Exclusive: BPL teams to agree to 5 substitutions per match from next season

[le_tiss]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/premier-league-set-to-introduce-five-substitutions-rule-after-u-turn-from-clubs-p9g7jn8z9

 

Premier League clubs are set to make a U-turn tomorrow and agree to five substitutions per team being permitted from next season.

 

The issue is due to be voted on again by the top-flight clubs at a Premier League stakeholders meeting in London after several attempts over the past two years to increase the number of replacements were defeated.

 

Although the bigger clubs were in favour, there was strong opposition from the smaller and mid-sized teams, who believed it would give an advantage to the squads which have greater strength in depth.

 

The Premier League is the only major league in Europe to restrict the number to three but club sources say there is high confidence that there is now enough support for it to be increased to five, with a total of nine players allowed on the bench. The decisive factor has been the International FA Board (Ifab), the game’s law-making body, making the five-subs option a permanent rule.

 

Recent meetings of Premier League club captains and managers have also debated the issue and there has been broad support among them for the increase. There has also been a lot of data collected from the other leagues around the world which have been using five replacements over the past couple of seasons. The vote is expected to be taken “in principle” and confirmed at the clubs’ summer meeting in June.

 

The Professional Footballers Association has also been pushing hard for the increase. Maheta Molango, its chief executive, said English teams would be in a weaker position in important European matches if their players were more tired compared to those at continental clubs.

 

Speaking in Doha before the Fifa Congress, Molango said: “Our position is quite clear. It is a situation that should never have been a debate in the first place because it’s a player welfare issue.

 

“In the global market if all the other leagues have five subs and we have three that means we will be in a worse position when it comes to the big games. We want need to start thinking more collectively and think that if our teams are thriving in Europe that is a good thing.”

[tajjuk]

Whilst I agree that it probably favours the big clubs more than the mid table and lower teams, probably for us and the way we play it will be helpful. Especially if we can keep improving the squad and get some more good youngsters in.

We can have a good boost of 2-3 subs around 60-70 mins mark so we don't get knackered without having to worry about having sub left for injuries, plus can do some time wasting ones when we are winning to stop those late dropped points. Plus a double/triple sub at that period allows us to do the whole rest/get energy gel thing without people having to go down injured. 

[The Kraken]

It only brings us into line with IFAB and other European leagues so meh, just get on with it.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

Don't see too much of a problem with this. Bigger teams already hold big advantages over the rest of us anyway. If anything, should help us when we play the teams around us. Certainly could have done with it for the Watford game recently 

[Dragon_man]

I see the logic, but the last quarter of a game will be stop start with no rhythm. Could be 10 subs in the last 20-25 minutes.  I already feel 2nd halves lack the flow of first halves.

I'd be in favour of some form of subs window, but I know that wouldn't get around a genuine sub needed for an injury.

 

[Matthew Le God]

5 minutes ago, Dragon_man said:

I see the logic, but the last quarter of a game will be stop start with no rhythm. Could be 10 subs in the last 20-25 minutes.  I already feel 2nd halves lack the flow of first halves.

I'd be in favour of some form of subs window, but I know that wouldn't get around a genuine sub needed for an injury.

That won't be a problem, just like it wasn't when we had it before, as we already do in the English cups and as is already the case throughout European football.

Each manager will only be allowed to make changes for non concussion subs at three points in the game.

[CB Fry]

The next great manager Sir Alex > Jose > Pep > whoever will be a guy who can master this.

I would think we could have many more half time changes as Ralph has done in the cup. That activity will become more of a weapon now.

The main disadvantage to us will be that big clubs will be able to offer more "game time" to more players. So makes those moves slightly more attractive than they already were.

[Lighthouse]

Initially I was against it, my thinking being that the plucky draw at OT or the Etihad becomes less likely if they can just bring on an entirely different, fresh, top class attacking line-up if it's 1-1 after an hour. The flip side of that is that the smaller teams invariably tire first, chasing the game and being out of possession. We can also afford to be a bit dirtier and replace more players on bookings if needs be.

It'll probably suit our style overall and be a benefit against teams around us, even if we do lose out more often to bigger clubs. We just need the players on the bench to do it.

[TWar]

Now Ralph will actually need to use subs. Time to try out our new found squad depth.

[LiberalCommunist]

Welcome to the four hour match day experience!

Please, open your match day brochure so we can get started.

Some bullshit fireworks, followed by our mark of respect for world events, a one minute silence.

Players kneel, kick off. Obligatory crowd emergency. VAR checks, Six subs stoppages.

Tactical water break, some moron chaining them self to the goal post.

Fake concussion 7th sub. One minute clap for St Johns Ambulance. 

Buy some shit before you leave the stadium, thank you customer.

 

Where is the game going. Its barely recognisable mow. 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

3 hours ago, Matthew Le God said:

Each manager will only be allowed to make changes for non concussion subs at three points in the game.

Ta. Answered a question I had, before I'd even had to scroll down much of the page.

