Wolves get fined for playing a weakened side

[hellava_tough]

Apologies if there's already a thread on this...

Wolves chief Moxey calls for team selection ruling

Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey wants the Premier League to clarify rules on team selection at its summer meeting.

Wolves were given a suspended £25,000 fine by the league after making 10 changes for the clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford in December.
The issue came into focus again at the weekend as Fulham made nine changes for their game against Everton.

"I don't recall the media having a go at Manchester United for changes on the final day of last season," Moxey said.

Wolves have expressed concerns that other teams have also made wholesale alterations to their line-ups without action being taken against them.

Fulham, who play a Europa League semi-final second-leg this week, fielded a weakened team on Sunday, losing 2-1 at Goodison Park courtesy of a last-minute penalty.

Wolves' altered team selection came in December, with the club losing 3-0 at Old Trafford, but winning the games either side - away at Tottenham and home to Burnley.

And Moxey added: "Since [the game against Manchester United] we have seen other managers make a lot of changes. Are we going to have the same furore over Roy Hodgson's selections for Fulham at the weekend?

"The Premier League has got an issue and we will be raising it at the summer meeting. Being introduced now is a squad system where you can only register 25 players and as many Under-21s as we like.

"The manager will have 25 players to pick. Surely he has got to be able select whatever 11 he wants to play week in and week out just as Roy Hodgson did at the weekend.

"We will be asking for clarification on the ruling. The one question is 'how many changes are too many?' but we won't be asking for an apology for the action taken against us."


Moxey also said that he wants manager Mick McCarthy to remain at Wolves for "a very long time" after the former Republic of Ireland manager kept the club in the Premier League.

McCarthy is understood to be on a one-year rolling contract having taken over at Molineux four years ago, inhering a club in the Championship that Moxey said was "in crisis".

"Mick has been central to everything we have done from a football point of view. He took over a club that was in crisis," he said.

"Part of our plan when we appointed Mick four years ago was to take the club and rebuild it, take it to the Premier League and stay there.

"We set out a plan of where we wanted to go and Mick has delivered at every turn and we couldn't be more happy with what he has done. I hope personally Mick will be with us for a very long time."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/w/wolverhampton_wanderers/8648361.stm



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I think this is really unfair on Wolves:

(i) It wasn't against the rules. If the Premier League want to change the rules, fine, but do it at the end of the season

(ii) Lots of teams make wholesale changes to their starting XI; it's a 'squad game' after all. Why victimise Wolves?

(iii) A club should be allowed to play whichever players that they have on their books. Or at the very least, the players that they have in their 'Senior Squad'. Otherwise, the Premier League may as well pick the starting XI, week in, week out. Actually, while they're at it, they may as well appoint the managers and choose the tactics as well :lol:

Anyway, what do you guys think?

 

[bigturnip]

Teams get fined a few grand for fielding a weakened side, it's a price worth paying if they think it gives them an advantage, the league makes a few extra bob and everybody's happy. Stupid rule, managers should be able to play whatever team they see fit from the players available to them, but I can't see the teams caring too much unless the penalties get harsher.

 

[nailsy]

I think the Premier League felt like they had to do something because of the impact this has on the fans. Imagine how you would feel if you had bought a ticket to see us play United away and then we put out our second team. I think you'd feel like you'd wasted your money. Personally I think Big Mick did the right thing resting players for games he felt were more winnable. I think the Preier League actually got it right this time too as they gave them a suspended fine.

 

[Adam]

But who are the League to decide what is a 'strongest' team? The only way they can decide this would be for the managers to submit a list of 11 players at the start of the year that would make up their best team. As this doesnt happen, the Premier League are basically saying that the manager cant use his squad, which is a disgrace; I was thinking about this at the weekend and realised how much of a joke their decision to fine them was.

As someone said above, the only people they have to apologise to are the fans, so why are the League getting the money for the fine?? How does that make any sense?? If the League actually gave a shit, they'd take the fine and refund a percentage of the fans tickets-as it turns out, its just a disgraceful money making scheme that they wouldnt dare use against a big club for fear of the backlash against them

 

[nailsy]

To be fair the PL can see who the first team players are from how many starts each of them had before the game in question. If I remember rightly there was quite a bit of booing from the Wolves fans during this game as they weren't happy with all the changes. I think the PL issued the fine to stop the same thing happening to them in the next away game. You also have to remember it was a suspended fine - I don't think Wolves actually paid anything. I do agree that managers should be able to pick whoever they want whenever they want, but they shouldn't take the p*** out of their fans.

 

[SpunkyBackpack]

This is far more justified in getting upset about that an emergency keeper loan. If a the FA are stepping in to say what kind of team a manager can and cant pick then its absolutely bonkers.

The fact that they won the other games completely justifies Mick Mc....


Mick McCarthy?

Nice one Mick!

 

[nightgoat]

Consider the can of worms well and truly open...

 

[mil1lion]

West Ham should be fined £900'000 for fielding 36 weakened teams this season. Fairs fair and all that.

 

[antiloqus]

ridiculous. you should have the right to field whoever the fuck you want. We played Robbie Keane for the best part of an entire seasons worth of games, despite most agreeing that we had better sat on the bench, so should we not be fined too?

 

[karennina]

£ 25,000 suspended is about as nominal as you can get. Personally I'd forgotten Wolves were in the division or managed by McCarthy, although I suppose it's more thanks to us they're still here, than anything interesting they've done themselves. At least the PL cares, eh Mick?

 

[ShelfSide18]

Mick McCarthy?

Nice one Mick!

I can never tire of watching that.

 

[Adam]

Never seen it before, but cant take my eyes off it-its absolutely brilliant

 

[fortworthspur]

Does Arsenal ever get fined for fielding its junior players in the League Cup? Its not even a secret - its the managers stated policy. They'd never do this to one of the big clubs.

 

[hellava_tough]

Does Arsenal ever get fined for fielding its junior players in the League Cup? Its not even a secret - its the managers stated policy. They'd never do this to one of the big clubs.

I agree with you and I think this is, rather daftly, down to perception

Wolves' first team is shit and their 'second team' -their weakened side- is utter cack

The big teams have quality throughout their squads, so when they field their 'second team', no one seems to care too much because there's still perceived quality in the side

But it's still a weakened team!!

The big clubs can get away with it because they're rich

The smaller clubs can't because they're poor

Also, since the foundation of the EPL, there has been such a widening disparity of wealth between the top league and everyone else, that smaller clubs do everything they can to play top flight football. And if that means practically ignoring 'unwinnable' games against the top sides then so be it.

So isn't it the Premier League's fault that we're in this mess in the first place? Couldn't they have tried to make their league more competitive year in year out, rather than having the same 2 or 3 sides winning it for almost 20 years?

 

[KentuckyYid]

The idea of fining clubs for using a chosen combination of their registered squad players is bonkers. The competition is over a season not a single game.

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

Rewind back to Upton Park a few years ago. Lasagnegate.

Where were their worries about fielding your strongest team on that day?

****s.

And yes, i'm still bitter :razz: