Has Klopp given up on five-subs crusade? Liverpool boss might be desperate for mid-season rule change, but NO club even raised the issue on today’s Premier League shareholders call
Jurgen Klopp has made his views clear on the urgent need for the Premier League to change the rules and allow five substitutes mid-season, but Liverpool chose not to raise the matter when the top-tier clubs met today.
As revealed by Sportsmail yesterday, the issue was not included on the Premier League shareholders’ meeting agenda, but any club could have brought it up and secured a vote.
A rule change would require at least 14 clubs voting in favour for it to be carried.
Jurgen Klopp has is concerned over the number of injuries to players due to fixture congestion
However, despite Klopp claiming that he had the backing of 14 other managers for the move to five subs, which would be enough to carry any vote, Liverpool did not bring it up.
A survey of Premier League managers’ opinions undertaken by Sportsmail earlier this month, suggested that 12 clubs were firmly in favour, or prepared to go with the change, and two were persuadable depending on the evidence put forward.
A number of the less wealthy clubs have opposed the move, either because they do not agree that three substitutes pose a risk to the players’ welfare or because they believe five substitutes will hand a further advantage to the wealthiest clubs who have deeper squads.
James Milner suffered a hamstring injury in Liverpool’s 1-1 draw at Brighton on Saturday