Football matches are generally governed by a set of clear rules, laws and protocols which place explicit boundaries and provide a straight-forward guidance for both fans and punters. Anytime changes in the protocols or regulations take place, the dynamics of the game change and quite evidently the outcomes of matches are affected. As bettors, therefore, you need to be aware of such changes and of the effects that they may have on the matches, so that you can get more informed decisions and make more sophisticated choices. Certainly, top bookmakers around the world and the best bookmakers in the UK perform rigorous analysis of any changes and integrate the results in their offerings and so, it is only clever to ensure that you can do the same!
One forthcoming change, which is expected to bring about further critical changes in the game and tackle existing understanding of football matches’ dynamics is Premier League’s introduction of five subs per game, effective from the 2022/23 season. Traditionally, the Premier League’s rule was that managers can only make three subs within one game. During the first year of the pandemic, however, and particularly in May 2020, the IFAB after recommendations from FIFA, issued an amendment to Law 3, allowing for five subs per match to be made as a response to the coronavirus outbreak. This was to be a temporary amendment, but in the end it was made permanent by almost all Europe’s leagues except the Premier League, which opted for going back to the three subs. Now, however, the Premier League has also shifted to five subs and is about to implement this new measure in the upcoming season.
The effects of 5 subs on players’ welfare
Well, the five subs rule has not been exactly welcomed by the smaller clubs of the Premier League, which perceive it to be more of a benefit for top, wealthy clubs that have the resources and the capabilities to maintain higher quality squads. Going deeper in leagues, the top flight clubs have more options for rotations, more options for maintaining players’ welfare and fighting fatigue and subsequently more chances for success. With the new rule, teams will have the chance to bring in 16 footballers in any match and if these players come from a top notch squad – which is most likely the case for super star, ‘elite’ clubs – then it is easy to see that they will have much more prospects and potentials for wins.
The Premier League is, afterall, a league of best performers and a tournament where clubs can rise and shine. The five subs rule, essentially, enhances the teams’ capacity to play more matches, while at the same time facilitating players to give their best performances, with greater health and physical well-being and much less fatigue, stress and health-risks. So, the Premier League is able to maintain its status, continue to offer viewers, fans and punters unique football games with outstanding performances and sustain its competitive edge in this way.
Clearly, the effects of five subs are mostly to be recognized on the footballers’ welfare and overall condition during the entire league and so on the clubs’ overall summative capabilities down the line. The net effects are not going to be directly seen in each match that the five subs will be made or in each distinctive game, but they are going to be felt in an entire league and throughout the progress of the games.
Consider only that top players will have the opportunity to reserve their strength, maintain a good physical state, avoid exhaustion and weariness and keep themselves out of playing too many minutes in a game or in a period. And what do all these mean for the players themselves and for the clubs? Players remain fresher, more ready to give their best when it is more needed and they come in matches with greater chances to play exceptionally. As for the major clubs of the league, they are more likely to have a good overall season, when they have their top footballers in a good shape and less tired.
Bet considerations
Now, punters need to be aware of how the five subs rule is going to change the dynamics of teams at first and the Premier Leagues’ fixtures on a subsequent level. There will be different odds offered by bookmakers and bettors will need to take into consideration the difference that the new rule is going to make in the teams’ decisions, style and strategies.