13 Mar 2026 17:24:27
I've thought this for years. With 9 subs nowadays it should be an opportunity to at least have 2 young players on the bench. Player trading model? . With 7 subs we can near cover every position. Put 2 young promising prospects on the pitch and if comfortable in the game, put them on.
When the 9 sub rule came in I thought a great opportunity for young players. We have just not embraced the opportunity at all.
13 Mar 2026 18:31:45
The nine sub rules allow clubs to put more of their expensive players on the bench.
13 Mar 2026 18:53:14
Why would we do this and handicap ourselves against all our opponents. There used to be a rule where all clubs had to have two U21s on the bench, and that wasn't 2 from 9 like it would be today. The clubs voted to get rid of it, which says it all really. They argued that they were having to put youngsters on the bench that hadn't earned it, just to comply with the rules.
The big clubs down south are campaigning to be like the Euro competitions and have all their listed squads on the bench "to include them all", still nothing to do with youngsters, although they do seem to be able to give boys a chance more than we do up here.
13 Mar 2026 19:41:07
They should only be on the bench if they deserve it, no other reason.
13 Mar 2026 20:00:21
Agree ^.
13 Mar 2026 20:56:07
Put subs on the bench that you can bring on to change games.
13 Mar 2026 22:44:45
Problem with that, Storm, is how do we decide if they deserve it, since we have no youth football/reserve league for our youngsters to prove themselves.
The SFA should be smart and bring a rule in forcing teams to run a certain amount of Scottish/academy players included in the match day squad, and this would allow players a chance they might never have gotten, especially at Rangers/Celtic since we just buy foreign players year in year out.
14 Mar 2026 10:29:34
BbJ, it's not up to us; it's up to the manager and coaches. If they deserve it or not, they see them in training, etc.
14 Mar 2026 11:07:03
Yes, Storm, but we all know training isn't the be-all and end-all, as, remember, we trained so hard under RM, yet never saw it on the pitch.
The only way to tell is to give them a chance in men's football.