Manchester United team up with Chelsea to advocate more Premier League subs

Sky Sports yesterday carried a report claiming that Manchester United and Chelsea were both pushing for the expansion of the number of substitutes on Premier League matchdays from seven to nine. According to FIFA's laws of the game, the number of substitutions permitted could not change from the current three, though it would just allow the managers a little more choice in making their decisions. The proposals will apparently be debated at the Premier League AGM next month.

Just as a parallel, in 2012, the Italian authorities took the decision to allow Serie A clubs to name a whopping 12 substitutes for their matches. The most obvious benefit seemed that youth players would be given a greater chance at getting some gametime, though that is admittedly dependent on the character and mentality of the man in charge. Another interesting advantage was explained by Napoli president Aurelio Di Laurentiis, who was one of the change's biggest advocates:

"I made the proposal while ago because I thought it was important to give more choice to the coaches for changes during games, but also because it was unfair to send called up players to the stands as it threatened to see their value plummet. It proves it is not impossible to change the world of football, but we have stood still for too long."

So, what do you reckon? Good? Bad? Indifferent?