The Premier League have introduced a home-grown player rule and a limit on squad sizes – both of which will come into effect from next season.

The 20 Premier League clubs have voted to introduce the measures which will see all teams limited to a squad of 25 of which eight players must be ‘home-grown’.

The changes were confirmed this morning by Richard Scudamore, Chief Executive of the Premier League.

“As of next season clubs will be required to have a squad named of up to 25 players, of which no more than 17 can be over the age of 21 and not home grown,” Scudamore said.

“The definition of home grown is trained for three years under the age of 21 by somebody in the English and Welsh professional system.

“Clubs will have to declare their 25 at the end of August when the window shuts and then again at the end of January.”

It was reported back in May this year that such a plan was in the pipeline, as a ‘significant majority’ of EPL clubs voted for its introduction. Interestingly, the decision has been finalized today, after the recent Kakuta and Pogba scandals at Chelsea and Manchester United respectively, and while I believe that this can only be a good move for English football, it does make me wonder whether this will lead to more and more talented teens will be poached from around the globe.

Scudamore does not this to be the case and claims the England team will ultimately reap the reward.

“It’s not in the club’s interests to stockpile players. It will make buying home-grown talent more attractive,” he said.

“We’re not going down the route of a nationality test but what this will mean is that you just can’t buy a team from abroad.

“We think it will give clubs an extra incentive to invest in youth. We think that one of the benefits will be that it will help the England team.”

This may prove to be the case. In recent years the European nations that have had the most success in major international tournaments – Spain and Italy – have situations where it is almost an unwritten rule that if you are not playing in your home league, you are overlooked. While there are obviously a few high-profile exceptions to this, generally their national teams are selected from the best players in their league, and – particularly in Spain and France – talented youngsters are thrown into club set-ups much earlier and given their chance to shine.

Obviously the finest example of this (and presumably of what Scudamore & co are trying to achieve) is at Barcelona, where Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Puyol, Pique etc are combined with an array of foreign talent. This gives Barca the identity that creates the fierce local pride and passion, whilst still involving the purchase of some of the world’s finest stars. The perfect balance. A successful one too.

It would be interesting to find out the teams that voted yes for this one. ‘Significant majority’ to me implies that maybe everyone except Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea would have been up for it.

The first and the last on this list will be cursing their luck. Manchester City can no longer buy the world’s best squad, they have to form one. They may have nine English and Welsh players in their squad, but only Michael Johnson fits the age criteria. Chelsea, on the other hand, sit top of the league with 18 foreign stars in their squad and, unlike City, are unable to buy their way out of the problem, with a transfer ban of them for the next two windows – the only two opportunities to change squads and adapt to the rules.

You can see why many sides in the EPL would vote for it. With more British managers in the league than there has been for a long time, many will have done it for the benefit of the national team. Clubs like Aston Villa and Tottenham could see themselves closing the gap on the big sides, while those that get promoted (and are usually scrapping for survival) could stand a better chance.

Finally the clubs that have spent their money on developing a good youth system, will know that this could give them an advantage in years to come. West Ham and Arsenal, for instance, will be rubbing their hands in glee with the likes of Mark Noble and Jack Wilshire running their respective midfields for years to come…

People may see this structure as being flawed, with the big clubs again having the advantage of a better scouting and training system, buying foreign kids and training them until 21 (or loaning them out domestically) until they qualify. But it does mean that in the short-term English signings will be an attractive option and so it is a step in the right direction. In the long-term, FIFA are likely to put a restriction on under-age transfers anyway, and so this may not even be an issue.

Whether the oh-so-important ‘competitive balance’ is promoted because of these changes, only time will tell. Until under-age transfers are restricted, or there are starting line-up limitations such as the 6+5 rule, my guess would be that the big sides still have the advantage. But there are massive advantages.

The England team is bound to benefit, with future stars blooded much earlier because places in top flight squads will be guaranteed. It is also bound to help address the ‘distribution of wealth’ issue in the Football League, as Premier League clubs will be spending money on the top English and Welsh players from the leagues below, who can then in turn, use that money to aid their own academies.

Finally, I think it will be a great thing for supporters. We all enjoy our club signing an exciting overseas star, but – and be honest – how much more do you enjoy seeing the local boy wearing the shirt he has dreamed about playing in?

Think Owen at Liverpool, Shearer at Newcastle, Terry at Chelsea and the wealth of British stars before that. Think the heroes of the past – Matthews, Finney, Linekar, Moore – the stars that created the local identities we still cling to desperately as fans – the identities we were on the edge of losing.

Hopefully this move will ensure that this never happens, and local heroes start to become more commonplace in English football. You never know, we might actually start to believe people kissing the badge…

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Watch Manchester United vs Arsenal live online.

