Following the latest round of voting around the controversial topic of whether to allow five subs or not to take place, Premier League managers have been providing their views on the subject.
Indeed, the Premier League is the only league within Europe that has decided to revert back to the traditional three substitution rule, whereas each of the other competitions have decided that it is best to keep the five that were introduced once the leagues got back to normal.
The latest round of voting saw 10 clubs vote in favour and against the ruling equally, thus falling somewhat short of the 14 or more majority needed for a change to take place.
There was some positive news, though, as the number of players allowed to choose from when making a substitute has changed. Initially, seven were allowed to be named, however a total of nine is now permitted. In some equally positive news for gamblers, there are some online bookies not registered with Gamstop that can provide them with some of the best experiences.
However, there are still a number of managers that are far from happy with the outcome, including Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp.
The German has been one of a few head coaches to have been extremely vocal about the ruling and has pleaded to allow for five subs from the beginning and has revealed he can not understand why 10 other teams voted against the proposals.
“Everybody knows my opinions about it,” Klopp said. “Everyone knows 10 clubs voted against it. It was not about advantages, it was only about player welfare. And they voted against it.
“Pretty much only they voted against them in the whole world.
“I don’t know which other leagues only have three subs. There must be a good reason for it, for all these leagues and clubs to vote for it.”
Of course, Liverpool have already had to deal with a number of injuries to several key players this season, including defenders Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, midfielder Thiago Alcantara and forward Diogo Jota.
Klopp is not alone in regards to bemusement, with Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta not finding the move to make much sense whilst Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola clearly did not want to get drawn into the discussion anymore as his views have been made public enough.
However, it seems there are a number of teams that are happy with the three sub rule, with the likes of Newcastle United, Everton and Crystal Palace’s respective managers – Steve Bruce, Carlo Ancelotti and Roy Hodgson – seemingly pleased with the outcome and the introduction on having nine men available instead of seven.
It is certainly a topic that continues to divide some of the Premier League’s football clubs, and it would not be a surprise if more was to be heard about it in the coming days/weeks/months.
