The final week of the summer transfer window promises to be busier than a TMZ hack on the Katy Perry beat. But while managers look for the next "teenage dream," they are being affected by the new EPL 25-man roster rule. Some managers have gone (Lady) gaga over the upcoming regulation, but it could be the best thing that's happened to English soccer since comedian Russell Brand pledged his allegiance to West Ham as a wee lad.
It takes a big man to admit devotion to the Hammers these days, but hopefully the English Football Association will follow the controversial comedian's lead and maintain the courage of its convictions, because the 25-man ruling is already paying dividends for the Three Lions -- its intended purpose. On the second weekend of the EPL season, Theo Walcott scored a hat trick for France's best team, and Joe Hart posted his third straight shutout for Manchester's (International) League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Roberto Mancini has received great credit for starting Hart ahead of Shay Given in goal this season (his real masterstroke is giving the captain's armband to serial malcontent Carlos Tevez while loaning the notorious Craig Bellamy to Cardiff City), but was his decision a function of form or the 25-man squad equation? I would suggest the latter tilted the balance in Hart's favor.
The maximum 25-man roster requirement for all EPL teams goes into effect Sept. 1 and requires a specific number of "home-grown" players to be on the squad. Teams that can't comply with the new rules face penalties that include a reduction in their squad size until the next transfer window opens in January. Now, while "home-grown" doesn't necessarily mean English, there has been a notable uptick in young English players getting a shot in this two-week-old EPL season.
Arsene Wenger started two Englishmen against Blackpool on Saturday (Walcott got his first start of the season while Jack Wilshere got his second) and had another (Kieran Gibbs) on the bench. While that trio equates to the number of albums in Perry's discography, the players' presence in the Arsenal squad is every bit as much a revolution down at The Emirates as the "California Gurls" pop fashion aesthetic.
Back at the Eastlands, much has been made of the Blue Moon spending spree this summer. (Spare me the moral turpitude: Since the days of Herbert Chapman, wannabe title contenders have had to spend big to compete, yet it's only now that the checks are written in American dollars, Russian rubles and Middle East petrodollars that the red top rags have got into a frenzy about it.)
But despite all the expensive imported talent at Mancini's disposal, he started six Englishmen against Liverpool on Monday night. Is it a coincidence with the new EPL ruling on the near horizon that hugely talented young Slovak winger Vladimir Weiss Jr. was loaned out to Glasgow Rangers by City, while hugely talented young English winger Adam Johnson got the opportunity to dazzle (and destroy Liverpool) on Monday night? No.
James Milner made an impressive debut for City, while Micah Richards and Joleon Lescott did their England recall chances a power of good. Elsewhere at the weekend Ben Foster put in a fine display for Birmingham City and Andy Carroll banged in a hat trick for Newcastle against woebegone Aston Villa. Not too long ago, the Magpies were buying strikers from all over the map. Now, it's handy to have an Englishman at hand. Just ask Perry.
Let's hope it becomes a growing trend in the EPL, because as in the words of the fiancée of West Ham's most outrageous fan: some have shown they are ready to be "One of the Boys." Not just for their EPL teams, but potentially for England as well. Now that would be something to sing about.