After surprisingly struggling in matches against Birmingham and Burnley, and unconvincingly-yet-convincingly beating Wigan, Manchester Utd ‘welcome’ Arsenal to Old Trafford at 5.15 for an early-season (but late in the day) titan clash.

All the Gunners are blazing in the Premier League so far, comfortably winning their opening games, scoring a staggering ten goals and conceding only two as they continue to shame their pre-season critics. That’s obviously ignoring the five goals that Arsene Wenger’s men put past Celtic en route to Champions League qualification.

Four competitive games, a measly 3 goals against and an astonishing 15 goals in that oh-so-important ‘F’ column. So who’s the key man? Well, sadly for Sir Alex, it’s Arsene. Wenger has changed the Arsenal formation to a fluid 4-3-3 system, so Fergie can forget plans of wafting Van Persie’s socks under Vidic’s nostrils – everyone in an Emirates stamp is filling his boots…

United, on the other hand, are a one-man show. Wayne Rooney has greedily jumped into the spotlight vacated by Ronaldo, and is carrying more than his fair share of the attacking burden on his broad green shoulders.

Though Berbatov and Owen both opened their accounts against Wigan last week, neither has looked particularly sharp, with Sir Alex already having leapt to defend the former, and Alan Hansen bizarrely championing the latter on Match of the Day last week, when all he had was video evidence to the contrary.

I remain to be convinced as to whether Owen’s exaggerated ducking and weaving in the box is, as we are meant to believe, the replacement of his pace by more intelligent movement in the area. Or whether he realises his penalty-box disco moves have managed to fool Sir Alex, and, should he prolong them, he might be getting a phone call from a gruff Italian, inviting him to South Africa.

Goal scoring aside, it is the creation of chances that seems to be Man Utd’s weakness at the minute. While Arsenal’s attacks are quick, clinical and more cutting than a Red-Bull-hopped Jeremy Kyle defending his mother, United have been slow and limited. Missing the penetration of their old mercurial winker (yes, winker), still hoping that Nani becomes even half the player Ronaldo was, and waiting for Valencia to find his feet, the Red Devils find themselves in somewhat of a transition period.

With injuries also taking their toll on this weaker squad – particularly in defence, where Rio Ferdinand’s absence couldn’t be more obvious – Arsenal have their biggest chance in years to go to Old Trafford and come away with the spoils.

Cesc Fabregas may be missing for the visitors, but their passing and movement should still be superior. Denilson is looking like the man Wenger promised the Arsenal faithful, and Diaby, Eboue and Arshavin are all in fine form.

To be Premier League champions you need your big players to perform in the big games. United’s usually do, and their chances in this match rest on their stars standing up to be counted.

Carrick needs to find form quickly, and, with Fletcher, must out-battle the Gunners in the middle of the park. Vidic has to return to his commanding presence at the back, and without Rio to help him much responsibility lays on his not-inconsiderable forehead at set-pieces. Neutralising the aeriel threat of Vermaelen and particularly free-scoring Gallas will be key.

The winner of this one is bound to be whoever makes the most of their possession. If United can carve out enough opportunities for Rooney, then judging by his excellent recent displays, he will take them. He will certainly be up for this one.

However, if Arsenal can recreate their sparkling team performances of late, and I have a suspicion that they might, the passing and breaking of Arsene’s ‘total football’ club could prove too much for Sir Alex’s one-man side.

Watch Manchester United vs Arsenal live online.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

I would have thought that Franck Ribery and Franz Beckenbauer now finally agree on something. The French sensation should have been sold. Der Kaiser has watched new manager Louis van Gaal take a measly 2 points from his first 3 matches, and, following this weekend, the kings of German football are sat in a rather peasant-like 14th in the Bundesliga.

Bayern lost 2-1 at newly promoted Mainz on Saturday to register their worst start to a Bundesliga campaign since 1966. All is not well at the Allianz Arena…

A shocking first half display saw Mainz 2-0 up before the interval, with goals from Andreas Ivanschitz and Aristide Bancé doing the damage. In fact Bancé was a constant threat throughout, the movement and energy of the livewire striker causing havoc at the back for Bayern. The Burkina Faso hitman could have had a first half hat-trick too, as he hit the crossbar with an acrobatic overhead kick (as the Bayern defence stood and watched), and headed two gilt-edged chances wide.

FCB were stirred into action, forcing a fine double save from former Barnsley ‘keeper Heinz Muller before the interval, and coming out a different side in the 2^nd half. The defecit was quickly reduced, thanks to an own goal from Mainz’s Noveski, but the siege that was then laid to the FSV goal was constantly beaten back by a determined Muller, with superb stops from Bastian Schweinsteiger’s long-range drives, and a magnificent fingertip save from his namesake Thomas.

