Football was once a game of 22 players and only 22 players.
But in 1965, the Football League saw its first substitute, and the number of changes each manager can make has been on the rise ever since.
While the three permitted swaps has been the law since the mid-1990s, Leicester City may be able to make five substitutions per game when the Premier League resumes later this month.
IFAB, the governing body that oversees the laws of the game, have made a temporary change, increasing the cap on substitutions to five, although they can only be made across three separate breaks. It’s a decision that has been made in order to reduce the pressure on players amid busy schedules in the summer heat as leagues try to squeeze in the rest of their campaigns.
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It’s a law that has been adopted in Germany, where the season has been back up and running for a few weeks. There is no confirmation that the Premier League will yet take it on board, but if they do, the numbers suggest City would benefit.
This season, no club has seen players from the bench provide more goals and assists than City. A total of 12 goals have either been scored or assisted by City substitutes, three more than the next best side, Manchester City.
It’s a statistic that demonstrates both Leicester’s strength in depth and Brendan Rodgers’ tactical shrewdness, and two extra substitutes give the club and the manager further opportunities to show their superiority in this area.
With a goal and two assists from the bench, Kelechi Iheanacho is City’s leader in this regard, but Hamza Choudhury, Harvey Barnes, Marc Albrighton, Ayoze Perez, Demarai Gray, and James Justin have all provided positive attacking contributions as substitutes.
In City’s last outing, Jamie Vardy returned from injury and struck twice.
With a potential for 12 games in 42 days when City return, given a possible FA Cup run, rotating the squad will be significant.
“It’s something that comes into consideration,” Rodgers said on squad rotation. “It will be important, like it always had been. It’s definitely something we will look at over the course of the games.
“The whole squad going into this period will be super focused and have to be ready to contribute because we’re going to need the freshness, and if they increase the substitutes, that can play a factor as well.”
