00:00Modern football simply doesn't stop.
00:03Between league games, cup ties, European nights, international breaks and half-made-up tournaments,
00:09the calendar is bursting at the seams.
00:12It's no longer enough to have a world-class start in XI.
00:15If you want to survive, let alone win at the top level, you need something more.
00:20You need two full squads ready to go.
00:24In this video, we'll have a butcher the impact caused by modern-day football.
00:28Why squad depth has become the non-negotiable for success at the highest level
00:32and how it's affected clubs' transfer market strategies.
00:36Papa Pinker's here with 4-4-2. Let's talk about it.
00:41So why do clubs need two squads?
00:45Well, to state the obvious, the football calendar is absolute chaos.
00:49A club competing in all comps can play up to 65 games in a single season.
00:54That includes 38 league games in most leagues, up to 15 in the Champions League if they reach the final,
01:01domestic cups, pre-season tournaments and more.
01:05When you average that out, it's a match every four or five days for 10 months.
01:10I mean, just ask Pep Guardiola about it.
01:12In Man City's treble-winning season back in 2023, they played 61 games.
01:18Not just competing either, but dominating.
01:20They did it by rotating heavily, sharing the load and having depth in every position to keep themselves fit and fresh.
01:27For example, in the Premier League, they used 37 different line-ups in their 38 games.
01:33And not because of an injury crisis, but because they could.
01:36Because their schedule demanded it.
01:38And because they had the quality in personnel that meant changing players or positions didn't lead to a drop in standards.
01:45In comparison, Arsenal fielded just 22 different line-ups when they finished runners-up that season,
01:51making fewer changes to their line-up than any other Premier League team.
01:54Because when they did give their bench players a go, they went out of both domestic cups very early on.
02:00Same can be said for Liverpool last season, where one decision to play a couple of youngsters and a few fringe squad players
02:06resulted in them crashing out of the FA Cup to Plymouth, while their best XI consistently sliced through the Premier League week in, week out.
02:15As Arne Slott used the second-fewest amount of players throughout that campaign.
02:19While there is an argument to be made that rotating a squad and keeping it fresh could interrupt the fluency and consistency of a team,
02:26having the option of squad depth today is just non-negotiable.
02:30With these busy schedules, no player, no matter how elite, no matter how talented, can stay at their peak across 60-plus games.
02:39With constant travel involved too.
02:41All of this inevitably leads us on to one of the biggest disruptors in modern football.
02:47Injuries.
02:48According to the UEFA Elite Club injury study, elite clubs suffer about 1.2 injuries per match.
02:54Typically soft tissue injuries, the kind caused by overuse and fatigue, have increased by over 20% in recent years.
03:04And clubs competing in four or more competitions have an 18% higher injury rate than those playing in two or fewer.
03:11Look at Liverpool in the 2020-21 season.
03:13They were the defending Premier League champions, but injuries completely and utterly destroyed them.
03:19Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Matip were all out with long-term injuries.
03:24Henderson and Fabinho had to play at centre-back on multiple occasions.
03:29In total, Liverpool used 20 different central defensive pairings that season.
03:34The result?
03:35They scraped them to the top four thanks to a winner from their goalkeeper.
03:39But their title defence was gone by Christmas.
03:41Now compare that with Real Madrid in the 2023-24 season.
03:46They lost Courtois, Militao and Alaba, three key defenders, all to ACL injuries.
03:53But thanks to squad depth and tactical flexibility, they adapted.
03:57Chouameni filled in at centre-back.
03:59Carlo Ancelotti reshuffled his system without reducing the quality.
04:03And they still won La Liga and the Champions League.
04:06And that's the difference.
04:07One club had to sacrifice their identity and collapse under pressure.
04:11The other had a second wave of players ready to step in.
04:15Successful teams rotate their squads strategically.
04:17The best clubs aren't just playing the same 11 week in, week out.
04:21They're distributing minutes to 18 or 20 players consistently.
