EPL rule changes to damage league | Thebigtip

The outcry of the English Football public following the 4-1 thrashing by German in the World Cup this past July has resulted in dramatic rule changes.

The English FA following a thorough review decided the 'foreign invasion' of the last decade into the premier league has caused the English national team to perform below expectations. 

Premier league clubs now have to name a 25 man squad at the end of each transfer window (next one due to end 30 September), with a minimum of 8 home grown players amongst this squad. These players do not have to be English with the player able to be considered home grown if they have been affiliated with the FA prior to their 21st birthday for a period of 36 months. Under this scenario this would mean Cesc Fabregas who has been with Arsenal since his mid teens would be a home grown player.

Once the 25 man squads are registered no changes can be made except under extraordinary circumstances. The rule only affects premier league clubs and only applies in premier league play. This means teams like Chelsea and Manchester United can choose from outside the squad for European competition.

The rule changes seemingly affect the big clubs with the big pockets the most who usually have the largest squads. Manchester City who have brought in several big signings over the English summer will be affected most as several big names will need to be left out of the squad. This will surely put Manchester City and several other clubs in the uneviable position of having several disgruntled players on big salaries.

Squad restrictions will cut the number of big signings from other leagues no doutb with the big clubs having limited room to move within their squads. Players signings will only result in most cases where another player has been sold off with several european clubs sure to take advantage of this restriction. The premier league at present is considered the best league in the world and a scenario where top players are unable to be brought to the league is disappointing and can only harm the league. It would be a shame to see a league where the likes of Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba, Carlos Tevez, Robinho and others are unable to be signed due to squad restrictions.

Several managers have expressed disappointment with the rule change with none more outspoken than Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger who has declared the changes as disastrous for the league and believes there will be a time where players will take the league to court over the changes.

It could be argued that the youth academy system should be overhauled prior to any hasty decisions with premier league rules. The Barcelona academy is a prime example of this with 7 of the starting 11 for World Cup winning Spain coming from the Barcelona academy. Time will tell whether the changes help the English national team overcome recent disappointing results but at this time the national side has a long way to go.

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