Posted by Stephen Kuzner

By Stephen Kuzner - WFD Fan Correspondent

The Premier League's decision to implement rules limiting squads to 25 players, 8 of which must be 'home-grown' was done for the sake of developing English national team players. However, it is possible England may not get any benefit from the changes because 'home-grown' doesn't mean English, rather a player must have spent 3 years between the ages of 16-21 registered at the club. There is no limit on players under age 21. But above age 21, a team can name no more than 17 in their squad until the next transfer window. It will take a few years to see if the squad rules will have their intended effect or not. In the mean time, what will be the consequences of the squad limitations on the EPL?

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had strong words about the rules saying they have paralyzed the transfer market and will ruin the EPL. The transfer market may have dried up because no one has much money to spend and transfer figures have been inflated by Manchester City and Real Madrid the past two years. Like the financial crisis, there seems to be a market-correction this summer in the transfer window. However, in the long-run, Wenger may be correct. If a club develops 8 players capable of being in the squad, clubs will want to hang-on to them because these players will fit their system, save the club money on transfer fees, and help fill the 'home-grown' requirements. Retaining 'home-grown' players is good for the long-run economic sustainability of the EPL and its clubs. Also, more 'home-grown' players will probably mean more one-club players. This would be great for improving public relations, but would the quality of players improve as well?

I say yes. EPL clubs will just have to get better at spotting talent earlier-on. The players don't have to be English. They just need to have spent 3 years between the ages of 16-21 registered at the club. The EPL will just get the prospects before they have been developed into stars. Scouting is a global game and the EPL has more resources to get this done better than any other league in the world. Discovering and developing players is proactive, economical, and sustainable. Buying players is reactive, pricey, and limiting. Moreover, we still need to remember that although the 'home-grown' requirements may actually improve player quality, the clubs still have 17 roster spots to spend money on.

There are many examples of clubs that develop talent to indicate it as a better model than buying players; that being as long as you can hold-on to the players you develop. The obvious case in point being FC Barcelona producing Víctor Valdés, Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Bojan Krkić, Sergio Busquets, Pedro Rodríguez, and Jeffrén Suárez, many of which were local boys. 7 of Spain's starters in the World Cup Final came through the Barca Academy. Barcelona also won 6 Trophies a year ago starting 6-7 academy products. Clearly, developing players can be as or more effective than buying players.

The key to developing talent is to also retain it. Ajax would be a lot better if they were able to keep Edwin van der Sar, Ryan Babel, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Eljero Elia, John Heitinga and Nigel de Jong. The same goes for West Ham United's 'Academy of Football', if they still had Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Glen Johnson to add to Mark Noble and Jack Collison.

Perhaps the best example is Athletic Bilbao. Along with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao has never been relegated in the history of La Liga. Last year, they placed 8th in La Liga. Chances are Bilbao would finish in a similar position if they played in the EPL, at worst, mid-table. The thing is, everyone on their squad hailed from Spain. Bilbao is known for it's 'cantera' policy of bringing young Basque players through the ranks. They essentially primarily discover and develop regional talent. Further, when they do buy players, they buy Basque players.

Yet, there is another way the EPL will gain from squad limitations. Squad limits will prevent richer teams from hoarding players that don't make it on to the field. When roster limitations were put in place for the NFL, parity increased. The same thing happened in NCAA sports with athletic scholarships here limited. The big dogs need to offload some players. At least in the short-run, this may create a market-correction where player values drop thus making players available and affordable to teams further down the table and in the Championship. Steve Ireland or Craig Bellamy playing for the Fulham's or Bolton's of the world will level the playing field. If any player-hoarding is done, it will be with youth players. However, this doesn't hurt the EPL. It hurts other leagues. The biggest benefit may come to teams on the bottom half of the table. This will make traveling to Bolton on a Monday night that much more difficult for the title-contenders.

In sum, to counter Wenger's belief that 'Ridiculous' squad rules will ruin the EPL, I say 'Sensible' squad rules will bolster the EPL by forcing it's clubs to do what they should have been doing all along: discovering, developing, and retaining talent. Wenger should be upset. These rules will compel other clubs to run a smarter policy regarding talent more akin to Arsenal. That means less transfers, smarter transfers, and youth development. This summer will be known as when the silly season became the smart season.