestion, short turnarounds and stretched squads shape momentum across the league, especially for clubs trying to build consistency. With our festive period imminent, the pressures highlighted by Northampton’s boss will feel familiar as we prepare to navigate our run of games at a crucial stage of the season.
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