The Premier League's traditional congestive festive fixtures have taken center stage, with Man City boss Pep Guardiola and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reigniting their feud with the lack of resting time.
For example, Boxing Day saw the likes of Chelsea, Man City, Tottenham, and Arsenal take to the field, with each side winning their respective fixture. Everyone but the Gunners will be expected back in action in 48 hours, with Mikel Arteta's side's December 28 clash with Wolves merely being postponed due to the opposition's growing COVID-19 and injury list.
Man United boss Ralf Rangnick, who is set to lead his side from the dugout on Monday, weighed in with his thoughts on this matter. While the German boss is of the camp that players are burdened in the English top-flight, he opted for a different approach when it came to the revered festive period.
The former RB Leipzig boss defended the Premier League's break-less winter period, jokingly comparing attempts to put an end to this long-standing tradition to abolishing the Queen. Speaking ahead of Monday's showdown with Newcastle, Rangnick told MUTV:
"I've watched Premier League football for the last 40 years, so when it was also the First Division, and I know what kind of tradition it is to play football over Christmas and on Boxing Day, the 27th, the 30th and even New Year's Day or the 2nd January.
"So if somebody came across the idea to abolish [that] then we might as well speak about abolishing the five o'clock tea or the Queen or whatever – this is all part of the tradition of this country and I'm very much looking forward to being part of this for the first time in my career."
Instead, the German offered two suggestions in order to tackle this issue. The first is nothing controversial as he simply asked for the Premier League to join Europe's other top divisions by reintroducing the five-sub rule, with the English top-flight currently only allowing three changes per game.
The other one might stir controversy as the Old Trafford boss suggested it might be time for England to be rid of one of its two domestic cup competitions. Teams in Spain only have to compete in the Copa del Rey while Italian sides have only the Coppa Italia. In the Premier League, however, each team has to juggle between the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup.
"In the future does it still make sense to have two cup competitions? All other big European leagues have only one so this might be an issue worth talking about again and, of course, we are also discussing that it makes sense to have five subs instead of three now we have COVID times again.
"The reason the five substitutes were implemented was for COVID, now we have a COVID situation again and we still have 18 players on the team-sheet. For me, it makes sense to be able to substitute not just three, but five players."
The 63-year-old, however, will have to make do with the current scheduling and rules as Man United prepare to return to action for the first time in over two weeks. The Red Devils will be making the trip to St James' Park as Cristiano and Co. eye a victory over Newcastle in their bid to make it into the top four.
