UEFA's general secretary David Taylor has led calls from the governing body questioning the need for the very biggest clubs to maintain such massive playing squads, with the case of Liverpool, who have 62 senior players registered, being highlighted by Taylor as especially baffling and unhealthy.
"Ridiculous. 62? You could have two full-size practice games," Taylor told The Observer.
"You can only field 11 at one time. It's an open question as to how many you actually need. Is it 20, 25?"
The same newspaper also reports that Taylor responded to a question asking him what benefit he felt clubs such as Liverpool gained from such a huge squad he responded, "You'd have to ask them."
Taylor also supports limiting the size of club's squads, as in the Champions League where only 25 players can be registered. He added, "UEFA has been in the vanguard of this and we certainly feel it's very useful. But that's for organisers of domestic leagues to decide among the clubs."
Liverpool have loaned out 17 players this season to a host of clubs, with many youngsters feeling frustrated at the lack of opportunities, according to The Observer, with one player, Craig Lindfield, aged 20, on loan at Accrington Stanley, saying, "That's the difference between Liverpool and other clubs, young lads get more of a chance elsewhere."
Meanwhile, Gordon Taylor, head of the PFA agrees with UEFA's general secretary and also feels it leads to players being lost to the game who actually have the talent to earn a living from it.
"Six hundred each year join Premier and Football League clubs at 16," he said.
"Of those, 500 will be out of the game by 21. It's a big wastage and not good enough. We have got to look at improving the success rate of academies and centres of excellence.
"Those who don't make it at the top don't necessarily make it lower down. Skills and technique don't always count as much as strength and competitiveness. We're finding a big black hole between 19 and 21."
"Ridiculous. 62? You could have two full-size practice games," Taylor told The Observer.
"You can only field 11 at one time. It's an open question as to how many you actually need. Is it 20, 25?"
The same newspaper also reports that Taylor responded to a question asking him what benefit he felt clubs such as Liverpool gained from such a huge squad he responded, "You'd have to ask them."
Taylor also supports limiting the size of club's squads, as in the Champions League where only 25 players can be registered. He added, "UEFA has been in the vanguard of this and we certainly feel it's very useful. But that's for organisers of domestic leagues to decide among the clubs."
Liverpool have loaned out 17 players this season to a host of clubs, with many youngsters feeling frustrated at the lack of opportunities, according to The Observer, with one player, Craig Lindfield, aged 20, on loan at Accrington Stanley, saying, "That's the difference between Liverpool and other clubs, young lads get more of a chance elsewhere."
Meanwhile, Gordon Taylor, head of the PFA agrees with UEFA's general secretary and also feels it leads to players being lost to the game who actually have the talent to earn a living from it.
"Six hundred each year join Premier and Football League clubs at 16," he said.
"Of those, 500 will be out of the game by 21. It's a big wastage and not good enough. We have got to look at improving the success rate of academies and centres of excellence.
"Those who don't make it at the top don't necessarily make it lower down. Skills and technique don't always count as much as strength and competitiveness. We're finding a big black hole between 19 and 21."
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