[Baird of the land]

Not happy about it. Was always going to happen despite the lies that 5 subs was going to be temporary. How long till big clubs strong arm a move to 6 or 7.

[TWar]

I don't mind 5 subs. Should increase the quality of football with more fresh legs and also encourage tactical changes rather than holding onto the subs incase of injuries. 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

1 hour ago, LiberalCommunist said:

Welcome to the four hour match day experience!

Please, open your match day brochure so we can get started.

Some bullshit fireworks, followed by our mark of respect for world events, a one minute silence.

Players kneel, kick off. Obligatory crowd emergency. VAR checks, Six subs stoppages.

Tactical water break, some moron chaining them self to the goal post.

Fake concussion 7th sub. One minute clap for St Johns Ambulance. 

Buy some shit before you leave the stadium, thank you customer.

 

Where is the game going. Its barely recognisable mow. 

That's a lot of excitement. Perhaps stretching it out into, say, four quarters so it's not too much. It's for the viewing public's welfare, of course. 😊

[skintsaint]

Sigh. Might as well just have an offensive team and defensive team with roll on/off subs.

[niceandfriendly]

Just turn it into ice hockey. Change the whole bloody lot. Have some t-shirt guns too, why not?

[DT]

Undoubtedly will favour the bigger teams. Look at our bench compared to most of the top 10

[S-Clarke]

For teams outside of the 'super 6' it makes our lives undoubtedly harder, as the big teams have so many more opportunities to 'put a bad performance' right in game, let's be honest the reason the 'lesser' sides beat the big sides is because they have off days. More subs reduces those chances of off days.

It could benefit us a bit because we play quite an intense game, so having more chances to freshen it up against the lesser sides could be a bonus - but clearly this favours the mega teams with the endless pots of money and first 11's sat on the bench.

Edited 31 March, 2022 by S-Clarke

[Whitey Grandad]

20 minutes ago, DT said:

Undoubtedly will favour the bigger teams. Look at our bench compared to most of the top 10

Our cup loss to Man City demonstrated that. Just look at the quality of the subs that they brought on.

[DT]

51 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Our cup loss to Man City demonstrated that. Just look at the quality of the subs that they brought on.

Indeed, although why we didn't have our subs on in the first place still bemuses me. Ralph cocked that one up big time.

[John D]

I believe that Saints voted in favour of the change.  Given the almost universal view on here that it suits the big teams and could disadvantage us has Ralph stated anywhere why he is in favour?

[SaintsLoyal]

Crazy idea and will only benefit clubs with more quality in squads.

[Miltonaggro]

This news should allow Saints to give Shane Long another contract extension.

[LiberalCommunist]

Not being funny, but the managers should have no say in this. Many of them won't be at their club in 18 months time, and this change is permanent. 

 

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

49 minutes ago, John D said:

I believe that Saints voted in favour of the change.  Given the almost universal view on here that it suits the big teams and could disadvantage us has Ralph stated anywhere why he is in favour?

Yep...

Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl agrees with Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp about five subs - HampshireLive

[Wade Garrett]

More infuriating time-wasting then.

[Sunglasses Ron]

2 hours ago, John D said:

I believe that Saints voted in favour of the change.  Given the almost universal view on here that it suits the big teams and could disadvantage us has Ralph stated anywhere why he is in favour?

A close call, but I guess we've ultimately decided that there are more pros than cons for us.

Yes, it almost certainly makes us weaker against the likes of Man City, but relatively speaking, it probably also makes us stronger against all the teams typically below us.

If we have aspirations of being a regular Top 10 club then we need to embrace things like this.

[The Kraken]

23 hours ago, Matthew Le God said:

That won't be a problem, just like it wasn't when we had it before, as we already do in the English cups and as is already the case throughout European football.

Each manager will only be allowed to make changes for non concussion subs at three points in the game.

Four points in the game, three substitution windows plus the half time break.

[skintsaint]

30 minutes ago, The Kraken said:

Four points in the game, three substitution windows plus the half time break.

[East Kent Saint]

Why do they stop a match to make a sub ? Well wait for a break , if the sub has been checked by the 4th official as soon as the player being subbed comes off the pitch the sub can come on while the game is in progress . VAR can check if only 11 players at any one time .

[stevy777_x]

6 hours ago, Miltonaggro said:

This news should allow Saints to give Shane Long another contract extension.

God no

[Manuel]

Last season with limited depth, this scenario would have been terrible for us.  This season our depth is better and we are arguably more competitive with 5 subs.  

Still don't like it though, and of course it favours clubs with a fuller, better squad.  It favours the clubs with most to spend on superior bench players.  People accepting this for Saints are accepting that we are fairly comfortable in the Prem at the moment.  

With the struggles with depth that we've had in recent times, it's  a risk to gamble that we'd be able to keep up with this.

