Source: SKY_Sports
Gill rules out 39th game
Manchester United chief executive David Gill has dismissed the prospect of a 39th Premier League game as a 'step too far'.
The idea was badly received when it became apparent that the Premier League were looking into extending the season to a 39th game to be played overseas.
The Red Devils would be one team to benefit financially from such a scheme with the club possessing millions of followers around the world, particularly in the Far East, where they are currently on tour.
The controversy over the matter has died down since Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore unveiled his ambitious plan in February last year but Gill remains unconvinced.
"It is highly unlikely," he said.
"If you are talking about a 39th game how do you get the symmetry? If it was the 38th whose home game would it be? How do you decide where to play?
"The domestic competition is the domestic competition. The Premier League is the Premier League in England.
"The Premier League should still look at opportunities and ideas but I cannot see an extra game happening. It would be a step too
far."
Gill is more open to the idea of playing lucrative friendlies during breaks in the season, with rumours suggesting that United have already been approached to play Liverpool in India before Christmas.
"Those games would naturally be more opportunistic in terms of how we are doing in any particular season," he added.
"If, for any reason, there is a week or 10-day break in the fixture programme where Alex (Ferguson) feels it would be beneficial to take a break, we would look at that.
"It would all be driven by the football side but we would not rule that out at all."
