Three and in – not just another football blog

Yesterday saw the formal introduction of the ’25-man squad rule’.  It was to be the start of a new era in the Premier League.  A new quota system which would protect the fairness of the league, as well as force managers to turn to bright, British or ‘homegrown’ talent.  Off the back of a disappointing World Cup, all hopes for the future of the England football team were pinned on this bureaucratic revamp.

The press were excited too.  With the  and excitement of Transfer Deadline Day fading faster than the pigment in Jim White’s hair, SkySportsNews couldn’t believe their luck when the Premier League announced another deadline for them to froth over.

Looking out at the landscape of the Premier League this morning, it’s more ‘same old same old’ than ‘brave new world’.  The disappointment of the media is palpable – just check out The Sun’s attempt to introduce some drama.

You can count the senior Premier League players excluded from the squad lists on one hand – and they’re all currently injured.  This morning’s headlines scream that Jonathan Woodgate has been excluded, but his fitness problems are hardly news.  He played three games last season, and hasn’t appeared on a football pitch since November 2009.  However, even if a genuine miracle occurred, and Woodgate was fit as of next week, his exclusion wouldn’t be that damaging: with Spurs in the Champions League, as well as two domestic cups, he’d still be eligible for twenty-odd games.

Man City have squeezed their plethora of strikers in, despite failing to offload Roque Santa Cruz, and Arsenal have mocked the idea they might suffer due to the new ‘homegrown’ rules by naming a squad of 76 eligible players.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was very vocal about his opposition to the new rules, and will have enjoyed the opportunity to show off their limitations.  Whilst the idea of a homegrown quota is not inherently bad, yesterday’s events showed that this system will not bring about any great change.