If a winter rest was seen as such a crucial development, why was the break pushed through with an asterisk attached and no real remedy for the main issues?

Through the fog of hysteria, modern footballs oxygen and often the shield authorities hide behind, are important questions.
Park the labelling of Jurgen Klopp as a disgrace for disrespecting tradition, killing the FA Cup or whichever way you want to slice it.
Instead, consider the following: Why did the Premier League, EFL and Football Association agree to a mid-season break described as a valuable addition for players to allow appropriate recovery time and have the positive impact on individual and team performance that it is designed to deliver with an asterisk attached?
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If offering a rest was seen as such a critical development, why did clubs have to accept months in advance with zero clue whether it would affect them or not that theyd cede much-needed time off if facing an FA Cup fourth-round replay?
This is not about Liverpool kicking up a fuss as their interval will be interrupted by hosting Shrewsbury at Anfield after spurning a two-goal cushion at the League One side. The distinctly duff performance in Shropshire is, after all, solely their fault.
Its not about Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle also having their break botched by a replay.
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1/21 20 transfers that could happen before 1 February
2/21 Edinson Cavani (PSG Atletico Madrid)
3/21 Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Inter Milan)
Jose Mourinho talks to Christian Eriksen
4/21 Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Manchester United)
5/21 Steven Bergwijn (PSV Tottenham)
6/21 Pablo Mari (Flamengo Arsenal)
7/21 Olivier Giroud (Chelsea Inter Milan)
8/21 Olivier Giroud (AC Milan Tottenham)
AC Milan’s Krzysztof Piatek
9/21 Daniel Podence (Olympiacos Wolves)
10/21 Kyle Walker-Peters (Tottenham Southampton/Crystal Palace)
11/21 Layvin Kurzawa (PSG Juventus)
Arsenal are interested in signing Layvin Kurzawa
12/21 Jude Bellingham (Birmingham Manchester United)
13/21 Matty Cash (Nottingham Forest West Ham)
14/21 Carles Perez (Barcelona Roma)
15/21 Danny Rose (Tottenham Watford/Newcastle)
Danny Rose of Tottenham Hotspur arrives
16/21 Thomas Lemar (Atletico Arsenal)
Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Lemar
17/21 Dani Ceballos (Arsenal Real Madrid Valencia)
18/21 Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Crystal Palace)
Belgium’s Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco
19/21 Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco Barcelona)
Sevilla’s Wissam Ben Yedder celebrates
20/21 Willian Jose (Real Sociedad Tottenham)
21/21 Rasmus Kristensen (RB Salzburg West Ham)
1/21 20 transfers that could happen before 1 February
2/21 Edinson Cavani (PSG Atletico Madrid)
3/21 Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Inter Milan)
Jose Mourinho talks to Christian Eriksen
4/21 Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Manchester United)
5/21 Steven Bergwijn (PSV Tottenham)
6/21 Pablo Mari (Flamengo Arsenal)
7/21 Olivier Giroud (Chelsea Inter Milan)
8/21 Olivier Giroud (AC Milan Tottenham)
AC Milan’s Krzysztof Piatek
9/21 Daniel Podence (Olympiacos Wolves)
10/21 Kyle Walker-Peters (Tottenham Southampton/Crystal Palace)
11/21 Layvin Kurzawa (PSG Juventus)
Arsenal are interested in signing Layvin Kurzawa
12/21 Jude Bellingham (Birmingham Manchester United)
13/21 Matty Cash (Nottingham Forest West Ham)
14/21 Carles Perez (Barcelona Roma)
15/21 Danny Rose (Tottenham Watford/Newcastle)
Danny Rose of Tottenham Hotspur arrives
16/21 Thomas Lemar (Atletico Arsenal)
Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Lemar
17/21 Dani Ceballos (Arsenal Real Madrid Valencia)
18/21 Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Crystal Palace)
Belgium’s Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco
19/21 Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco Barcelona)
Sevilla’s Wissam Ben Yedder celebrates
20/21 Willian Jose (Real Sociedad Tottenham)
21/21 Rasmus Kristensen (RB Salzburg West Ham)
That simply scratches the surface. If there was a realisation that a very congested fixture calendar needed to be remedied as highlighted by former FA chief executive Martin Glenn, why wasnt there a genuine attempt to lesson games extending down to the EFL?
Why was there no plan to actually alleviate some of the strain during the most intensive stanza of the season in December and January?
Is there a need for two domestic tournaments? Why are there so many international friendlies?
Do we want more games or more quality?
Why can every other big European league navigate a proper winter interval with no hassle, while England makes such a hash of its paltry one?
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Why has there been a slant of everybody wins in this scenario, when if you actually read the fine print, there are so many who dont?
The FA Cup will go straight to extra-time and penalties in the fifth round so why wasnt that brought forward?
Contrary to the narrative, eradicating replays is not just the wish of the super wealthy. Were now going to play nine games in February with a squad of 20 players, Oxford United boss Karl Robinson said after the goalless stalemate with Newcastle.
We dont have the funds or resources to do that.
It would be better for everyone to be finished. Give us an outcome immediately and not give us a backlog of games in February and going into March. Were going to hit over 60 games this season, which is ludicrous. My players bodies are at breaking point. Its not fair.
Mark Bowen, the Reading manager, admitted after the 1-1 draw with Cardiff City that we didnt want a replay. A lot of teams throughout the leagues get stretched by replays.
Premier League clubs are not the only ones struggling with the calendar (Getty)
Sure, there are clubs that rely on the extra payday. Shrewsbury manager Sam Ricketts has pointed out how an estimated £500,000 windfall can be used for better draining at the training ground and to enhance the analysis department.
Do we really want replays to be a financial lifeline as Tranmere Rovers vice-chair Nicola Palios termed it?
Her husband, Mark, the former FA CEO who now owns the Merseyside club, previously told The Independent: If gates are your sole limit in terms of the potential of a club then you will struggle.
Should we not rather expect the Premier Leagues solidarity payments to EFL clubs to be much greater?
Should we not expect stronger controls from the bodies to prevent instances like Steve Dales takeover of Bury for £1 in 2018?
Should we not expect those in charge of football in this country to care as much about the perils through the divisions as they do about the head-spinning profits in the top flight?
Viable solutions are yet to be offered (Getty)
It is not on Klopp or Pep Guardiola or any other manager to unearth solutions or persistently flag these issues.
The pair have addressed the absence of a joined-up approach from those governing the game due to competing interests and Palios co-signed that criticism.
There isnt one body strong enough to be able to pull it all together at this time, he said. Theres no holistic approach. Thats the concern.
There is an inherent conservatism and traditionalism in the game. You see that in how a lot of the decisions are based on emotions, not facts.
The culture is exacerbated by a not-fit-for-purpose structure.
That is, the fragmentation of the game where there are so many different bodies the FA, the PFA, the EFL each with a competing interest. That means you come up with sub-optimal solutions.
And when hysteria dominates the coverage, is there really a need for them to provide better resolutions?