04:25So with all those stats in mind, let's talk about what a successful squad actually looks like
04:30and how teams go about assembling one.
04:32Firstly, it's an obvious numbers game.
04:35You need the bodies in there.
04:36But not just any, you need first team quality players who can slot in without dropping the level.
04:42On average, title winning squads feature around 18 to 21 players who log at least 500 minutes over the season.
04:49These aren't bloated squads.
04:51They're cleverly constructed teams where almost every player has a clear role and a genuine impact.
04:56But second, and most importantly, clubs need to strike the right balance between bringing in multiple of the same style of players,
05:04but also having a variety of tools in the box to adapt and surprise.
05:09For example, some clubs are now so committed to a specific playing style that they've actually started recruiting players who are stylistically identical to their starters.
05:18The goal isn't just to have cover, it's to keep the system ticking, even when someone drops out.
05:25Look at Arsenal, for example.
05:26They're eyeing up Noni Madueke, not just because he's got talent, but because he plays almost identical to Bukayo Saka.
05:33Left-footed, direct, hard-working and positionally disciplined on the right-hand side.
05:39Newcastle doing the same thing by signing Anthony Elanga, whose high-pressing, electric pace and counter-attacking style lines up neatly with what Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes bring.
05:49It's clever recruitment, building a squad where the machine keeps running no matter who's on the pitch.
05:54It's not about signing superstars for the sake of it.
05:57It's about having ready-made replacements for both now and the future.
06:01Barcelona are a prime example of how to attack recruitment from both angles.
06:07After years of big-name spending and faced with financial issues in previous years, their 2023-24 season was bolstered by breakout talents like Lamin Yamao and Pau Koubasi.
06:19A good academy pipeline turned their 25-man squad into a 30-man rotation machine, without spending a penny of their transfer budget.
06:27In the 2024-25 campaign, those youngsters became starters and shining lights.
06:34It's a win-win.
06:35The clubs that lift trophies in May aren't just the strongest, they're the deepest.
06:39They can rest their best players, rotate effectively and shift tactics on the fly.
06:45They survive the full 60-match grind and come out thriving.
06:48So next time someone says a team doesn't need another midfielder or a backup winger, remember, modern football is a 60-game war.
06:57And to win it, you don't just need a strong team, you need two.
07:00But even that might not be enough.
07:02Because while clubs are busy trying to manage this relentless schedule, there's something they have absolutely no control over.
07:10And that is the international calendar.
07:12These aren't high-stake qualifiers or tournament deciders.
07:16They're meaningless games dropped right in the middle of a brutal club season, like potholes in an F1 track.
07:23You've got players clocking 60 games a year, giving everything to fight for league titles, cup runs and Champions League glory.
07:30And then suddenly they're flying to Moldova to jog around in a half-empty stadium for a friendly no-one cares about or remembers.
07:38And yet, the consequences, they are very real.
07:43Pulled hamstrings, rolled ankles, torn ligaments.
07:46All because someone played 82 minutes in a game that quite literally means nothing.
07:52Just ask any fan who's watched their club season unravel because one of their best players came back from international duty with an injury.
08:01Odegaard.
08:01The risk-to-reward ratio is completely off.
08:05There is no reward.
08:06And this isn't about disrespecting international football, by the way.
08:09The Euros, World Cup, AFCON, Copa America.
08:13These tournaments matter.
08:14They're sacred.
08:15That's where the magic lives.
08:17But these drop-in friendlies during the season, they make me sick.
08:20So maybe it's time to evolve.
08:22Maybe it's time to protect the product.
08:24And more importantly, protect the players.
08:28Modern football requires squad depth, sure.
08:30But it also requires some common sense.
08:33And until something changes, clubs will keep waging war across 60 games whilst holding their breath every time an international break rolls around.
08:41Because in today's game, it's not just about building a great team.
08:45It's about surviving the chaos that happens outside of your control.
08:49So what changes would you make to the football in Canada?
08:52Let us know in the comments below.
08:53Thanks for watching.
08:54Till next time.
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