2GS The Sunday Times April 3, 2022 11New five subs rule is not about
player welfare. It’s an elitist move
designed to protect the top six
at the expense of entertainment
Five substitutes have been permitted
in the FA Cup and League Cup this
campaign and it has been like
watching traffic lights changing at a
puffin crossing, trying to turn the
rush of sudden bodies jostling
backwards and forwards into
something meaningful when, really,
it isn’t. Yet from next season five
substitutes can be used by Premier
League managers.
The two main reasons given for this
dispiriting rule change — which is
both anti-football and elitist — is that
it aids player welfare and brings the
Premier League in line with the rest
of Europe. Neither explanation is
good enough.
No manager will haul off a tired
player if he is still causing the
opposition problems unless the
points are in the bag. Five subs gives
managers more to work with in terms
of player rotation, but it could render
too many league games feeling like
the early rounds of domestic cup
competitions, when coaches stack
their benches with expensive talent,
ready to be brought on if the game is
tighter than anticipated.
Is this what we want to see?
Watford or Southampton holding
Manchester City or Chelsea only for
the bigger club to bring on the big
guns so that no amount of tactical
nous from Roy Hodgson or Ralph
Hasenhüttl can outwit the sudden
introduction of expensive firepower?
If player welfare was truly at the
heart of this, an acceptable
amendment could have been for
extra substitutes to be permitted for
an instant change should there be a
clash of heads. There is already
provision for concussion subs but
too often there is a clash of heads, a
quick rubbing of the forehead, a rollAlyson Rudd
Five substitutions
will make league
games feel like early
rounds of domestic
cup competitionsof the shoulders and the player
carries on. Every player hurt should
leave the pitch and receive a more
rigorous assessment. Their
replacements should be named as
concussion subs and be versatile. If
the affected player cannot continue,
the manager could then haul off the
concussion sub and replace him with
a more appropriate player. Any
interruption to the flow of the game
would at least be in the name of
something worthwhile.
If there is genuine concern that
players are being asked to play too
much, any additional used subs
beyond the usual three should have
to be under 21 so that the big players
supposedly being protected really
are being rested and the subs for both
teams are of a more similar calibre.
Besides, I do not want the Premier
League to be like the rest of Europe.
Every overseas player is blown away
by the ferocity of English football’s
competitiveness, its intensity, its
ability to spring surprise upon
surprise. There are too many smooth
edges to football on the Continent
and the hierarchies are more rigid.
Yes, you can usually predict which
clubs will finish in the top six here
but not in which order and certainly
not how they get there. Allowing
more of the world’s best players to
feature for that top six will kill off
much of the uncertainty.
It will also dilute the importance ofcamaraderie. Shock results are aided
by the underdog compensating
though work ethic, teamwork and
excellent coaching. Should the newly
promoted Fulham be leading
Liverpool in the 80th minute next
season, Jürgen Klopp can bring on a
half-resting Roberto Firmino,
Mohamed Salah and Luis Díaz and
their individual brilliance will rip
through all of Fulham’s graft, toil
and self-belief.
Most of all, though, what is
frustrating about the new rule is that
it changes football. As it stands, the
bench is a matter worthy of debate,
the timing of the introduction of a
fresh striker is feverishly discussed. If
a coach hauls off a player before the
interval then, heck, we really do
know all too publicly that the player
has not been doing what his manager
asked of him. When Thomas Tuchel
replaced Callum Hudson-Odoi in the
76th minute against Southampton
last season we knew that it was
significant because the Chelsea
winger had arrived off the bench only
at half-time. If that happens next
season we will barely notice.
Multiple changes cut into the
tension. The dying minutes of a
match have always been the most
nail-biting and raucous. Players find a
final spurt of energy, defenders leave
their stations to add a body in attack,
goalkeepers amble nervously into the
opposition box. The seconds feel like
minutes if you hold a narrow lead
and minutes feel like seconds if you
need an equaliser. Who needs, at that
very moment, for Pep Guardiola to
bring on Jack Grealish, Raheem
Sterling and John Stones? Well,
Guardiola of course. But no one else,
certainly none of us watching in the
hope of a thrilling finale.clubs. Although Luis Díaz is
Colombian, he was probably the best
player playing in Portugal before
Liverpool signed him from Porto in
the most recent transfer window.
There are only four clubs outside
the Premier League who can
compete for the best players:
Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain,
Paris Saint-Germain in France and
Bayern in Germany.
Every other club could be
considered a feeder club for the
Premier League, that’s how
ridiculously strong and wealthy
it is now.
It has three of the favourites for
the Champions League, because they
have the biggest budgets and can buy
the best players.
Liverpool, City and Chelsea are so
strong and there’s a real chance of an
all-English final again this season,
with the caveat that Bayern are a
dangerous team for anyone to play.I can empathise with Harry
Maguire being booed by England
fans during the win over Ivory
Coast because I suffered the
same when Scotland lost 1-0 at
home to Wales in a World Cup
qualifier in 1985. My attitude to
criticism was always, “I’ll show
them.” If anything it made me
stronger and a better player.
I hope the same proves true for
Maguire. He has quality but
people are jumping on the
bandwagon a bit with him.
If you’re an £80 million centre
half playing for the English “FC
Hollywood” that’s the price on the
ticket, I’m afraid. Manchester
United are having a disaster at the
moment, so anyone with a big fee
attached to them will receive
criticism. Maguire needs people
around him to keep his head up,
but it’s down to him ultimately to
keep going. If he gets through it,
he will be a far better player
coming out the other side.MAGUIRE MUST SHOW
HE CAN KICK THE BOOSON TV TUESDAY
Benfica v Liverpool
Champions League
quarter-final, first leg
8pm, BT Sport 3