Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson is already concerned about
fixture congestion before a ball has even been kicked in the
Barclays Premier League.
Next Wednesday, three days before the start of the new campaign,
England have a friendly at home to Hungary.
Hodgson's players will at least have an extra days' rest before
they face Arsenal in their opening game at Anfield on the following
Sunday before they tackle a Europa League play-off four days
later.
The draw for that takes place later today in Nyon and could
present Liverpool with a 5,500-mile round trip to face Qarabag in
Azerbaijan on the fringes of western Asia.
Hodgson has no argument with the international date as it had
been set in stone by FIFA but feels the Premier League could have
been more accommodating as a result.
"It is frustrating not just for me, but for 90 per cent of my
colleagues," said the Liverpool boss.
"In the Premier League there are very few teams who don't have a
lot of international players on their books going away.
"Unfortunately FIFA set this date a long time back and we have
known August 11 is a FIFA date.
"It is a bit unfortunate they have decided to start the league
three days after that.
"In my opinion, it would have been nice if that could have been
pushed back and we had same sort of time the teams in Italy, Spain
and Germany have to prepare because their leagues don't start until
after ours."