Premier League 2021/22

[Lineker]

Quote

Premier League clubs are to again consider the prospect of allowing five substitutions per team within a match, with the change likely to finally be adopted.

Teams have voted against the introduction of five substitutes on three occasions in the past two years, leaving England’s top flight as the only top-level league in Europe where three changes for any team in any give match remains the maximum permitted.

Jürgen Klopp has been among the most vocal critics of the lack of change to the status quo and with the International Football Association Board, the sport’s rule-making body, confirming that the one-time emergency rule has now been made permanent, a possible change is to be put before clubs at a Premier League shareholders meeting on Thursday.

League sources have confirmed the issue is up for debate and it is believed a change in the law could be agreed in principle at the meeting ahead of full implementation next season. After strong resistance over the past two years there is now also a feeling among clubs that the numbers are finally there to authorise a change, with 14 of 20 votes required to put new rules in place.

The row over an expanded subs’ bench cuts to the heart of rivalries among top-flight sides. Klopp, for instance, has had a habit of contrasting the demands placed on his Liverpool squad with those faced by relegation-threatened Burnley, who are among the clubs thought to have voted against the change.

While smaller clubs believe that more substitutes gives bigger clubs with deeper squads an unfair advantage in individual matches, Klopp points to the harmful effect that not moving from three to five subs has on players who not only are key to their clubs but also to their international sides. Before Christmas, Klopp used Sean Dyche’s side as an example of how some clubs play significantly fewer games once international fixtures are taken into consideration and he returned to the same theme prior to the current international break.

“You have to recover and rest every second you can do so,” Klopp said. “It is really tough for the boys, not just us but others as well. My first year the team had 63 games in 2015-16. No international games involved in that, just club.

“This year it will not be much less but it is tough. We have to think about how we can keep these world class players [fresh]. Sorry to say but during the international break I don’t know how many Burnley players on international duty, I don’t know.”

Six players from the Burnley squad were called up for by their respective national teams in this break, with Nick Pope selected in goal for England against Ivory Coast on Tuesday, a fixture in which he faced club teammate, Maxwell Cornet.

 

[Colly]

Maybe Klopp should just sign some non internationals.

[Lineker]

Quote

The fan-led group co-founded by the former Chelsea captain John Terry that wants to buy a 10% stake in the Premier League club is in "positive" talks with two of the shortlisted bidders, according to the banker advising it.

Sky News understands that the True Blues Consortium has approached three of the four consortia vying to end Roman Abramovich's near-two decade tenure as owner of the Stamford Bridge club.

Sandford Loudon, a partner at Oakvale Capital and True Blues Consortium representative, said on Wednesday that he anticipated sufficient demand to acquire a 10% shareholding in Chelsea if it was sold at a £2.5bn valuation.

"Thousands of supporters and dedicated fans have contributed over £100m to True Blues," Mr Loudon said.

"We're having positive discussions with the two leading bidders and the bank in charge of the transaction, and our primary goal is to ensure that Chelsea fans have a voice during these unprecedented times.

"We are defending our valuable club's history and principles and hope that by allowing fans to own a piece of Chelsea FC, this ground-breaking new model will change how football teams are run."

People close to the bidders believe the price could go beyond £2.5bn as the quartet of contenders prepare to lodge their final offers on 11 April.

Sky News revealed at the weekend that Raine Group, the adviser handling the sale, is aiming to present a preferred bid to the government the following week, paving the way for a sale to take place before the end of next month.

News of the fan-led consortium's talks emerged on the same day that an unnamed adviser to one of the bidders was reported to have complained that the Chicago Cubs' owners were being afforded preferential treatment by Raine because they had been able to secure a meeting with Paul Canoville, the Blues' first black player, to discuss Islamophobic comments made a decade ago.

The Times quoted a "bid adviser" accusing the Ricketts family - which is backed by the hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin - of "a breach of the rules of the [sale] process" by organising the meeting with Mr Canoville through Bruce Buck, Chelsea's chairman.

A principal at another of the bidders dismissed their rival's complaint, saying they had been informed that any of the bidders would have access to a meeting with Mr Canoville - or other key figures connected to Chelsea - if they requested it.

Raine is said to be keen to avoid the final two weeks of the most hotly contested auction in sporting history descending into a public slanging match, with bidders seeking to discredit one another.

The merchant bank declined to comment on the unnamed bid adviser's suggestion on Wednesday.

Between them, the final bidders either control or own stakes in US teams including the Boston Celtics, the Cubs, the LA Dodgers, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Sacramento Kings.

Sir Martin Broughton, the former British Airways and Liverpool FC chairman, and Lord Coe, the former British Olympian turned sports administrator and businessman, are fronting a bid that has the financial firepower of Josh Harris and Dave Blitzer, two wealthy American financiers.

That consortium also includes Vivek Ranadive, an Indian-born entrepreneur, and a syndicate of other investors from around the world whose identities are expected to be confirmed in the coming days.

Another of the leading contenders is headed by Todd Boehly, the LA Dodgers part-owner, and includes Jonathan Goldstein, the London-based property developer, and Clearlake Capital, a US-based investment firm.

The Ricketts-Griffin bid, which has the US investment bank Lazard advising it, comes on the back of the Cubs having won the World Series for the first time in a century under the family's ownership.

The other remaining contender for Chelsea is a bid spearheaded by Stephen Pagliuca, an American private equity billionaire who owns the Boston Celtics and Atalanta in Italy's Serie A.