The gutsy 2^nd half effort failed to hide Bayern’s flaws, however, and though many will blame the loss on injuries (Demichelis, Van Bommel, Ribery, Toni) the reality is that Bayern’s squad is now too weak. Only Ribery of those injured players really turns a match on its head, the rest are slow, stroppy 30-somethings. That Bayern cannot win without them is worrying. FCB have looked embarrassingly pedestrian so far this season, and their failings are evident in all areas of the pitch; from a lack of creativity in midfield, to the dearth of pace and movement up front. But nowhere is it more apparent than at the back, as Bayern now have a weaker defence than the one that was shamed by 5 goals against Barcelona and Wolfsburg last term, and that conceded 42 goals in the Bundesliga – double that of the previous season.

With Rensing struggling all too often in goal, his confidence can hardly be helped by the uncoordinated, appositionally inept defenders before him. Lucio’s departure has left a gaping hole in the defence, one that Daniel Van Buyten and youth product Holger Badstuber thus-far seem incapable of filling. The thought of the return of sluggish centre-back convert Demichelis hardly inspires.

Elsewhere however, squads and performances are improving. Champions Wolfsburg have added the likes of Obafemi Martins and Fabian Johnson to a squad that held onto stars like Edin Dzeko and the magical Misimovic, and they are reaping the reward, having scored 7 goals and picked up 6 points from their 3 games. The side that beat them 4-2 this weekend is similarly well-equipped. Hamburg have added exciting prospects Eljero Elia and Marcus Berg to a squad brimming with attacking quality in Guerrero and Petric, and their sizzling performances so far have seen them average 3 goals a game as they sit in second place. 

But on top of the Bundesliga is a side that has learnt the hard way about having to rebuild a squad. Having nearly won a treble in 2002, only to lose all three finals, Bayer Leverkusen lost their stars and flirted with relegation. This season they have added steel (Sami Hyypia) to the flair and creativity of Renato Augusto and Tranquilo Barnetta, and found a goalscoring partner for Stefan Kiessling in Swiss starlet Eren Derdiyok. Both currently sit on top of the goalscoring charts with 3 each – helped by this weekend’s 5-0 demolition of Freiburg.

These three sides have deep, well-balanced, and – vitally – pacey squads – Bayern need to sit up and take note. The problem is that years of domination saw the Bayern big-wigs rest on their laurels, unable to see the holes in their squad. When Ottmar Hitzfeld’s disastrous 2006/7 campaign finished with an embarrassing 4^th place, missing out on Champions League football for the first time in a decade, wholesale changes were needed. But they never came. Eight new players arrived, but it was merely leaf-pruning, not the root-and-branch surgery necessary.

Marquee signings like Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose were made, and while both have scored goals, the former was already 30 years old, and the latter, rather than act as a foil, simply added to the lack of pace and dynamism in the Bayern attack. Expensive exotic talents like Jose Sosa and Breno were signed and failed to impress (youth team products preferred so far this campaign) and ageing former favourites like Ze Roberto were re-signed in desperation.  

The one signing from that year that was truly outstanding was Franck Ribery. In two seasons at the Allianz he scored as many league goals as Klose, and single-handedly earned Bayern countless victories with some stunning performances.

Unfortunately, the ‘jewel of French football’ no longer wants to be at the club, and with injuries often taking their toll on the wing superstar, Bayern should have cashed in this summer. The stubbornness of Beckenbauer in his refusal to do so was staggering; one look at his squad and his answers should have been clear.

Instead he decided to sell one of the best defenders in the game (and Bayern’s only decent one) to raise a few million euros. Now defenceless, and with Ribery injured and unhappy, Beckenbauer needs to hope Van Gaal can work miracles – starting with the visit of Wolfsburg at the weekend.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

The new English Premier League season kicked off at the weekend in sensational fashion, with many players and clubs crushing the lazy assumptions and predictions surrounding them in the press. But, critic-defying performance aside, something else struck me about the opening round of matches in our beloved league, something that has had as big an impact as the new signings or the unwanted injuries…

The new Nike English Premier League match ball has been released, and, as ever, it promised a more exciting game of football. Usually the outrageous claims from manufacturers of balls being ‘rounder than round’ and the generic tags given to new products as a ‘goalkeeper’s nightmare’ are ignored by fans. Not being able to afford the £60 replica, we generally stick to the £5 sale ball available at a despised football club owner’s local sports shop, and only concern ourselves with a quick look at the colour pattern on the ball knocked about by our heroes.

This season however, I call football fans to pay attention! The Nike Total 90 Ascente ball actually seems to affect things. Nike’s claims that their ball offers players a larger sweet spot, greater range and power, improved visibility and better accuracy and speed seem to be more than just marketing jargon.

In all the matches this weekend, there seemed to be a remarkable increase in the tendency to shoot from distance. Of the 24 goals scored at the weekend, 6 were from the edge of the area or further. That’s a quarter of all goals – Match of the Day could have based their ‘Goal of the Month’ feature on this weekend alone.