[Saint IQ]

It's going to benefit teams with the better squads. Saints after another good summer might have one of the better squads. I'm not as against it as I was 6 months ago. Man City actually didn't make 3 subs very often pre 70 mins last year if I recall correctly.

[Miltonaggro]

2 hours ago, stevy777_x said:

God no

Indeed, I was taking the piss.

[skintsaint]

You would think if clubs were worried about fatigued players they would have a bit of a better preseason schedule rather than flying their squads all round the world to play in pointless tournaments. 

[LiberalCommunist]

Tentatively checking on here this morning to see if the 5 sub BS was a April Fool.

Damn. Hot damn. 

[Dman]

 

@TWar salivating with excitement just at the thought of this 

(yes I know it’s an April fools)

Edited 1 April, 2022 by Dman

[TWar]

10 minutes ago, Dman said:

 

@TWar salivating with excitement just at the thought of this 

(yes I know it’s an April fools)

No thanks, we'd be one spot lower in the league

 

Be nice to see Newcastle go down though.

[once_bitterne]

What's the "BPL"?

[adrian lord]

Multiple subs and to all intents and purposes now a no-contact sport. Basketballisation of football. 

[LiberalCommunist]

British, rather than English. 

I'd rather expell Swansea and Cardiff than conform to that shit. EPL all day long......

[Chez]

On 31/03/2022 at 13:19, Miltonaggro said:

This news should allow Saints to give Shane Long another contract extension.

I honestly think he'll get one. We ain't got money to spend, he's a free transfer and Ralph has gone out of his way to say nice things about him. 

Edited 1 April, 2022 by Chez

[Chez]

I think five subs is a shite idea. With all the stoppages for fake head injuries, teams perfecting the art of falling  over and wasting time etc., we see less and less actual football being played (the ball is in play about an hour these days I think). Substitutions is just another period of non football, all be it, time is added on, sometimes. Why on earth would we want more breaks in play that disrupt the flow?

I don't actually understand why we would want to have more fresh players on the pitch.  Isn't the game better as players get tired, make mistakes, get stretched, can't get back to cover and close spaces allowing more opportunities for attacks and goals? Late goals was down to just that, tired players, but if half you side is fresh as a daisy then won't we see less, not more?

 

[Matthew Le God]

37 minutes ago, Chez said:

I think five subs is a shite idea. With all the stoppages for fake head injuries, teams perfecting the art of falling  over and wasting time etc., we see less and less actual football being played (the ball is in play about an hour these days I think). Substitutions is just another period of non football, all be it, time is added on, sometimes. Why on earth would we want more breaks in play that disrupt the flow?

I don't actually understand why we would want to have more fresh players on the pitch.  Isn't the game better as players get tired, make mistakes, get stretched, can't get back to cover and close spaces allowing more opportunities for attacks and goals? Late goals was down to just that, tired players, but if half you side is fresh as a daisy then won't we see less, not more?

There won't be any more breaks than there is this season. 3 plus half time for each team.

[Whitey Grandad]

3 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

There won't be any more breaks than there is this season. 3 plus half time for each team.

But each break for subs will be longer. Why can't they provide for multiple changes at the same time? I have an idea, instead of led boards how about printed cards with numbers on? Then the fourth official could hold up two or three at the same time. With the added benefit that we could actually read them in sunlight.

[The Kraken]

12 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

But each break for subs will be longer. Why can't they provide for multiple changes at the same time? I have an idea, instead of led boards how about printed cards with numbers on? Then the fourth official could hold up two or three at the same time. With the added benefit that we could actually read them in sunlight.

Good luck with that. Given the shirt numbers used today the poor old official is gonna have trouble holding up a 2 and 2 board to tell Salisu he’s coming off, whilst also holding up the two and a seven board for Diallo coming on. What’s that, Nathan Tella is coming on for Will Smallbone? Dammit. Has anybody got any spares 2s??

[once_bitterne]

2 hours ago, LiberalCommunist said:

British, rather than English. 

I'd rather expell Swansea and Cardiff than conform to that shit. EPL all day long......

Or just the Premier League.  I thought it was just the Yanks who used EPL?

[Whitey Grandad]

45 minutes ago, The Kraken said:

Good luck with that. Given the shirt numbers used today the poor old official is gonna have trouble holding up a 2 and 2 board to tell Salisu he’s coming off, whilst also holding up the two and a seven board for Diallo coming on. What’s that, Nathan Tella is coming on for Will Smallbone? Dammit. Has anybody got any spares 2s??

They used to do it before the electronic versions.

[Chez]

Not sure why football makes such a big thing about substitutions. Why do we need numbers displayed at all and so much faffing around. Other sports don't bother with it. As a watcher I find the whole thing a massive interruption to the flow of the game. Why would we want that? If other team sports can do rolling subs without massive fan fair, why not football?  If not rolling subs, then subs that just happen much much quicker. It amazing the difference in time taken when a sub is made when a team is a goal behind as apposed to a goal ahead.

Edited 1 April, 2022 by Chez