The Good Old Days

[Anonymous]

Preston North End won the inaugural Football League title by 13 points in 1888-89 – remaining undefeated over the 22 game season.

76 years later… in 1965, teams were permitted to use a substitute during the course of a game.

Another 27 years later, 1992 saw clubs allowed 2 substitutes.

So, the mighty Liverpool enjoyed the majority of their success in a period where only 12 players ever touched the grass on a Saturday afternoon.

So, what’s my point?

Well, the ‘super’ clubs can afford to have 40 / 50 / 60 man squads.

In the good old days, a Fourth Division team probably had an 18 / 22 man squad – and they always got through the season!

Huge squads in the lower leagues ain’t good footballing or business sense.

I’d go with an 18 man (all SUFC players, no loanees) squad and fill in with Apprentices in emergencies.

If Liverpool can win all they did with just one player on the bench – then I’m sure we can get by with reduced numbers.

Paying players to sit on their arses in the stands ain’t good for them or the camaraderie within a squad. Nor is it good for the balance sheet.

Let’s remember, the maximum you can start a game of football with is eleven players – the minimum is 7 players.

A game is abandoned if a team goes down to fewer than 7 players.

These days, players go down feigning injury too easily – a twisted sock, a torn alice band, a pulled shirt, a snapped jock strap. It’s time they stood up and acted like the real men who played the game of old – true professionals.

Seven substitutes allowed on the bench for the new season, with five being permitted to enter the field of play.

I’m guessing it’s the same in the NL?

It’s getting ridiculous, too many disruptions to the flow of the game.
It’ll end up like American Football before we know it. A defensive team and an offensive team.

Liverpool didn’t need 7 on the bench to win all those trophies – neither do we!

From what I’ve seen, the more you have on the bench, the more detached the players are from the game – the less they concentrate on it and the more they arse about.

11 plus 4 subs would do me – 1 keeper, 1 def, 1 mid, 1 att.

[Northumbiron]

Just because you’re only allowed 12 in a match day lineup doesn’t mean you only have a small squad. It’s not necessarily the same 12 week in, week out.

Anyway we can straight away knock Hallam off the list, then as the other injuries pile up we’ll be taking out a loan or two.

22 – two players for each position is a bare minimum.

And let’s not forget, in those good old days you had a thriving reserves league to keep them match fit.

1 user thanked author for this post.

SODIron

[Anonymous]

18 min – 22 max
Plus Apprentices.
Job done.

[cassidystash]

Without the real youngsters we currently have 8 players. Of those 1 is almost always injured and 2 others often injured, plus the long Covid case struggling for fitness. So probably 4 we can rely on to be regularly available. I’d be even more concerned if UTI99 hadn’t assured me that I could relax as there is loads of time to put this right.

[Anonymous]

I’m no Professor of Mathematics, but it looks as if E ain’t ever going to equal MC squared here?

[Iron-awe]

Leonard Sachs, what a legend.

[Northumbiron]

If 18 is the minimum then we need at least three multitaskers in the old “utility player” role.

Such players tend not to be teenagers!

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lesgeo

[Square Ball Bullimore]

We’ve paid some right past it old duffers during the chairman’s tenure

2 users thanked author for this post.

inspector, lesgeo

[Deereyme66]

‘If Liverpool can win all they did with just one player on the bench – then I’m sure we can get by with reduced numbers.’

Well that made me laugh!

[Theoldmariner]

I can’t believe how both of our once proud clubs, have been so badly managed.Hopefully the bad old days are behind us,and once the big spenders of the NL have been promoted,ickle Scunthorpe might rise once again out of that god dam awful league. I go back to the ‘good old days’as a teenager visiting the OSG, when both sets supporters would stand behind the same goal, chanting obscenities at each other, all in good humour. When we dropped down the first time, I was naturally gutted, I lost interest in football completely for a while, But Once a mariner, always a mariner and slowly my interest returned. You don’t need me to tell you, your once proud club will go one of two ways survive and prosper under new owners, or…… I’m not a gambling man, but I thought it was worth a small wager on a second relegation. Look at it this way, as an old geezer, unfortunately I don’t think I’ll see another derby in my lifetime, but I hope I’m wrong.

2 users thanked author for this post.

Just Iron, alcazar

[lesgeo]

Well, T.O.M, just one question – who is offering the best odds on a second relegation?

1 user thanked author for this post.

alcazar

[Deereyme66]

Good post Old Mariner. Though ‘all in good humour’ is stretching it. A lot!

1 user thanked author for this post.

Just Iron

[Author]

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