Getting off topic, but the Premier League's cramming of heaps of games into the Christmas/New Year period really screws the smaller clubs, because they never have enough squad depth when compared to the big boys at this time of year. I wonder if there'd be more variety in the European qualifiers if they didn't have the end of year fixture pileup. Every year one or two teams are over achieving in mid-December and every year they've dropped off the pace by mid-January - or at least that's what it seems like.
They are also likely in less competitions than the 'bigger' clubs, no?
The real issue though is how this all screws up people playing fantasy football who don't get a chance to manage their team over the silly season. They are the real victims in all of this.