'They are treated like CATTLE' | Henry, Carragher and Micah HIT OUT at player's crowned schedule

As physical and mental demands intensify, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, and Micah Richards on ULC Today voice concerns about the increasingly crowded schedule and its negative impact on football's biggest stars.

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[MrDunkz]

Perfect example was the level of play at the Euros.

[trevorwood]

As a fan, I've started to find football exhausting. There genuinely is TOO much of it. Football is better when you have to wait a little bit for it.

[jg]

Micah gets it completely wrong...fans don't want more games...we want more MEANINGFUL games.

[itsmeprasad]

Don’t understand the need for UEFA nations league. Understand if it’s connected to euro qualification or World Cup qualification. But as a stand alone doesn’t make sense

[numero-unoh]

When Jurgen Klopp was banging on about too many games isn't good for players' health a few years ago, a lot of the pundits and media houses said he is whinging. No one is saying that now, or are they?

[anakinskywalker]

Great insight from Henry here. The mental side is definitely overlooked, he's spot on about everything

[ethantownzen]

Too many games. Get rid of the Nations League, and Club World Cup.

[eliasshumetie]

I love the honesty from titi. What he said works not only in football but also in life. I can relate to what he said when he talked about letting down Arsenal in the champions league final and the fact that it still haunts him. When you are the guy your family and friends look upto, you will try to live to that level of expectations but it is not easy. Mental health matters and trying to find the balance is the best way to go.

[mrpatrickljones]

When Henry speaks, his body language reflects the mindset of an active footballer, as if he's reliving his prime Arsenal days. He combines objectivity, diplomacy, and empathy, delivering a perfectly balanced and unbiased analysis. Listening to him is a true pleasure, because it’s not just an expert sharing insights— because he's a former footballer with heart and soul. His passion for the game radiates through every word.

[KellysHeroes]

100% spot on from Henry. You can do 99.9% of things right in your career but you will always be associated with that one bad thing. Look at Stevie, absolutely one of the best midfielders to play the game but he will be remembered firstly for that slip.

[danielgutzz]

The problem is creating unnecessary tourneys during the summer. Let the players have a proper offseason. Theyre going from asia to the US to middle east. At the end of the day, its a mafia so money talks.

[Hhammer]

The whole situation is a farce.

If a manager rests their players, and lose a game, they get told “you have to play your best XI”

Then the players play too many games and quality drops or there are injuries.

And then pundits and media and fans will say “well this is why we have bigger squads now”

It’s all just contradictory

[Machtkäse]

Good point from titi there ragarding the mental part of the game

[Dinoo]

Players aren't robots as they can't play every 2 days and they need time. I have no idea why Club World Cup and Champions league got expanded as they were fine as they were

[danielsutter]

Quantity over Quality and in the end, what we fans are getting is more mediocre games as opposed to better games.

[poloutz]

Disagree with Micah - fans do not want this many games per season, 79 is absolutely insane. It over saturates the game and all of the players, coaches and fans get exhausted. UCL did not need the reformat, FCWC was okay as it was, scrap FA Cup replays, UEFA Nation's League can be okay but overall there are just too many games and pointless competitions.

[ck]

Players were playing 60-70 games in the sixties. When City won the treble 5 of their players played more than 50 games. When United won it in 99 7 players played more than 50. Its international football thats killing me. The fact Kane has accumulated 100 caps in less than 10 years speaks volumes about the sheer number of games

[Ben-iloc]

I see lot of social media post of fans criticizing players regarding this bc they paid lot. But interesting to find fans on YouTube being more understanding and agreeing w players.

[Espectro]

I been feeling lately players look miserable now . I watch old games. And players look joyfully full of energy creative play . Now they all look totally miserable .. I felt that way last couple or years . Ronaldo ( Brazilian ) and Ronaldinho are my favorite players . They had real joy when playing bye game . There is not player like that now . Looking vini jr. on Brazil right now he looks miserable .. they should make some of these tournaments every two years . Players need least two months or 3 off every year ..

[Littledunc]

The hours aren't as bad, but they have to spend so much time flying and travelling and being away from their family, that must really suck. Players are right to complain, not being able to see your family sucks. Finishing work and being half the world away, fortnight. Spending weekends in different cities. When families are normally off school. Hour wise it's like a normal job, but after work these players often don't get to see their families.