Almost every match had a stunning strike in it. Wigan beat Aston Villa thanks to an unbelievable dipping volley from last year’s misfit and constant threat Hugo Rodallega. Didier Drogba copied Cristiano Ronaldo’s free-kick technique to a tee, smashing in the first of his brace against scrappy Hull. Emmanuel Adebayor powered an unerring strike past Paul Robinson from 18 yards to open his City account and begin paying back some of City’s investment in the Togo international. Wolves conceded the first of the plethora they’re bound to leak this season to an edge-of-the-area Mark Noble effort. Denilson silenced his critics by curling Arsenal’s first of six into Tim Howard’s top corner from 25 yards, and the usually-reluctant-to-shoot-from-range Cesc Fabregas scored Arsenal’s fifth and his second of the game from a similar distance. Sunday saw the trend continue as a wonderful volley from Spurs’ left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto flew past Pepe Reina from outside the box, as Liverpool lost their opener with a whimper.

So why is this happening? Well, every aspect of the T90 Ascente has improved upon last year’s Nike effort. Each panel has been designed to have the same amount of pressure, creating a ‘360 degree sweet spot’, so wherever the ball is struck, its performance should be consistent. A three layer construction of the ball means that it travels a couple of feet further than last season, and also means that a speed/power increase of 2.4% can be achieved with the T90 Ascente, which translates as roughly 1 metre per second faster. The new texture of the ball is designed to reduce drag and therefore increase accuracy

In fact, the only positive for goalkeepers is the greater visibility of the new ball, as its pattern, designed with optical specialists, creates a flicker effect when the ball is travelling – so at least ‘keepers will be able to see it fly past them…

Yes, goalkeepers beware: your nightmare ball has arrived! After all, who shouldn’t be afraid of a ball that can make Hugo Rodallega… erm, good…

After he was only just getting used to the last ball, I feel sorry for Spurs’ Gomes already.

More:

Nike T90 Ascente

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Ligue Un kicked off last weekend, and champions Bordeaux opened their title defence in style, romping to a 4-1 win over promoted Lens. This set a new Ligue Un record – Les Girondins had secured their 12th successive league victory. The previous record of 11 consecutive top-flight wins was set by Lille 60 years ago.

After having also won the 2009 Trophee des Champions, beating Guingamp 2-0 two weeks previously, Bordeaux fans are understandably reveling in their wonderful start to the season. In the meantime those A.C. Milan tifosi that are au fait with their French football were undoubtedly watching the success of Bordeaux and cursing their luck.

Why? One reason – Bordeaux talisman Yoann Gourcuff: the one that got away.

The link between both of the aforementioned victories, Les Girondins’ number 8 was named man of the match for his brilliant performance against Guingamp and grabbed a brace against Lens to continue last season’s sensational form.

Milan snapped up the talented playmaker from Rennes for an essentially paltry fee in 2006, but owing to the frequently fantastic Kaka and some bad luck with injuries, Gourcuff found first team opportunities hard to come by and struggled to make an impression in a mere 13 league starts. Then-manager Carlo Ancelotti failed to be convinced by Gourcuff, describing him as ‘psychologically weak’ and so questioning his ability to play for a club of Milan’s level. The arrival of Ronaldinho last season was the final nail in the talented youngster’s coffin, and, surplus to requirements, the Rossoneri chose to loan him to Bordeaux.

The gifted 23 year old was an inspiration last term. After scoring on his debut, he helped himself to 14 more goals and 15 assists in all competitions and helped his team to a Championship and League Cup double. His magical performances earned him Ligue Un’s ‘Player of the Year’ award and a place in the ‘Team of the Season’, and (though several of his sublime goals could have been chosen) his astonishing strike against PSG was named ‘Goal of the Season’. He started his international career in a similarly flamboyant fashion. After making his debut in August 2008, his first goal for Les Bleus was a spectacular 30 yard drive against Romania in October.

Unsurprisingly, Bordeaux took up an option to buy him, and though Milan director Adriano Galliani did his best to ‘try and persuade him to return’ the former treatment of the Frenchman and the fiscal factor for Galliani proved too great. ‘I am slightly sorry that he [Gourcuff] has gone. However, given the fact we bought him for three million and sold him for fifteen, it can’t have been a bad sale.’

It wasn’t a bad sale; it was a terrible one. Huntelaar aside, it has been a poor transfer window for expectant Milan tifosi. They face the prospect of another season with a slow, ageing midfield which is now, following the sale of Kaka, devoid of any real creativity. In Yoann Gourcuff the Rossoneri may have lost a ready-made Kaka replacement, the next Zinedine Zidane and, possibly, the most technically gifted young trequartista in Europe.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News