"We want more competition, not less" - Former Liverpool player Stan Collymore slams Premier League's decision to allow 5 substitutes

Former Liverpool forward Stan Collymore has hit out at the Premier League following their decision to reintroduce the use of five substitutes per game from the start of the 2022-23 season.

The change in substitutions rules was briefly introduced in the Premier League as an emergency measure when the Premier League was restarted in 2020. This was following a three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other leagues in Europe and even the Champions League eventually made the rule a permanent one. However, the Premier League was the only league that decided against it.

Several managers, including Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, repeatedly advocated for a change in the substitution laws. The Premier League have finally decided to increase the number of substitutes from three to five per match from next season.

Klopp has welcomed the decision and hailed it as 'top news for football' in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Watford game on Saturday.

However, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore has slammed the decision. The 51-year-old took to Twitter to share his discontent with the change in the rules.

The former England attacker insisted that it is an 'absurd decision' and will kill the competition in the Premier League. He wrote:

"5 subs, absurd. Utter cobblers saying, 'But City are better than Norwich first XI so what difference will 5 others make?' It basically moves the competitive pendulum even further to the richest. We want more competition, not less."

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Will clubs like Liverpool and Manchester City benefit from the change in the substitution rules?

Some of the smaller clubs have been against the decision to reintroduce the rule to allow five substitutes per match and it is pretty evident why. The big boys of the Premier League like Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea have much bigger and stronger squads in comparison to the smaller teams.

Allowing more changes will definitely help the cause of the bigger teams. However, many expected the rule to be introduced sooner or later. With other leagues having enforced the rules earlier, the Premier League were likely to follow suit at some point.

Players will be happy with the decision as it allows them more time to recover. It will also give managers the flexibility to use more players.