Marcelo Bielsa and five substitutes rule: Does it favour innovation?
The introduction of five substitutes has been criticised but could it present an opportunity? In conversation with various top coaches, Adam Bate explores the potential when pursuing a pressing game...
When five substitutes were permitted as a short-term measure following the restart, fitness levels and injury prevention were the primary concerns. Any tactical significance was secondary. But the prospect of a full season with the option of making five substitutions could change all that as forward-thinking coaches plot how to take advantage.
Speaking to one former Premier League coach, a renowned innovator, he is in no doubt as the potential significance. "It could really turn the game upside down," he tells Sky Sports.
The conventional wisdom thus far seems to suggest the change favours the richest clubs because they are the ones with high-quality alternatives among their substitutes.
Aston Villa's John McGinn made his concerns explicit when ruing Liverpool's triple substitutions on the hour-mark in his side's 2-0 defeat to the champions-elect in July.
Jurgen Klopp turned to Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino to alter the course of the match. Villa also saw games against Wolves and Chelsea taken away from them by the introductions of Adama Traore and Christian Pulisic respectively.
As a result, the frustration was understandable.
"We cannot thank the guy who invented the five sub rule," McGinn told Sky Sports. "It does get tougher with that rule. It does make it a lot more difficult."
But not everyone agrees the rule favours only the wealthy. "Football always resists change," Portuguese coach Jose Gomes tells Sky Sports, "but we must open our mind."
Perhaps the big winners will be those who consider the potential.
Speaking to coaches about what this rule could really mean for football, one name keeps coming up. Marcelo Bielsa might be the man to make the most of this change.
That has been evident at Leeds even since the restart. In their first home game upon football's return, Patrick Bamford was taken off at half-time against Fulham despite having scored the only goal of the first half. Bielsa has followed up by making a half-time change in every single one of Leeds' games at Elland Road since he was permitted five substitutions. บ้านผลบอล888
The Argentine is a staunch advocate of the pressing game. This high press can be one of the most entertaining brands of football around, but it places huge demands on the players. Not only is that an issue over the course of a long season but even within individual games.
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