OpenHeartZoo
Well-Known Member
- Oct 18, 2004
- 1,292
- 1,594
In light of all the threads discussing how the squad should be improved for next season, I thought it might be worth considering how the new regulations may factor.
As most of you will know, at the beginning of next season the Premier League's new squad rulings will come into place.
• Squads must comprise of 25 registered first team players of 21 years or over.
• 8 of this 25 man senior squad must be homegrown players.
• You can own and play as many under 21 players as you like, no matter what their nationality.
A homegrown talent is defined as a player who is either English, Welsh or who has spent three years training in England or Wales prior to turning 21. So far as I can work out, anyone born in 1989 or after doesn't need to be registered as part of the 25-man squad, anyone born in 1988 or before does. If anyone understands differently then please correct me and i'll edit it.
This leaves our current situation looking like this. Homegrown players are in bold.
First Teamers:
Gomes, Cudicini, Alnwick, Walker
Naughton, Kaboul, Corluka, Hutton, Dawson, Woodgate, King, Bassong, Assou-Ekotto, Dervitte
Lennon, Bentley, Huddlestone, Palacios, Jenas, Sandro, O'Hara, Modric, Kranjcar
Defoe, Crouch, Pavlyuchenko, Keane
So including loaned out players, we currently have a 27 man squad. (Dervitte and Naughton no longer constitute young players under the ruling.) Of those 27 that need to be registered, 14 are homegrown.
Under 21's:
Bale, Walker, Bostock, Parrett, Rose, Livermore, Mason, Townsend, Obika, Gio, Tarrabt
Interestingly, Bale is the only player who regularly starts for us who constitutes a young player under the ruling, and thus doesn't need to be registered. However, removing him from the 25 does remove another home grown talent.
So at the moment it looks pretty good. We fulfill the contingent, and only need to trim a couple from the squad to get the numbers down, several of whom are out on loan anyway. Issues only begin to arise when you consider the players that are likely to be leaving, and those with question marks over their futures.
Very likely to leave:
J Walker - Likely to leave when we have a proper number 2 in place.
O'Hara - Very likely to leave, unhappy as a squad player.
Dervitte - Barely featured for us and likely to be moved on to make space in the 25.
Keane - Not been the same since his return, likely to move on whilst he still has value.
Hutton - Never really found his place in the team and we have better right backs already.
Question marks:
Alnwick - Could be trimmed or could stay as third choice.
Naughton - When push comes to shove will he make the 25 man squad? Could be out on loan again.
Jenas - Many expect him to move on to another challenge this summer, myself included.
Bentley - Unlikely to get many games ahead of Lennon but the last couple of months could be enough to make him want to stay on.
Woodgate - Rumoured to be retiring. Pray it's not true.
So 3 homegrown players are very likely to leave, and another 5 have various rumours surrounding them.
Conclusions:
Ok, so we don't need to panic. We're in a strong position, I imagine stronger than a few other clubs in the league. We have a decent core of English players at the moment and no-one can force us to sell. It does however restrict us ever so slightly in the transfer market. Those of us who were hoping to see Jenas replaced with Altintop, Bentley replaced with Srna and Crouch replaced with Dzeko may need to think again. That's not to say we can't and won't sign any foreign players, but it is going to be a delicate balancing act and compromises may have to be made along the way in order to comply with the new rules.
Overall though I think we're in a decent position in comparison to some clubs around us. I would imagine there will be a few clubs hunting around for decent English players this summer and as such the value of those we do sell will be at a premium. It also makes possible homegrown targets of our own like Bellamy and Cole that bit more appealing.
As most of you will know, at the beginning of next season the Premier League's new squad rulings will come into place.
• Squads must comprise of 25 registered first team players of 21 years or over.
• 8 of this 25 man senior squad must be homegrown players.
• You can own and play as many under 21 players as you like, no matter what their nationality.
A homegrown talent is defined as a player who is either English, Welsh or who has spent three years training in England or Wales prior to turning 21. So far as I can work out, anyone born in 1989 or after doesn't need to be registered as part of the 25-man squad, anyone born in 1988 or before does. If anyone understands differently then please correct me and i'll edit it.
This leaves our current situation looking like this. Homegrown players are in bold.
First Teamers:
Gomes, Cudicini, Alnwick, Walker
Naughton, Kaboul, Corluka, Hutton, Dawson, Woodgate, King, Bassong, Assou-Ekotto, Dervitte
Lennon, Bentley, Huddlestone, Palacios, Jenas, Sandro, O'Hara, Modric, Kranjcar
Defoe, Crouch, Pavlyuchenko, Keane
So including loaned out players, we currently have a 27 man squad. (Dervitte and Naughton no longer constitute young players under the ruling.) Of those 27 that need to be registered, 14 are homegrown.
Under 21's:
Bale, Walker, Bostock, Parrett, Rose, Livermore, Mason, Townsend, Obika, Gio, Tarrabt
Interestingly, Bale is the only player who regularly starts for us who constitutes a young player under the ruling, and thus doesn't need to be registered. However, removing him from the 25 does remove another home grown talent.
So at the moment it looks pretty good. We fulfill the contingent, and only need to trim a couple from the squad to get the numbers down, several of whom are out on loan anyway. Issues only begin to arise when you consider the players that are likely to be leaving, and those with question marks over their futures.
Very likely to leave:
J Walker - Likely to leave when we have a proper number 2 in place.
O'Hara - Very likely to leave, unhappy as a squad player.
Dervitte - Barely featured for us and likely to be moved on to make space in the 25.
Keane - Not been the same since his return, likely to move on whilst he still has value.
Hutton - Never really found his place in the team and we have better right backs already.
Question marks:
Alnwick - Could be trimmed or could stay as third choice.
Naughton - When push comes to shove will he make the 25 man squad? Could be out on loan again.
Jenas - Many expect him to move on to another challenge this summer, myself included.
Bentley - Unlikely to get many games ahead of Lennon but the last couple of months could be enough to make him want to stay on.
Woodgate - Rumoured to be retiring. Pray it's not true.
So 3 homegrown players are very likely to leave, and another 5 have various rumours surrounding them.
Conclusions:
Ok, so we don't need to panic. We're in a strong position, I imagine stronger than a few other clubs in the league. We have a decent core of English players at the moment and no-one can force us to sell. It does however restrict us ever so slightly in the transfer market. Those of us who were hoping to see Jenas replaced with Altintop, Bentley replaced with Srna and Crouch replaced with Dzeko may need to think again. That's not to say we can't and won't sign any foreign players, but it is going to be a delicate balancing act and compromises may have to be made along the way in order to comply with the new rules.
Overall though I think we're in a decent position in comparison to some clubs around us. I would imagine there will be a few clubs hunting around for decent English players this summer and as such the value of those we do sell will be at a premium. It also makes possible homegrown targets of our own like Bellamy and Cole that bit more appealing.
