Roy Hodson has claimed that he is against the new Premier League rules which will allow teams to use five substitutions per game next season. Earlier this week, an official statement from the league outlined the law change,
Prem league statement said: “Clubs agreed to change the rules relating to substitute players. 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. “A total of nine substitutes can be named on the team sheet.”
Hodgson was asked about his opinion on the matter during his press conference ahead of the Liverpool game and let slip the uncertainty that remains over his future.
Roy Hodgson said: “Well, if I’m not working next season, it won’t really bother me. If I am working, it will depend very simply on whether I’m working for a team at the top of the table or a team at the bottom of the table.”
Having arrived in January, Hodgson took over the club with the aim of helping them avoid relegation. The length of his contract was not revealed but it’s believed that his future will be assessed at the end of the campaign. The 74-year-old came out of what was widely understood to be retirement to take the job, and may intend to go. Judging from his comments, he does not yet know whether he will stay in football beyond the season, and whether or not he will do so with Watford. He went on to fully explain his stance in great detail,
Roy Hodgson said: “The five subs rule helps the teams that are at the top of the table, because they have the best players and more quality normally on their bench than the teams that are below them. I can understand why the top clubs want the five subs. They’ve got international football, you know, their players play more international matches than perhaps the team’s slightly lower down. But more importantly, they play Champions League. And that’s a lot of midweek games of great importance, so I can understand why they want it. But I can also understand, and even support, the teams down the bottom who find it hard enough, anyway, with their best XI to go and play against the opposing team’s best XI. If you’ve got to go and play against their best 16, that makes it even harder.”
