International breaks - is there a better way?

It seems like the international calendar is nothing but disruptive to domestic leagues and an unwelcome intrusion though how much of that derives from being Welsh I don't know!
Also it can't be good for international teams that they get together so infrequently and for such a short period.
I often wonder if it might not be better to organise internationals around two or three main windows say in January, June and maybe October so that domestic leagues could otherwise run uninterrupted. Instead of playing 1 or 2 games they could then play 3 or 4 over a two week period and thus reduce the need for constant monthly interruptions. It would give other non international players the chance to have a good rest and a holiday.

That would work fine, but the problem is different leagues play at different times of the year. The MLS doesn't play through winter for example, and I know the Brazilian system is very different too.

It's a complicated problem to fix and I feel this is the only way it's fair to everyone. If you sorted it out so that it heavily benefitted the British system then other countries would be disadvantaged, and vice versa.

Do we have to have international breaks at all? Clubs already accept losing some internationals for up to a month when the Africa Cup of Nations is on - why shouldn't they accept losing their England/Wales/Scotland internationals for a week and a half?

I think it's been 'tidied-up' of late by the ongoing commitment to 2 fixtures per international break. This is common throughout the FIFA confederations now.

However, the African Cup of Nations needs to be switched back to a 4 year cycle; holding it every 2 years is ridiculous.

I don't mind it personally, helps break the season up nicely (if you have an interest in international football that is).

What I hate however is pointless friendlies (the night of first round CapOne Cup fixtures) and random one-off friendlies on a couple of occasions through the season - just don't see the point in them.

*** G L O V E S *** wrote:I don't mind it personally, helps break the season up nicely (if you have an interest in international football that is).

What I hate however is pointless friendlies (the night of first round CapOne Cup fixtures) and random one-off friendlies on a couple of occasions through the season - just don't see the point in them.