Wolves fined for fielding weakened team

[crodonilson]

[EPL fine Wolves for fielding Weakened Side

Quite rightly too, bringing the integrity of the Premier League in question, hopefully this will stop other clubs from doing similar things going forward. My only complaint is I would have handed them a tougher sentence such as a points deduction.

 

[Common as Mook]

Good.

 

[jordanseagull]

Rubbish, rubbish decision. Who are the FA to fine Wolves £25,000? If anything, they should force them to pay back the supporters who travelled, but for goodness sake, why should they profit?

In any case, it's Wolves' choice who they field.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

I am pretty sure the larger teams in the league have fielded their second string or made wholesale changes. The fact that their second strings are generally still very strong because they can afford it should be neither here nor there.

Why did Wolves field a weakened team? In an effort to beat a team that will be near the bottom come the end of the season. Why? Because there is a huge financial disparity and gulf between the top two divisions. That is something that needs addressing.

Where does the £25k end up? Does Scudamore need an office refurb?

 

[Hotchilidog]

As long as the players are deemed good enough to be in the first team squad the manager should be allowed to pick who he likes. This fine is ridiculous.

 

[Acker79]

The fine is suspended. They might not even end up paying.

What gets me is they did the double over Tottenham, after which McCarthy talked about how he expected to win some games he recently lost but expected to lose to Tottenham, and that "The premier league is unpredictable" - that's the very explanation for why he shouldn't field a weakened team.

 

[Husty]

Mad, the manager should have full control over who he picks in his team

 

[Mellotron]

Good. On the same weekend Burnley got a point at Arsenal, proving McCarthy wrong. McCarthy cheated by throwing the game, basically.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Why is it team weakening when Wolves do it and rotation when utd do it?

 

[BensGrandad]

Not ok for Wolves to field an understrength side but ok for Chelsea, Arsenal etc irrespective of the result they get.

 

[SirDouglasLoft]

Soon the FA will be picking the teams

 

[Mellotron]

Why is it team weakening when Wolves do it and rotation when utd do it?

Because Wolves are throwing the game whereas United would still be looking for 3 points from it. Entirely different.

 

[BensGrandad]

Didnt Wolves go to the game hoping to win, how can you be sure of what Mick Mc said to the players in the dressing room. We didnt expect to win at Villa but didnt throw the game in the same way that Wolves didnt throw their game although they may not have expected to win.

 

[Mellotron]

Didnt Wolves go to the game hoping to win, how can you be sure of what Mick Mc said to the players in the dressing room. We didnt expect to win at Villa but didnt throw the game in the same way that Wolves didnt throw their game although they may not have expected to win.

He made ELEVEN changes. He clearly had accepted before kick off that they would get 0 points from it. To be fair he now has to do exactly the same against Chelsea otherwise he has handed United an unfair advantage.

Perhaps a fine is a bit far but I thought it was terrible sportsmanship from McCarthy, like I said, cheating.

 

[sam86]

Mad, the manager should have full control over who he picks in his team

This.

It's pathetic. I feel for the supporters, but thats football / life.
You never know what you are going to get.

 

[Spider]

Because Wolves are throwing the game whereas United would still be looking for 3 points from it. Entirely different.

In intention it is, but in terms of penalising teams it seems very unfair to allow one team who is rich to swap their team as they please, and another team who have a threadbare squad not to. If McCarthy has to justify his team selection then maybe every time the big 2 play a weakened team against a team near the bottom they should also explain why it is, I believe they are showing as much contempt for the game.

Anyway, Wolves aren't to blame, it was a strong statement to the FA that the imbalance in the Premiership has reached a point where there isn't fair competition between all teams. That's what the FA should be addressing, not some unjust fine.

 

[Husty]

He made ELEVEN changes. He clearly had accepted before kick off that they would get 0 points from it. To be fair he now has to do exactly the same against Chelsea otherwise he has handed United an unfair advantage.

Perhaps a fine is a bit far but I thought it was terrible sportsmanship from McCarthy, like I said, cheating.

So what if he made 11 changes? All these players were legitimate, McCarthy obviously feels they are all of a good enough standard to play in the premiership, they are all signed to the club long term, he has broken no rules at all in doing this. As mentioned elsewhere, other teams have done this before, the fact they have better players in their reserve team doesnt mean that those teams are allowed to do it while the likes of wolves are not.

 

[Marc]

I dont see a problem with Wolves fielding a weakened team, after all EVERYONE SINGLE one of those players is eligible to play a league match....so whats the problem? the problem is the FA/UEFA should designate 16 Players to be "First Team" and in every league match at least 5 of those 16 MUST play. Will the UEFA/FA think of doing that? will they f***!

 

[sten_super]

It shows what a farce the Premiership is when the league season is all about staying up at any cost, rather than enjoying the opportunity to play at Old Trafford, Anfield, etc.

 

[Mellotron]

I think fining them is harsh and punitive, but at the end of the day McCarthy has chosen not to be competitive, and has completely wasted a matchday for the fans. If United win the title by 3 points or less Chelsea would have reasonable grounds to appeal.

If United put out a "threadbare" line up they would still be looking to win (ie being competitive). McCarthy is effectively choosing not to compete, which like I said with Burnley getting a draw on the same day at Arsenal, shows that it was daft.

Of course there isn't fair competition between all teams, are you suggesting we should do everything we can so no teams are better than others?