Break, what break?

A mere 9-day mid-season break - was it worth it? The Cambodian Premier League resumes the second half of its season on Saturday at the Olympic Stadium with the usual fare of 4 games spread across the weekend. The break was meant to give the teams a breather and to allow clubs to refresh their squads with up to three new faces (1 foreigner, 2 Khmers) but a week off hardly constitutes a mid-season rest period in my book. At this time I don't know which clubs have taken advantage of the transfer window, but we should know soon enough as each team will have resumed playing by Wednesday15th. Preah Khan Reach lead the CPL table at the half-way point, with Phnom Penh Crown in second place, three points behind. Add Naga Corp and Khemara Keila to the equation and from what I've seen to-date, I reckon those four will be battling it out until the end of the season in September. After another nine rounds of league football, the top four teams will go through to a semi-final play-off, titled the Super 4, on 12 September. The final and third place play-off will take place 26 September. The champions will get just under $10,000 in prize money. For me personally, a play-off to decide the champions, stinks. The raison d'etre of a league championship is that the best and most consistent team across the duration of the championship will emerge as true champions, not some johnny-come-lately who has a burst of good form at the end and wins a couple of play-off matches. Yes, there's an argument that says it increases the interest at the end of a season and also stops a team running away with the title, but those don't wash with me. I don't like the idea, and I never will. I'm a football purist and the least amount of tampering with the beautiful game is my preference. That said, its been decided so we'll have to roll with it. The games this weekend pair top (PKR) v bottom (Phuchung Neak) on Sunday, whilst Saturday's opener pits PPP Crown against the Defense Ministry, followed by Naga versus Spark.