Richard Keys furious at new development in Everton loss to Chelsea
Richard Keys was very upset by what he saw in 1-0 Everton loss to Chelsea due to the new rule allowing five substitutions per side.
There were plenty of delays in the match on Saturday (6 August), thanks to a serious injury to Ben Godfrey, another problem for Yerry Mina, a medical emergency in the crowd, and a penalty to the away side that led to the only goal of the game.
But it was the increased use of substitutions, brought back to the Premier League this year after being used in the Covid-19 season, that really wound up the beIN Sports anchor, who took aim at Thomas Tuchel’s side apparently abusing the new rule, and the Liverpool manager who has long argued for the reintroduction.
Writing in his latest blog post on Monday, Keys said: “I was sorry to see some coach’s taking the [expletive] out of the new 5-subs rule – but it was inevitable.
“Chelsea made 5 changes late on at Goodison in order to interrupt Everton’s momentum (when they got some). The ball was in play only 47 minutes at Everton.
“I’m not a fan. It wasn’t a necessary change. There’s talk of playing a minimum of 60 minutes before games end – but we’ve added this change and it allows coaches to slow games – kill games when they want with endless changes.
“Far from ’saving’ the game as [Jurgen] Klopp argues – it’s another change that is more likely to ‘kill’ it.”
Fair?
The fact that there was just over a half’s worth of actual play in the game is a striking statistic, but it is strange to suddenly care about it now when it has been the case that time is wasted in numerous ways for years.
There are supposed to be 30 seconds added on by the referee for every substitution that is made, and there were 10 minutes of injury time at the end of the game at Goodison.
What rarely gets accounted for is the endless time wasted preparing to take corners and free kicks, or the endless squabbling and arguing with the referee, let alone the needless stops in play caused when the official falls for players buying constant soft fouls.
Managers are obviously going to use anything they can to their advantage, when their jobs are ultimately dependent on results, so Keys need not have been surprised.
On the face of it more substitutes appears to benefit bigger sides, but there are arguments to suggest it isn’t quite so clear cut [Guardian].
That seems like a more valid argument to protest at a rule change you don’t like, whereas the amount of time it takes is only adding to a far larger issue that is contributed to by numerous factors that fans are already largely against.
If Everton had been protecting a one-goal lead, as they were in the same fixture last season, then numerous substitutions to break up Chelsea momentum would have been something useful, as the famous pictures of the fan hiding the ball up his shirt in April were.
It was a frustrating day for Frank Lampard and his side at the weekend, but more substitutions weren’t the main reason for a manager dealing with a mounting injury crisis.