It looks like Brucey may have problems: Not only will the Tigers need a squad capable of battling on two fronts, but complex UEFA rules could leave the Yorkshire club seriously handicapped in Europe. Clubs competing in the Europa League are required to submit 25 names to UEFA before the competition gets under way, eight of which must have been trained in England for three years or more. Of those eight, half must have been trained by the club in question for a minimum three consecutive years between the ages of 15 and 21. At present, Hull have no squad members who fit the second criteria with even fourth-choice goalkeeper Mark Oxley failing to qualify due to having spent last season on loan at Oldham. That means if the current squad competed in next seasonâs Europa League, Bruce would be restricted to just 21 players â four less than in the Premier League. http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/football/hull/hull-city-now-facing-european-handicap-1-6609096
If Man City have to manage with 21 in The Champions League, we can do the same in The Europa League; no problem whatsoever! That's almost two teams for f**ks sake.
I dont think I could name a 25 man squad from our current (senior) players anyway lol - McGregor Harper Jak Rosie Elmo Chester McShane Davies Bruce Dudge Figgy Brady Meyler Boyd Thudd Livermore Koren Aluko Long Jelly Fryatt Sagbo I expect a few of the above will leave this window, so the overall number of senior players is unlikely to fluctuate that much. So currently, we would just have to manage without 3 keepers to achieve a 21 man squad. Are any of our kids realistically going to get a look in considering we rarely played them in cup matches against lower division opposition this season?
That rule about someone not qualifying just because they went out on loan last season seems ridiculous.
City have been granted a Europa League license so all your fears are unwarranted. Just enjoy it for what it is. And remember you are the first generation of Hull City fans to get the opportunity. Harold Needler would have given his right arm for this.
Was about to post this in the interview thread but then noticed this so pasting here: I can see the Europa League squad being slightly tricky, given the requirement of 4 homegrown players in the 25-man squad. As we have none currently in our first team squad that's going to require leaving 4 spots to cover that, so we can only name 21 senior players. If we look at our current senior squad I'd say we'll have these staying: Keepers McGreggor Jakupovic Harper Centre backs Davies Chester Bruce McShane Fullbacks Rosenior Figueroa Central Mids Huddlestone Meyler Wide Midfielders Elmo Brady Boyd Quinn Forwards Jelavic Long Aluko Fryatt Sagbo That's 20, so would only leave room for 1 more named senior player, and it doesn't include any potential new signings - including Livermore (who I'm not counting on for next season until I see him signed). I'm assuming the likes of Koren and Faye will be gone, and though I want Dudgeon to stay and prove himself I think he needs to go out on loan to the Champoionship for a season of regular football following his injury. Considering we'll really need to sign another fullback or two, possibly a centre back, central midfielder and winger it's going to be tough for Bruce to select 21 seniors for the 25-man Europe squad. Probably name 2 keepers and have a youngster as 3rd for one, but then someone like Quinn or Bruce will need to miss out too. The youngsters will be seriously unlikely to play - and I think you can leave 4 'blank' slots to cover it, rather than naming specific youths? It'll certainly put a bit of extra pressure on those 21 seniors, and any injuries to them will leave that European squad very thin!
Am I right in thinking we wouldn't have to name U21s though? So if we signed Redmond we could in effect have 22 players etc.
In an interview last week Bruce did mention getting some young players from other academies as they did not count in the total.
Yeah, it's the same as the PL rules in that sense For next season it's: Players 1-17 are a free pick. Players 18-21 are players homegrown by country. Players 22-25 are players homegrown by club. You have unlimited players born 1/1/1993 on the U21s list. (before anyone points it out, Brady was born 1992 and was on our U21s list this season due to the January cutoff) Oh, and Oxley will be fine. The rule says he has to have had 3 years or 3 seasons training with the club before his 21st birthday or the end of the season his 21st birthday falls in. Last season was Oxley's 6th season with us and his loan started 2 months before his 23rd birthday, so even if there was any truth in the rule being impacted by loans* it's got **** all to do with his eligibility in this case. *I don't think there is as he's still a player registered to us, and there's no way Man U and co would send kids out on loan if it stopped them being HG for the club. There's also the fact we recalled him when McGregor got injured, meaning he was with us for part of the season.
