Wolves fined for Team Selection

The FA has given a £25,000 suspended fine to Primer league outfit Wolverhampton Wanders. This comes after Wolves manager Mick McCarthy fielded weakened team against Manchester United back in December. The FA are fining Wolves in breach of Rule E20, which states that clubs must filed a full strength side in all top flight games. There was also a reference to Rule B13 an obligation of upmost good faith to the league.

In December Wolves had played two intense EPL games against Bolton Wanders, followed by Tottenham. Wolves won both games and feeling his players had given their all McCarthy chose to change the team for the upcoming match with Man Utd. To the shock of the footballing world McCarthy made ten changes, with goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann the only player to remain in the team. McCarthy justified the move by saying “We had a great result at Spurs and every player rated it 9 to 9.5/10 in terms of how hard it was....I need to protect them. If you have another match of that magnitude, you can't cope. We have big games coming."

Man Utd took all three points against the much changed Wolves team. The “next big game” for Wolves was against fellow promoted team Burnley. Returning the team to its so called first eleven Wolves beat Burnley 2-0 in a dominate performance, the win taking Wolves out of the regulation places lifting them to twelfth in the league.

Wolves have accepted the find and Mick McCarthy hopes it puts an end to the ordeal. But there’s a certain somebody who might find all this interesting. Neil Warnock the current Crystal Palace manager in the Championship, will no doubt have a few word to say on this.

On the final day of the 2006-2007 EPL season, Sheffield United whom Warnock managed at the time, would be regulated. A factor in his sides drop was that Fulham had beaten Liverpool. This had occurred because Liverpool fielded the so call weaker side. Liverpool had an upcoming Champions League game to concentrate on, so Benitez was not risking injury to his main players.

Liverpool were never called up on Rule 20 or B13, nor are there any repercussions when Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United field youngsters in the FA Cup and League Cup. Warnock has always believed the FA and EPL wanted Sheffield Utd out of the Primer League. No doubt the latest FA ruling will add strength to his argument. There’s also the Carlos Tevez affair but let’s not go there.

The fact is the manager controls his team and picks the players. Most teams have a squad of twenty-two players. This squad is in my opinion the first team and can play in any combination the manager chooses. Yes fans do pay to see the best players on show, but they have to trust the manager to do what’s best. At the end of the day it’s the manager who works closest to the players and knows their form and fitness.

The FA has claimed they will now take infringements on these rules more seriously, but these rules must be applied to all teams and all competition. It’s only fair that big clubs play their best players in the cup games even if it’s against a lonely opposition. As for Neil Warnock watch out for any new head injuries , he may be banging the wall again.