Chris Wilder said “I can’t believe that anything can be changed midway through the season when the players are just at their fittest, We produced one of our highest intensity games on Sunday, three days after being chased all over at Manchester United. So from a fitness point of views, it was always going to be an advantage to the stronger squads and the bigger clubs (to have more substitutes).”
Dean Smith said “I feel we don’t need rule changes in a season. To make it five subs it was always going to benefit the clubs with the bigger and healthier squads. I don’t really thank Jurgen (Klopp) for sending the big guns on! He made a triple substitution with three players that would normally be starting the majority of the games for Liverpool and that’s going to up the quality they have.”
Chris Wilder of Sheffield United and Dean Smith of Aston Villa have raised their concerns over the proposal that the five substitutes rule shall be carried forward into the next season and has said that this is a rule that will only benefit bigger squads and goes against smaller clubs.