MY ACCOUNT
Jurgen Klopp has echoed recent calls from Ralf Rangnick and Thomas Tuchel for the Premier League to allow five substitutions to be made in games but does not think it will happen any time soon.
The Premier League introduced the five substitutes rule when football resumed in June 2020 following the enforced break due to the coronavirus pandemci, but the competition reverted back to the usual three permitted alterations ahead of the 2020-21 campaign.
Other major European leagues including Serie A, LaLiga, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga still allow five substitutions, as does the Champions League and the EFL Cup.
Premier League clubs voted on the matter last December, with the majority deciding to keep the rule the same, but allowing for nine instead of seven players to be named on the bench.
Tuchel voiced his frustration after his team’s win 3-1 at Aston Villa on Sunday after he was forced to make all three substitutions by the 63rd minute due to injuries to Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante, having already taken Trevor Chalobah off at half-time, saying: “We are the only league that play in winter, which I love, but we’re not protecting the players.
“All other leagues have five changes. Then we compete against them in the Champions League. It’s a bit frustrating. It will not stop.”
Speaking at his pre-match news conference ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Leicester City, Reds boss Klopp was also asked for his thoughts on the issue and agreed with his fellow former Borussia Dortmund coach.
“The problem is this intensity for top class football in England is definitely at the edge,” he told reporters.
“In the league we have 38 games. Two cup competitions, even if we do not go to the final, let’s [estimate] another five, it’s 43. Pretty much all of them play for their national teams, nine, 10 games a year? Plus, Champions League games, so you come pretty quick to more than 50 games, or higher.
“My first season here we played the [Europa League] final, I think it was the 64th game.
“The decision about [five subs] is made, and we realised again in the manager’s meeting, the decision is made by 14 clubs. I think you need 14 votes to change it, and there’s something wrong.
“For example, Burnley, I’m not sure how many of their players play international football, when our players have three games, they have no game. They play 38 Premier League games, cup games another two, three, four? That makes it 42.
“We talk about an issue that some [clubs and players] definitely have, but it’s decided by other teams and because we make a competition of it, it is like ‘no, they are better than us’, and that’s a real problem because [five subs] is the right decision because you bring players back after a COVID infection or after an injury and because of the games you have to play, they have to play immediately and then they go out again.
“You cannot take them off after 60 minutes because you have to change others, so that’s a real problem.
“This wonderful game is so wonderful because usually the players on the pitch are in good shape, are well trained, have well recovered and go for it, and that’s why we love the game.
“The best league in the world and the most intense league in the world is the only league in Europe, and maybe in the world I don’t know, with still three subs, and that’s not right.”
Klopp believes the issue should be revisited, but was not optimistic that things would change any time soon, adding: “We still have to talk about it, we should change it but it’s for the Premier League.
“[Chief Executive] Richard Masters said he would like to make this decision by himself but he can’t because you need a vote, and this vote is other clubs with other problems, different problems, say ‘no, we don’t want to have five subs’, and so I don’t see a real chance to change it to be honest.”
Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick shared his thoughts on the matter last Thursday, telling reporters: “The five subs were implemented when COVID started, and I think it was the right decision to do that to save energy for players, especially if they have just recovered from COVID.
“The same is true right now – we are in a similar situation to the one we had one-and-a-half years ago, therefore I don’t see why it shouldn’t be as it was one-and-a-half years ago. As far as I know, in Europe, England is the only country where they only allow three subs.”
