Premier League’s lesser lights set to benefit from new rules
Until recently, many football fans appeared unaware of a major new rule that will come into force in this seasons Premier League. In some cases, it also seems the managers themselves have failed to take the rule into consideration till now. The new rule states that clubs in the Premiership may only register a 25-man squad for the coming season; the only players not registered in the 25 that will be eligible to play are those under the age of 21. The other key aspect of the rule is that the 25-man squads must include eight ‘home-grown’ players. This does not necessarily mean that a home-grown player has to be English, a player merely has to have been registered with an English or Welsh club for three years between the ages of 16 and 21; Arsenal‘s Cesc Fabregas for instance, would be considered a home-grown player. The rule is set to have a major impact on Premier League clubs and players, particularly those at the top end of the league.
The impact of the rule for some players has already been felt, with some high-profile footballers set to miss out on any action this season. Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp has already conceded that injury ravaged Jonathan Woodgate will not be included in the Spurs 25.
BBC Sport reports Redknapp as stating “Woody’s nowhere near right now. I couldn’t put him in my 25. It’s just impossible at the moment”.
A similar situation has emerged with Manchester United‘s Owen Hargreaves, with Alex Ferguson telling MUTV “I do not know when he will be back.”
For players with long term injuries at the start of the season, the new rule may prove a nightmare, with teams unable to change their rosters till the transfer window opens in January. For young players however, it is a great opportunity to gain valuable playing time, as a club can field as many players under the age of 21 that it desires. Those at the top table though, may well be sitting rather uncomfortably in anticipation of the rule.
Manchester City‘s mammoth squad will certainly have to be trimmed, especially as it appears Roberto Mancini has no intention of ending his summer transfer activities. Players such as Craig Bellamy, Stephen Ireland, Robinho and Jo may all be shown the exit door before the start of the season. Chelsea and Liverpool also face problems, with both teams having relatively few home-grown senior players in their squads. This may mean players such as Michael Mancienne and Jay Spearing respectively, will find themselves in the squads of their teams at the expense of more experienced players. The new rule however, may well represent a great opportunity for those sides that are lower down in the Premier League pecking order. Senior players will want to play, and if they are not going to be registered in their sides squads they will have to move to pastures new in order to find playing opportunities. This could mean that some players will move to sides they would never have considered before. Transfer fees should also be lessened, with a club needing to sell a player or risk having him as a dead weight picking up wages, the buying club will almost invariably be in the position of power. We could see therefore, a much greater spread of talent within the league, making it more exciting and competitive in the process. Whatever happens between now and the start of the season, the who’s in, the who’s out and the transfer merry-go round that will ensue, it should provide fascinating viewing.
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The rule debilitates the Premier League in competition with rival leagues – it is a strange self-defeating move. The sort of thing that Platini would come up with to attack the Premier League. The needs of the England national team are a terrible excuse for any football decision. They play in brief competitions once every two years, generating no capital.
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Not too tough to do for city. See below:
Homegrown over-21s:
Shay Given
Joe Hart
Stuart Taylor
Micah Richards
Wayne Bridge
Nedum Onuoha
Joleon Lescott
Shaleum Logan – OUT
Michael Johnson
Stephen Ireland
Shaun Wright-Phillips
Adam Johnson
Gareth Barry
Craig Bellamy
Kelvin Etuhu – OUT
Foreign over-21s:
David Gonzalez
Pablo Zabaleta
Jerome Boateng
Kolo Toure
Aleksandar Kolarov
Javier Garrido – OUT
Vincent Kompany
Nigel de Jong
Yaya Toure
Patrick Vieira – OUT
Robinho – OUT
David Silva
Roque Santa Cruz
Jo – OUT
Felipe Caicedo – OUT
Emmanuel Adebayor
Carlos Tevez
Under-21s:
Javan Vidal
Vladimir Weiss
Dedryck Boyata
Greg Cunningham
Adi Ibrahim
Alex Nimely
Kay
Tutte
Not too tough I would say. If Mancini wants to keep Viera, then it should be one of the following Zabeleta, RSC, Bellamy or Onuoha that could be shown the door… You all make it sould like it will be a massive clear out. Heck look at the current list of “outs” for some of the Prem teams, like BlackPool or Fulham….
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Author, do some reading, several blogs/websites have already quashed the Man City scaremongering about their MAMMOTH squad, have a research…
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Sorry but I don’t agree. Teams like Arsenal and Scumchester United already have enough players in their squads to fill their quota of homegrown players, and Teams like Ch$lsea and C$ty have that much money they won’t be forced to sell on the cheap.
If anything it will push up prices, as “homegrown” players will be like gold dust.
Take Scumchester for instance. when giggs Neville and ferdinand hang up there boots they’ll be short on “Homegrown”. They’ll then just snap up all the best Homegrown players by bidding an amount of money the club would be silly to turn down.
I’m all for this homegrown quota, but the FA should also bring in rules that clubs cannot spend more than they earn, that will make it a level playing field as teams like Ch$lsea and C$ty won’t just be able to blow the competition out of the water with the riches.
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I thought you had to be registered at the the club for 3 years to be classed as homegrown?
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@Ossie
No, just registered at an English, or Welsh club for 3 years prior to your 21st…
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I still think that it’s a self-defeating rule. No-one gives a toss about England.
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@Stratty
Agreed…
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Erik you numpty, you name 32 over 21 players and subract 6 – so that means your squad is oversize already. and that’s before your club continues its summer spending. man city and chelsea are scum clubs, toy clubs in fact. if something similar happened at arsenal i would instantly lose all interest in english football – ‘you have to live by your principles’.
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It might have been better introducing a max number of non English players per team,this would have done more to help the England teams long term cause by giving English youth more chances,as one of the previous comments stated this is Platinis way of hitting the Prem league because he hates its success and prestige.Also debt is another key issue why are there no penalties for clubs who live above their means even if they can service the debt temporarily it is unfair to the clubs who balance their books and so keep the league alive and competetive anyone can be successful if they have a 1 billion overdraft/loan but football suffers long term.
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