Andros Townsend has made it clear on talkSPORT (10/11/20 at 7:40 am) that he’s not a fan of the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City wanting the five substitutes rule being brought back into action.
The Crystal Palace winger seemingly aimed a jibe at Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and his Man City counterpart by stating how they ‘desperately’ want five substitutes, but ‘you don’t even’ use three when they have the chance.
On Sunday, during Liverpool’s 1-1 draw at the Etihad, Klopp made two substitutions – one of which was forced because of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s injury, whilst Guardiola only made the one.
Townsend, who plays for a club that finished in mid-table last season, thinks that bringing back that five-sub rule is an ‘advantage’ to the so-called bigger sides in the division.
“Well, I watched that game and Pep and Klopp were speaking after the game,” said Townsend. “Then it’s interesting you look, Pep made one sub and Klopp made two and one was enforced.
“So, you desperately want five subs to protect the players but when it comes to it you don’t even use the three. Not for me. It unevens the playing field. It gives an advantage to the sides with the bigger squads.
“They say they don’t want it when they play each other but when they are playing the smaller clubs, it’s harder to break them down and they want to be able to bring on five world-class international forward players to help break down the mid-table sides. Not for me. I think it’s fine the way it was. Three subs have worked for many years and there’s no reason to change it.”
The likes of Liverpool and Man City are more than likely to suffer those muscle injuries because they play more games.
What doesn’t help their cause is the current situation football finds itself in and the heavy fixture load currently in place.
What makes matters worse is that the fixture load will only get worse as the Christmas period edges closer.
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