Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique has hit back at comments from Everton midfielder Andros Townsend who slammed Jurgen Klopp for moaning and getting his way regarding five substitutes being allowed in the Premier League from next season.
The Premier League temporarily introduced a change in the regulations after the return from the Covid break in the 2019/20 campaign. This meant that teams were allowed to use five substitutes rather than the usual three. However, after that brief change, the rule was reverted to the normal three substitutes per match.
But earlier this year, it was announced that Premier League sides had voted to allow five substitutes in games from the start of the 2022/23 campaign onwards. Many managers have spoken of their support of the issue in the past, including Everton boss Frank Lampard.
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However, Townsend claimed that Klopp "got his way" with the ruling. And he also declared that the Reds manager's comments over a number of issues have put pressure on to deliver what he wants.
Townsend told talkSPORT : "I love how Jurgen Klopp has found a way to get his way. He’s been moaning for years. They have been pushing back, and finally, they have given him his five subs.
"He will probably still use two or three in the biggest games. But who are we to argue with him? In the biggest games, Liverpool and Manchester City, they use one or two subs. They don’t use the four. It’s the games against Crystal Palace or Brentford, [when] they can’t break teams down, [when it's] 11 behind the ball. Then it's, ‘right, can we bring on five world-class internationals who are fresher and can change the game?’ That’s where it becomes unfair.
"Clearly a lot [Jurgen’s sway in the Premier League]. I think we saw last season, even the season before, constantly banging on and banging on. Votes on votes on votes. Getting pushed back, then all of a sudden, they announced the five subs eventually.
"Last season again, moaning about the schedule, moaning about this and that, then all of a sudden, I think it was BT Sport putting a game on Saturday evening, which I had never seen before in the Premier League. All of this moaning... moaning puts pressure to give him what he wants and he has got what he wants on many occasions."
And Enrique, who made 99 appearances for the Reds across a five-year-spell, hit back at the Everton winger’s comments. He posted on his Instagram story: “It is true that big clubs have better benches but they don’t have better starting 11 as well? If you want to enjoy the best player as much as we can they need to have more rest and five subs will help that.”
The Spaniard was also pressed by his followers further on the issue with one follower commenting that the new rule ‘breaks the flow of the game but will prevent injuries’. Enrique said: “It doesn’t really [break the flow of the game] because you can make five subs but in three times. So for example two, two and one. So the time is exactly the same as it is now if you make the three changes.”
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