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25 Player Rule
Is the 25 player rule a good or bad thing for English Premier League?
Andy Greeves
Once upon a time, clubs in England could play a full season, even win the league title, calling upon just over a dozen players.
Liverpool's great teams of the 1980's won six titles throughout the decade, rarely changing their starting eleven. And Spurs, who celebrate the 50th anniversary of winning the double this season, called upon just 17 players to win the league title and FA Cup in 1960-61.
Since the establishment of the Premier League in 1992, 'squad rotation' has become an increasingly familiar term in the domestic game here. Squads have grown in size in order to keep up with the demands of the modern game and no doubt to 'keep up with the Jones' too. A team is no longer judged just by the strength of the players on the pitch but also by who is sitting on the bench.
The simple way to effectively play the 'squad rotation' game has been to recruit players not just from the UK but from all over the world. Overseas players tend to be cheaper than domestically produced ones and with a limit of talent in this country, going abroad for signings is the inevitable solution for most clubs.
In vast contrast to the days of old, Liverpool called upon 30 players to play in the Premier League last season - only six of whom were 'home-grown'. That rather reflects the growth of both squad rotation and the number of foreign players in England's top division.
As the soul-searching continues following England's showing at World Cup, the in-vogue topic of conversation is how the country can find its next generation of players. The steep rise in the number of foreign players in the Premier League over the last 15 years or so has been once again been called into question. The obvious concern is that clubs' recruitment of players from outside of the UK will have a detrimental effect of the fortunes of the national team in the future and the number of individuals it will be able to call upon.
Those concerns have likely inspired the '25 Player Rule', which has been recently announced by the Football Association and the Premier League. Under the new system, Premier League clubs can register a squad of just 25 players by the 1st September, which cannot then be adjusted until the January transfer window. The squad must include at least eight 'home-grown' players - these players do not have to be English however.
Under the '25 Player Rule', 'home-grown' players are defined as those who "irrespective of nationality or age, have been affiliated to the FA or Welsh FA for a period of three seasons or 36 months prior to 21st birthday." Clubs can supplement their squads with unlimited numbers of players under the age of 21.
On the face of it, the new system should deliver what the Premier League wants it to do - give the England manager better options to chose from in the long-run. With managers having to be more selective with the players they include in their squad, there should be less room in the game for mercenary individuals who are happy to take a place on the bench every week and pick up a massive wage packet. It will also hopefully stop the mega-rich buying obscene numbers of players.
Having broken the monopoly of the 'big four' at the summit of the Premier League, Harry Redknapp and Tottenham must feel immensely satisfied with their season. Along with Manchester City, Spurs have created a 'super six' rather than 'big four' in the division now, all of whom have ambitions of the title next season.
Manchester City for example have 33 non-home-grown players over the age of 21 currently, so they will have to trim their squad before September or keep their excess numbers for cup games only.
Such a radical overhaul of the Premier League squad system could not come about without criticism though. The '25 player rule' does appear to have a number of significant weakness, many of which were outlined by Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger at a recent press conference.
"I am not a big fan of it because it puts, first of all, many players without clubs,'' he said. "Secondly it puts the clubs in a weak position most of the time in the transfer market because when you already have 25 players and you buy another one, you know you have 26 and now have to get rid of one. So when you buy a player, you have to integrate into the transfer how much it will also cost to get rid of a player because you are not sure if you will be capable after of selling the player.
"This is a disastrous decision for football and for the players. I was quite amazed that the union [PFA] accepted that. For the clubs as well it is a very bad decision.''
"The big clubs will always have 25 top players and you will not stop that by this kind of decision. When the big clubs have already employed a player and he has to go to a smaller club, there are only two solutions. The smaller club has to pay above their own potential or the big club pays an amount of a salary. In either case it's not satisfactory.''
Ironically, with the number of 'home-grown' players produced at Arsenal - even though few are English - Wenger is one of the managers set to benefit most from the new system. Across North London, Harry Redknapp is likely to have to leave major players out of his Tottenham squad, given the number of professionals on their books. Jonathan Woodgate, who is still recovering from a long-term injury, is likely to be one of the major absentees from the Lilywhites' squad list for the opening months of the season.
Redknapp's concern with the new system is not necessarily with the headache picking 25 senior players this season, but more with the impact - or lack of it - he sees it having on the production of talented young English players.
"What difference is it (the 25 player rule) going to make? None really," commented Redknapp. "If the young players are good enough, they'll come through. And if you're having to play them just because they're young and English but they're not good enough, then the league won't improve. They've got to be good enough, wherever they're from.
"You might also get some kids who get in the 25 and then put their feet under the table and don't work on their game. You've got to deserve to be in there, rather than just having them for the sake of it, token players."
The complaints about the system by Redknapp and Wenger echo those of a number of other managers across the league. Clearly the FA and the Premier League have a lot to do to convince the division about the worth of the 25 player rule. The long-term barometer of its success will be the number of good young England players that break through and perform well in the Premier League over the next few years.
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