So, here we are, into the final stretch before we finally get Premier League football back.
And when it does come back, things are going to look a lot different, and I’m not talking strictly about the fact there won’t be any fans, there will be changes on the pitch too.
Speaking on BBC 5 Live’s 5 Live Sport, Blades defender Chris Basham said that he believes that some of the adjustments that are being made to help smooth things over in the Premier League aren’t going to be all that beneficial to the Blades:
“I think the substitutes thing that has come in will affect us a little bit because we are not going to be as strong as the top six sides. But we are going to give it a good go and the manager would not let us do anything other than that.”
These are sentiments that have been echoed by the boss, speaking in his press conference earlier today, Chris Wilder said that the Blades were against the idea from the start:
“We voted against the substitutions, we think it favours the bigger clubs and bigger academies.”
I’ve written before about the idea of there being more substitutions and how it can be a chance for the Blades to look to the future, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it needs to be used exclusively for that.
Do you agree with these comments?
Yes
No
Whilst using the academy is one option, it should also be a chance for the more experienced players to get their game time without having to sacrifice one of three subs, it’s only going to be one of five. That way you can in theory play all four of David McGoldrick, Oli McBurnie, Billy Sharp and Lys Mousset in one game.
I don’t see why there should be any need for people like Basham or Wilder to be complaining about something that is going to help the team going forward as a way of reducing injuries due to the fixture congestion we’re about to go through.
What about you? Do you agree with Basham and Wilder’s comments regarding the new substitution rule?