The substitution was originally introduced to football to allow a team to replace an injured player, one per game to begin with.
Lots of teams objected to its introduction, claiming that it was a slippery slope, and that dishonourable managers would start to use it tactically. How right they were. Now, almost every team uses their changes to adapt their game plan – apart from Maurizio Sarri.
He uses his subs to replace a tired player with a similar but fresh player. It’s a habit that has grown increasingly infuriating, especially in games like last night where he brought on a right back for a right back when 2-0 down in the FA Cup.
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Belgian journalist Kristof Terreur has the full numbers collected here:
THIRTEEN times Ross Barkley has come on for Mateo Kovacic. That means 10% of his substitutions at the club have been taking off one annoyingly passive centre-mid for another.
Please, please, give us a break MS. Just for once change things up. We’re not sure how much more of this we can take.