Gary Caldwell demands EFL rule change after latest round of League One postponements
Exeter City will be one of the few League One teams actually competing this weekend, and manager Gary Caldwell feels the time has come for the third-tier to be included in the international break
by Dan Marsh · The MirrorExeter City manager Gary Caldwell has called on the EFL to introduce international breaks in League One - as the constant wave of postponements "devalues" the competition.
The majority of fixtures this weekend have been called off due to player call-ups with just five going ahead. It's a recurring issue: only two games survived the international break last month, while three matches were played during the first break of the season in early September.
That has led to a scenario where some teams have played two - soon to be three - more games than others in the table - something Caldwell feels is unfair.
Exeter met the required threshold of three call-ups for a postponement with Josh Magennis, Ilmari Niskanen and Kamari Doyle all being selected for the current round of fixtures. However, Doyle's call-up to the England Elite League Squad (Under-20s) after originally being named on the stand-by list occurred after the EFL's deadline on Monday.
Caldwell believes the fact club's in the third-tier do not get an international break regardless is "a joke" - and he wants that to change in order to protect the integrity of the division. "I think it devalues the league a little bit when you look at the table and some teams have played two and three games more," he tells Mirror Football.
"We actually had the three international players [required for a postponement] but the last of them didn't get picked until Monday, and that's past the EFL's deadline.
"Look, we've got a fantastic squad and we believe we can win Saturday's game, but I just think the rules need to change now that League One has become a league that is full of international players.
"I think there were two games [that went ahead] during the last break, possibly three. For me, it's something the league has to look at to make it fairer on all fronts. Everybody should be in the same boat."
Exeter head into Saturday's match three points and six places behind Lincoln in the table having played 13 games - one less than Michael Skubala's side, who occupy fifth spot.
A handful of other teams in the league have already played 15 times and Stockport County and Crawley Town will be on 16 by the close of play on Saturday.
Caldwell, who explains that the Grecians regularly have at least two players called up for international duty during breaks, also stresses that rescheduling postponed games becomes a player welfare issue.
In the EFL, teams play eight more league fixtures than teams in the Premier League as well as domestic cup competitions. As well as entering the FA Cup at the first round - two rounds earlier than those in the tiers above - League One and Two teams also participate in the EFL Trophy, where even those who fall at the first hurdle play three games in the initial group stage.
Caldwell adds: "From a planning point of view, when that game gets changed late it then gives us even more problems in terms of training loads and preparation for the following week.
"Listen, it's a 46-game season and we know that's coming, so you have to be resilient. But we don't know when [the games are coming]. Adjusting the calendar [at short notice] makes it really challenging from a player welfare point of view."
His counterpart on Saturday, Skubala, expressed similar sentiments in his pre-match press conference ahead of the weekend.
Skubala said: "I think [a break] is something the league has got to look at, if I’m honest. I think they have to make sure that, as we have and want more international players in the league, which I think is starting to happen. Whether that be under-21s, whether it’s under-20s, whether it’s senior player, it does disrupt things.
"No one wants international breaks, especially when you’re winning games, and you’re in the flow. That’s the last thing you want. But, in the same sense, we need to make sure the competition is fair."
With further postponements in the fourth and final international break of the campaign in March pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point, the debate is only likely to rumble on.
And that would, in all likelihood, surely make a change inevitable.
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