Premier League change rule on so-called 'weakened teams'

Covered End

The Premier League has changed their rules on so-called
'weakened' teams.

Top-flight clubs will now be allowed to pick any player in their 25-man
matchday squad without fear of sanction from the Premier League.

Last season Blackpool
were fined £25,000 after manager Ian Holloway made 10 changes for a match at
Aston Villa.

And in December 2009 Wolves
were handed a suspended fine after boss Mick McCarthy rotated his squad for
their game at Manchester United.

The 20 Premier League clubs agreed at their AGM in early June that any
combination of players named in their registered 25-man squads will be able to
start a match.

The rule has not been totally withdrawn, and clubs will still be at risk of a
fine if they select a number of younger players from outside their 25-man
squad.

Nick Noble, spokesman at the Premier League said: "The 25-man squad rules do
allow clubs to pick under-21 players beyond those named in their squad list and,
with this in mind, it was agreed by the clubs that it was appropriate for the
rule to remain in place in order to ensure the integrity of the competition."

Scoham

Good.

UrbanChupacabra

Surprised we werent fined for fielding a weakened team for 38 games

RugbyAddick

I think the 'weakened team' rule was ridiculous. Who knows their team better than the managers? 

Saga Lout

I think the 'weakened team' rule was ridiculous. Who knows their team better than the managers? 

Agreed - as soon as it became a "squad game" this rule should have been scrapped.

Kap10

It should have been scrapped as soon as "big teams" got away with fielding weak teams with no retribution Fulham v Liverpool -relegation season.

tangoflash

Have always said that it's a stupid rule. No manager picks a team wanting to lose a game and for the premier league to fine the club for putting out a weakened team, well, what does that say to the players themselves who are in general good hard working pro's..........."sorry but us fat old men in suits (who incidently have never played the game) have decided that contrary to your managers belief (we also have no managerial experience), we don't think you are good enough to play in our showcase league".

bingaddick

Logical conclusion given the way things have developed.

The reason for the "weakened team" rules had nothing to do with a manager knowing who the best team is. Its about picking and choosing when to play your strongest team and potentially affecting the fate of other teams and thus who wins the league and who is relegated from it.

It always was a matter of respect to all the teams in the league that clubs fielded their strongest eleven. With the current larger bench and the "squad rotation" deployed by the top teams, it is much harder to police. Picking on the smaller teams like Blackpool and allowing teams like Liverpool to get away with it just made the whole thing a farce and they have now rectified it.

MuttleyCAFC

But it is sensible as surely the relative ability of players is subjective and rotation is a big element for teams that play a lot of football.

buckshee

the most annoying thing was that the rule was you must field "your strongest team available" which when Man U play loads of players who may well be internationals but they arent their strongest available.

Could never work out why they would say clubs have to have a 25 man squad yet moan when they pick players from within that , weird

THFC6061

If a team feels they are at a disadvantage because one of their rivals has fielded a 'weakened' team, that's just tough luck.

Over the course of a Premier League season, there are plenty of opportunities to amass points, so if you come to the tail-end of the season and you're in trouble, it's pointless to lay the blame at other clubs.

That said, I think the 25-man squad rule is a good idea, although there should also be a maximum number of players under 21 years old which a club can field for any one match.

I think three is a reasonable number.

ShootersHillGuru

Like most things in life it's about a balance. In a squad of 25 players there will be a 1st choice 11 and the others are predominantly there to back up that 1st choice team allowing for loss of form, injuries and suspensions. If and when a manager decides to replace that 1st 11 with eight or nine players I do think that where other teams can be affected by such an action there is legitimate grounds for complaint.