MATT CONCERN AT EXTRA TIME

ROOKIE Wycombe Wanderers boss Matt Bloomfield has expressed his reservations over some of the changes designed to improve the game this season.

- John Lyons

The amount of stoppage time in matches has gone up markedly so far this term after match officials were told to add on the exact time taken for certain events - like goals and substitutions - rather than the ‘nominal’ amount they have previously used.

The aim is to boost the amount of time the ball is in play in matches, with the figure ranging from just 48 minutes to 52 minutes across the EFL last season.

While a worthy idea, it has caused rumblings from managers who have seen their players have to play, in some cases, more than 20 minutes of stoppage time.

After his side’s 3-2 home win against Leyton Orient in midweek, a match in which there was 13 minutes of added time, Bloomfield, right, added his own note of caution.

“If you add it all up over a season, we could have another five to eight league games to play,” he said. “There seems to be a lot of change this year and you can look at it in the way you want, but, in terms of the welfare of players, they are being asked to do a huge amount more than they usually are.

“You need a bigger squad to try to cope with that. It’s going to cost the clubs more money to have bigger squads. There’s certainly more elements to it than just having added time.

Evolving