By the standards of conventional takeover processes, the Chelsea auction has moved at breakneck speed, with executives at other major investment banks suggesting that such a complex sale would typically have taken at least six months.

Mr Abramovich's sanctioning by the UK government has added further complications to the transaction, as bidders have sought clarity on the legal implications of buying the club.

Sources also pointed out that further bidders had continued to emerge even in the last week, requiring Raine to evaluate their seriousness.

A number of the remaining bidders are expected to make further refinements to the composition of their bids in the next ten days.

Prior to being sanctioned, Mr Abramovich had said he intended to write off a £1.5bn loan to the club and hand the net proceeds from the sale to a new charity that he would set up to benefit the victims of the war in Ukraine.

A rapid sale is seen as essential if Chelsea is to avert the uncertainty that would trigger the break-up of one of the top flight's most valuable playing squads.

The current FIFA Club World Cup-winners have been thrown into disarray by Russia's war on Ukraine, with Mr Abramovich initially proposing to place the club in the care of its foundation and then formally putting it up for sale.

Mr Abramovich had initially slapped a £3bn price tag on the Stamford Bridge outfit, with the net proceeds being donated to a charitable foundation set up to benefit the victims of the war in Ukraine.

As well as government consent in the form of a special licence, Chelsea's new owners will also require the approval of the Premier League under its fit and proper ownership test.

 

[FestiveJack]

20 hours ago, Colly said:

Maybe Klopp should just sign some non internationals.

Maybe Klopp should stop saving his third (and sometimes second) sub until the 90th minute or later in most games:

Spoiler

Thiago 90; vs Arsenal
Naby Keita 90; vs West Ham
Luis Diaz 90+6; vs West Ham
Luis Diaz 90; vs Norwich
Naby Keita 90+2; vs Burnley
Luis Diaz 90; vs Leicester
Roberto Firmino 90; vs Crystal Palace
Trent Alexander-Arnold 90+2; vs Crystal Palace

Might help with keeping his players fresh.

[Lineker]

20 hours ago, Lineker said:

 

Quote

Premier League clubs have voted in favour of allowing five substitutions per team from next season. Managers including Liverpool’s Jürgen Klopp have been strongly in favour of the move but three times in the past two years the idea was rejected.

“From next season, clubs will be permitted to use five substitutions, to be made on three occasions during a match, with an additional opportunity at half-time,” the league said in a statement. “A total of nine substitutes can be named on the team sheet.”

At least 14 of the 20 clubs needed to vote in favour of the proposal and the decision moves England’s top flight in line with the Europe’s other major leagues.

The Premier League also said the summer transfer window would open on 10 June and close at 11pm on 1 September and that its Covid measures had been updated. “From 4 April, the league will remove twice-weekly Covid-19 testing of players and staff and move to symptomatic testing only,” it said.

The league said on Monday that in its most recent round of tests, between 21 and 27 March, 1,388 players and staff had been tested for Covid and that there had been 22 new positive results.

Bruno Fernandes has also signed a brand new whopper of a contract to extend his stay at Man Utd.

[DavidMarrio]

Non-international footballer Joe Gomez whips in a lovely ball to international footballer Diogo Jota to head it in. 

Watford had a good chance right before the goal as well with João Pedro putting Kucka through and then less than a minute later we score. 

[FestiveJack]

1 hour ago, DavidMarrio said:

Non-international footballer Joe Gomez whips in a lovely ball to international footballer Diogo Jota to head it in. 

Watford had a good chance right before the goal as well with João Pedro putting Kucka through and then less than a minute later we score. 

Gonna need an update on the international status of Joao Pedro and Kucka.

[DavidMarrio]

1 hour ago, MadJack said:

Gonna need an update on the international status of Joao Pedro and Kucka.

Both non-internationals. Although just for Cymbols, Kucka has been capped for Slovakia 90 times but did not play in their recent fixtures against Norway and Finland both 2-0 losses

 

Jurgen's substitutions for those interested:

62 - international footballer Fabinho on for u21 international footballer Curtis Jones

69 - international footballer Sadio Mane on for international footballer Mo Salah 

90 - retired international footballer Milner on for international footballer Thiago (Milner had been warming up but a late pen for Fabinho delayed the substitution) 

[Malenko]

Isn't Kucka an international footballer though?

[Cymbols]

Only the 90 times, so sporadically…

[Baddar]

Rudiger from about 35 yards 😳

[DavidMarrio]

37 minutes ago, Cymbols said:

Only the 90 times, so sporadically…

He wasn't called up for Slovakia for the last set of fixtures if you want to be pedantic about it hun  😘

I've edited the post just so you can rest easy and enjoy the rest of your weekend 

[stokeriño]

I could arbitrarily blame the international window for the debacle currently taking place at Stamford Bridge, but why bother sugar-coating the disappointment.

[Cymbols]

2 minutes ago, DavidMarrio said:

He wasn't called up for Slovakia for the last set of fixtures if you want to be pedantic about it hun  😘

I've edited the post just so you can rest easy and enjoy the rest of your weekend 

Having been watching the Villa game, that’s not on the cards unfortunately. 

[Lineker]

Bloody hell Brentford.

[Colly]

On 06/11/2021 at 16:57, Colly said:

 

[gunnar hendershow]

Well there's always one club that comes back from international breaks and appears to have no idea how to play as a team anymore.

[Lineker]

That one somehow ended up as a draw.

[Baddar]

We are shite.

[METALMAN]

2 hours ago, Lineker said:

Bloody hell Brentford.

Turns out Brentford are Chelsea's new owners.