Two alternatives to new Premier League rules

By now, the Premier League's new squad restriction rules have been seen, chewed over and spat out by a large section of the football press and its corresponding blogging community. I have made my view clear both here and on the podcast, but there are a couple of points I'd like to add.

I noted in my last post about the new rules that it is a shame they're so toothless - intentionally, in my opinion - because they might just have been a step in the right direction had they done what they were apparently intended to do.

In this post, I'll present a couple of ways in which the agreed rules could be tweaked to actually make strides towards bringing English football, and more specifically the domination of the select few, back down to earth. In truth, the big clubs will cope the best with any changes, but we must start somewhere.

Redefine "home grown"

Despite the huge criticism of the Premier League and Richard Scudamore in the last couple of days, the idea of encouraging investment in the development of young, local talent is one which should be applauded. It's a shame, then, that the Premier League is encouraging no such thing.

The term "home grown" is used completely inappropriately, but properly and accurately defined it would be a good addition to the rules. Eight home grown players, which is the minimum required under the new framework, would be revolutionary and yet realistic. But home grown must mean home grown, or it would remain pointless.

For me, that means English or British. I'm not against foreign footballers in any way, but let's not pretend the new rules in any way benefit the real home grown talents.

Move the age watershed to 18

The other clear flaw in the new rules is that the age restriction is placed at 21, which is simply too old. Arsenal's potential home grown team demonstrates that requiring only that a player has been in England or Wales for three years between the ages of 16 and 21 is barely a restriction at all.

However, moving that age to 18 is a subtle alteration which would fundamentally change the look of these rules. It would genuinely encourage the nurturing of young domestic players, redefine "home grown" and still allow for the scouting of foreign youngsters which, like it or not, is a reality of the modern game.

Of course, this is all theoretical and assumes wrongly that the powers-that-be have the best interests of football and the wishes of supporters at heart. Regardless, please leave a comment and let me know what you think of these suggestions.