Source: Team_Talk
Wenger right to question rules
Arsene Wenger believes the new 25-man squad rule will damage English football and TEAMtalk's Mark Holmes fears the Arsenal boss could be right.[LNB] It is not often I agree with Arsene Wenger but I can't help but feel he made a good point in his rant against the latest restrictions introduced by the Premier League.[LNB]The new rules state clubs must name a first-team squad of no more than 25 players, of which eight must be 'home-grown', and they appreared to make a lot of sense when they were first announced.[LNB]I certainly welcomed them and hoped they would encourage clubs to use more young British players - consequently helping the national side - whilst also dissuading the big clubs from stockpiling and allowing good players to rot in reserve sides.[LNB]However, we're now just two weeks away from the start of the new Premier League season and I'm beginning to wonder whether the restrictions will have the desired effect.[LNB]The 'home-grown' rule for example is nowhere near as rigid as it sounds. A player is classed as home-grown provided he was registered to an English or Welsh club for at least three years between the ages of 16-21, and their nationality is not important.[LNB]Wenger's Arsenal for example can comfortably name eight 'home-grown' players - a damning indictment of the rule if ever there was one. To be fair to the Premier League, they are prevented by European law from introducing a minimum quota of British players, but we shouldn't kid ourselves that Joe Bloggs, John Smith and Harold Jones will be lining up for our teams this season.[LNB]The rule is so weak that none of the clubs will find it difficult to meet the requirement of eight and it is also becoming apparent there will no mass exodus of players from the top clubs.[LNB]Manchester City are the obvious exception - they have already got more than 25 professionals on their books and there are a few cut-price deals to be had at Eastlands this summer.[LNB]Take City out of the equation, however, and there is hardly a rush among Premier League clubs to ship players out. In fact this transfer window has to be the quietest of the last 10 years.[LNB]The World Cup and global credit crunch has played its part in that, of course, but Wenger puts the lack of activity down to the new regulations.[LNB]He said: "It puts the clubs in a weak position 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. [LNB]"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."[LNB]Wenger has come in for a certain amount of criticism for his comments, but I believe he's right. We have a 'chicken and the egg' situation whereby clubs are scared to buy knowing they must then sell, and equally reluctant to sell a player knowing he will then need replacing.[LNB]Wenger also points out that "the big clubs will always have 25 top players" and that they are not willing to sell any cheaply just to free up a space in the squad.[LNB]He continued: "When the big clubs have already employed a player and he has to go to a smaller club, there are only two solutions. [LNB]"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."[LNB]These regulations were supposed to change the face of English football but there is a real threat they could change it for the worse.[LNB]They are unlikely to influence the amount of genuine home-grown youngsters breaking through and, rather than lead to a better spread of the best players, they appear unlikely to stop stockpiling at the top clubs.[LNB]In fact the evidence so far suggests the rules has placed a bigger premium on the heads of the big clubs' fringe players, meaning the other clubs will find it even tougher to compete in a league that is suddenly questioning its status as the world's best.[LNB]We must pray for a busy August otherwise the Premier League bubble may burst once and for all.
