In August, Premier League clubs voted to return to three changes per game, while Scottish Premiership clubs voted in July to continue with five substitutions when their 2020-21 season started. This season's champions, Celtic, had the most goals by substitutes with 24 (21% of their 114 total), followed by runners-up Rangers with 14 (15%) then fourth-placed Heart of Midlothian (16%) and St Johnstone (24%), both with 10. So what impact has five substitutes had on Scottish football - and the destination of silverware and relegation disappointment? The Premier League was the only major competition to abandon the rule because some clubs felt it gave those with bigger squads an unfair advantage. Second-tier clubs can name up to nine substitutes in matchday squads, while League One and League Two clubs will be allowed seven.

Ifab's agenda also includes discussing concussion substitutes and semi-automated offside technology. Not surprisingly, goals by substitutes have reached a new high of 100 (15% of all Premiership goals scored). The world governing body then chose, before the end of the delayed 2019-20 season, to extend the use of the rule - but said it was up to individual competitions whether it was implemented. When it first came in, I thought 'why?' I didn't agree with it at the time, but now it's just become the norm. There's two sides to it - I think it definitely benefits a bigger club with a bigger squad and more strength in depth. You can basically use near enough your whole squad on the bench. The following season substitutes were allowed for the first time in the FA Cup and the Scottish League. The first ever substitute to play in a senior match there was Archie Gemmill, in a League Cup tie for St Mirren against Falkirk. For the time being the Football League retained the rule that subs could only replace injured players but there were suspicions that some were feigning to allow their team to make what were, in effect, tactical substitutions. In 1967, therefore, the common sense decision was made to allow substitutions for any reason with a resultant increase in their frequency. In 1967-68, for example, West Brom used their substitute in half of their league games, while Dennis Clarke became the first to play in an FA Cup final.All five of midfielder Scott Arfield's league goals in his last season at Rangers came from the bench. Meanwhile, Israel winger Liel Abada netted four league goals as a substitute and he was also among the replacements when he notched Celtic's second in the Scottish Cup final win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle. 360% rise in use of five subs If that team continues to trail, the assistant professor at Villanova Business School adds that a second change must come before the 73rd minute. If that hasn't worked, a third and final change should be made before the 79th minute. There were games when we were two or three up but Bob didn't even think of bringing me on. It was cowardly. He knew the senior players didn't want to come off. They'd give him trouble but he knew I wouldn't give him any hassle." Five substitutes were introduced across the game in May 2020 after the shutdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The referees and the assistant referees are still responsible for the decision on the field of play. At United, Sir Alex Ferguson found in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a player who thrived coming into a match as the opposition defenders grew weary and space opened up. He has since found another. The days of managers sweating over how to use their third substitution could soon be a thing of the past. Instead it will be how they deploy their fourth and fifth options from the bench that will cause them sleepless nights after football's lawmakers today decided to make permanent a change to its laws initially introduced after the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic changed all that in 2020, though. In a move to reduce the impact of fixture congestion caused by Covid-19, world governing body Fifa allowed competition organisers to allow for a maximum of five substitutes. Bret Myers has tested it against 1,800 fixtures across England, Germany Spain and Italy and believes that if a team is behind, it is vital for the manager to make his first substitution before the 58th minute.Five players come on for Manchester United in the 80th minute of their match against Sheffield United. Photograph: Michael Steele/AFP/Getty Images Nothing can match Solskjær’s memorable substitute appearance that night in Barcelona. Although, three months earlier, he also did something that has never been emulated since. United were coasting to victory against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground when Solskjær came on for Dwight Yorke in the 71st minute. United were already 4-1 up but Solskjær showed no mercy, scoring four goals in 11 minutes – the most by a substitute in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Celtic's 14 goals (18%) in 2020-21 were not enough to prevent Rangers taking the title with their 11 (12%) - and both were bettered in percentage terms by St Mirren's (nine goals, 24%). That is 20 more than the next highest season - 2007-08. Interestingly, that campaign was the last to feature three Scottish teams in European group stage action until 2022-23. In light of these high-profile casualties, the FA eventually agreed to experiment with the idea of substitutions. It was begrudging acceptance, as the FA News reported at the time: “The general consensus of opinion would appear to be that, in principle, the use of substitutes in competitive football was not desirable.” Nothing changed for the 2021-22 season, although five substitutes are allowed in FA Cup matches, and in October football law-makers the International Football Association Board recommended that five substitutions be implemented permanently in the sport. However, Premier League clubs agreed to allow five substitutions for 2022-23 following a vote in March.Substitutes in association football have been around since the nineteenth century - but only initially for players who failed to turn up! Scotland were the opponents for the first ever use of a substitute in international football, when Wales' original goalkeeper failed to arrive in 1889. Against Spurs, Dzeko came off the bench to win the game for City with a key pass and a goal in the 17 minutes he was on the field. The Bosnia striker has more goals than Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez this season and yet both have more starts. But in the three league matches Dzeko has started, he has scored just one goal and City have won only one of those matches.

The amount of guys I see standing at the side of the pitch at youth games is incredible. I don't know where they are going to get their opportunities. We're losing so many players by not playing games of football, it's frightening. Kids will just get fed up not playing. There's too many of them sitting on the bench.

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It will now implemented prior to the 2022-23 season at the discretion of the organisers of a competition.