Walsall - Saturday 3rd January 2009 (Postponed)

I see our kilt-wearing brothers are talking about a winter break again, not surprising really when you consider the trials and tribulations they have had in getting Scottish FA Cup games played in December, matches being postponed then arranged two days later then postponed again, repeat to fade. Lochee United against Ayr rather taking the proverbial biscuit as it was called off five times due to a frozen pitch before a somewhat inevitable draw meant a replay, and in theory a seventh match, at Ayr's Somerset Park.

When to have a winter break though? Take our youth team for example, in recent seasons they often found games being called off in the winter months. In this campaign though the only match they have had postponed so far due to the weather was a league fixture at Preston in early September. That game falling foul of the glorious non-stop four week spell of rain that we had to end a pretty gruesome summer.

It wouldn't be the first time they had had a winter break though if they were to bring it in. A three-week rest period in January having been a feature of the Scottish Premier League from 1998 to 2003, only for it to be abandoned due to complaints from clubs about a lack of revenue, something you would think might be an even bigger concern in the current economic climate.

SFA chief executive Gordon Smith (must score) seems particularly keen on the idea, Smith telling BBC Sport : "I am in favour of a winter shutdown. We had a month before, I think it should be two months. I think we should look at playing our football in the best possible weather because it does suit players and it improves the game when you play in the best possible conditions. I would be in favour of starting in August and finishing in June and having a winter break in, say, January and February."

I don't know about you but two months seems a hell of a long time to have a winter break to me, in my opinion it also leaves you needing snookers if you get games called off in November and December. The time left to fit those games in before the end of May/start of June being more pressing due to potential World Cup or European Championship involvement, although given we are talking about Scotland here I may just have answered my own question.

It's worth remembering too that it isn't just on a matchday that pitch problems are an issue, that point certainly being proven at Carlisle over the years with United training taking place at various venues in the city due to poor weather. Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo has suggested that SPL clubs should be looking into undersoil heating for training grounds. Although who he fancies is going to be paying the bills for something that it is a lot bigger and will be used a lot more than an actual football ground is another question.

Interestingly in Germany it was announced a few weeks ago that the Bundesliga's traditional winter break will be cut by three weeks to three-and-a-half weeks from the 2009-10 season, the reason for that being the aforementioned point of World Cup preparations. The Germans currently taking a mammoth month and a half off during the latter half of December and majority of January.

The Bundesliga winter break has often been cited as a factor in the German national team doing well in summer competitions, as their players are much more refreshed after a bit of a jolly in the middle of the campaign. Although it is worth bearing in mind that, after a prolonged Christmas break, pre-season starts all over again with a pile of friendlies, usually really dull ones in Turkey live on Eurosport in the afternoon against a club from Switzerland.

Holger Hieronymus is for the move to cut the break down on a long-term basis, the German league chief putting his argument forward from a financial perspective : "Our championship has the longest break in Europe. We need to have more weekend games because those played in midweek aren't interesting enough for the clubs from a financial point of view, or for the fans."

I can never see it being brought in in England, although rugby league did change to a summer sport, and the money argument is one thing that would concern me. Especially so for the smaller clubs in non-league football where local derbies are scheduled over Christmas. Of course, the one big irony would be that you never get to read this article as today's match has been postponed due to a frozen pitch, just don't blame me if it has.