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After much mystery and rumour about their scrapping, and total lack of information, the PL has today posted this on it's website:

http://www.premierleague.com/page/Acade ... 59,00.html

In true PL fashion it will not let me cut and paste it. Any whizzkids know how to get round that?

Basically the squad is named AT THE END OF EACH WINDOW, and changes can be made to the squad 'during the period of a transfer window'. Unlimited players under 21 on 1st January 2010.

So I guess everyone can do what the hell they like until 31st August? Which seems faintly ridiculous and suggests no-one thought of a solution.

The 20 clubs have agreed the introduction of a home-grown player rule, which will take effect at the start of the 2010/11 campaign.

From next season, clubs must include eight home-grown players out of a squad of 25.‬‪

A home-grown player will be defined as one who, irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday (or the end of the Season during which he turns 21).‬‪

Clubs will be able to supplement their squads with unlimited additional players under the age of 21 on 1st January in the year in which the season commences.

Changes to the squad list of 25 may be made during the period of a transfer window.‬‪

Chief executive Richard Scudamore confirmed: "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.

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

more attractive

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

Premier League Academies have 320 scholars aged between 16 and 18 and a further 2,486 students aged under 16. ‬‪

Over 85 per cent of Academy scholars (16 - 18 years of age) are British, a proportion that rises to around 95 per cent for students (under 16 age groups).‬‪

Academic standards, as judged by Ofsted, are good and the welfare of the young people is of paramount importance to the Premier League and its clubs.

Scudamore believes the England team will ultimately reap the reward of the new ruling which he feels in unlikely to encourage clubs to hoard young overseas players.

"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."

Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe has welcomed the Premier League's new rules on home-grown players as being good for the long-term health of football.

Sutcliffe said: "I welcome the Premier League's introduction of a home-grown player quota for squads and its implementation of strengthened financial reporting rules.

"These moves will encourage clubs to develop and bring through young talent and help ensure clubs are financially stable."

I like the idea of encouraging the use of young players but I don't see how this makes a great deal of difference as regards young English players. All of Arsenal's young foreign players will pass this 'homegrown' test, as will all the different nationalities currently being signed up by our academy.

Ted Hughes wrote:I like the idea of encouraging the use of young players but I don't see how this makes a great deal of difference as regards young English players. All of Arsenal's young foreign players will pass this 'homegrown' test, as will all the different nationalities currently being signed up by our academy.

It's idiotic and will surely be scrapped after a year. At the end of the day the purpose of the Premier League is to serve it's members, it's self-perpetuation, not the good of the England football team (even though these rules are unlikely to help for the reasons you say).

Thanks to LAHAD the whizzkid.

john@staustell wrote:

Ted Hughes wrote:I like the idea of encouraging the use of young players but I don't see how this makes a great deal of difference as regards young English players. All of Arsenal's young foreign players will pass this 'homegrown' test, as will all the different nationalities currently being signed up by our academy.

It's idiotic and will surely be scrapped after a year. At the end of the day the purpose of the Premier League is to serve it's members, it's self-perpetuation, not the good of the England football team (even though these rules are unlikely to help for the reasons you say).

Thanks to LAHAD the whizzkid.

This is it. The whole thing is because England are shit and it's not just because of the amount of foreigners here it's because of several reasons, This won't fix it at all. Also the fact rich investors are buying clubs like us is scaring people and they are trying to stop us but in reality it's not slowing us down however if say Liverpool got bought they would struggle to buy top quality English now as the best English now are at other top teams bar maybe Gerrard who they already got. All this new rule is gonna do is gonna force the big teams to horde all the good English players. Plus all the money in the world won't change anything if the upcoming players haven't got any natural talent to begin with. Typical FA answer to everything is to throw money at it just like with Cappello and the England squad and look how that turned out.

didn,t uefa get rid of the same quota rules because its against euro laws?

stinky pete wrote:didn,t uefa get rid of the same quota rules because its against euro laws?

That's why there were rumours it has been scrapped. I guess it's OK within the PL 'club' unless someone challenges it.

For me the fact that it's free-for-all until 31st August just screams 'poor, ill-thought-out legislation'.

The Premier League should embrace being a global competition showing off the best talent from around the world.

Would like to know the exact reasoning behind the rule, if it is just for the good of the English national squad then it is pretty nonsensical, there are far greater problems with the set up than a lack of English players making the top grade.

From what I can calculate we used about 27 players last year(I maybe wrong).
From my interpretation of the rules the fact that we can name a squad twice a year means we have little to worry about.
In theory we could go through 50 players a year.

john@staustell wrote:

stinky pete wrote:didn,t uefa get rid of the same quota rules because its against euro laws?

That's why there were rumours it has been scrapped. I guess it's OK within the PL 'club' unless someone challenges it.

For me the fact that it's free-for-all until 31st August just screams 'poor, ill-thought-out legislation'.

I'm not an employment lawyer but I can see this rule being challenged successfully and having to be scrapped.

The effect of this rule will very likely be to force many players (over the age of 21) out of their current jobs (where they hold valid contracts for a set amount of earnings) into a "lesser" job (either in lower leagues or overseas).

Take someone like Javier Garrido and say he had three remaining years on his contract now.

He will very likely not be within our named squad of 25, therefore running up to the end of the window the club would have two choices:

- pay a player who will not play for you at all.....and no chance of him doing so...from August to January (when you can sell him)
- sell him on at whatever value you can get (or free tsfr him)

Essentially option 2 will involve the clubs forcing the players out of the door and I can see them using lots of tactics to do so which will lead them open to legal action in terms of

- constructive dismissal
- UK age discrimination legislation and
- contravening EU free movement of workers legislation (as the quota effectively puts an artificial cap on the amount of players UK or overseas who can work at the top level in the PL)

I agree with above comments saying this won't last long, I can't believe that the PL is stupid (and badly advised) enough to continue to pursue this after UEFA dropped it/was forced to drop it