Agree, I thoroughly hate them.  Plus at this time of the year a lot of big players will have one eye on various club trophies and either play to avoid getting injured, or declare themselves unfit.  

IMO the best answer is to have a four or five week mini tournament around Christmas or New Year (or whatever timeframe the FA can negotiate with the clubs).  Most of the league's players will get the Christmas break everyone says would benefit them, the England players would get more time to train as a unit, work on team tactics etc and the viewing public would have some level of interest in a mini-competition, especially if decent teams were involved.  

But of course the reason international weekends are scheduled when they are is so that Fifa and the various FAs can piggyback off the drama and interest in the domestic club football season.  

PS. if a U-21 mini tournament was held during the same period the public would then be able to watch midweek (U-21) and weekend (senior) games.  Hold it somewhere like Qatar/Saudi (who cares where it's played, and a good marketing department might get them to pay a decent chunk towards it).  And the cost of screening the whole package might be low enough that terrestrial TV channels might be able to bid for it.  

We should scrap friendlies during the season (certainly with European teams), have a two tier qualification system so we actually play decent opposition in competitive matches outside the convoluted and unfathomable Nations League and major tournaments. Friendlies further afield should be played in the summer (or perhaps during a Christmas break) rather than have clubs go off to play lucrative but pointless and tiring exhibitions in Asia or the US.

Pez, I agree with you.  A particular bugbear is the time wasted on pointless qualification matches.  Its like forcing Liverpool and Man  City to qualify for the Champions League by playing in a  10 or 12 match league with a selection of league two and conference teams.   There must be a better way of doing it.

Russell

International weekends are a good thing. 

If you go home and away each weekend it is helpful to have some free weekends in your diary rather than be booked up every weekend from August to end of May.   

no rule says you have to attend every game, if you would prefer to do something else on the odd weekend just do it, not a reason for depriving everyone else of decent footie for a weekend.

Agreed with guy. All the momentum from the premier league has gone now tol

You lot should try rugby.

We had a 7 week hiatus from league matches FFS.

It was torture this weekend.  I even resorted to watching the WSL Manchester derby.  Basically unwatchable.  

Ragettes turned over with ease, Jess Park smashing it and Bunny notching. What’s not to like?

Everything about it.  Ended up watching Colchester v Mansfield I think.  Standard way better 

I despise international breaks. I don’t know why these days they are presented by the millennial commenteeati as inviolable and sacrosanct. Thirty years ago we didn’t have them. Clubs just used to play a full weekend of fixtures with their internationals absent.

Is Judith Butler guest writing your posts Laz?