Liverpool midfielder used to exploit BIZARRE cup loophole

At the highest stakes of professional football, it's imperative that loopholes are taken advantage of in order to maximise the performance margins of the team. You see it happen all the time.

Most commonly is the requirements that have to be met for a player to be considered 'homegrown'.

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So long as three seasons are spent at an English club prior to the age of 21, then that player is now a homegrown asset, regardless of whether their nationality is English or not. It's a little bizarre.

Furthermore, in terms of off the pitch matters, Chelsea have found numerous different ways of avoiding sanctions for breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules, such as selling assets to themselves.

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This week, fans learnt of a new loophole that certain managers have available to utilise and a Liverpool midfielder was caught in the middle of it. Very few will have seen anything like it before.

Balagizi caught up in Savage decision

On Tuesday night, Forest Green Rovers boss Robbie Savage made one of the most bizarre decisions you'll have ever heard of, in substituting four players in the first minute of his side's match against Wolves' under-21 team in the National League Cup, despite none of the players picking up an injury.

The decision was made because the regulations of the competition state that four players that started the previous league game have to play in the tournament, something the head coach reluctantly abided by, but felt it best to return to the starting XI he actually had in mind for the game.

One of the players involved was James Balagizi, a midfield prodigy that Liverpool have placed on loan at Savage's team. The Englishman was brought on to the field and played the entire match, delivering a convincing display despite receiving a yellow card.

It was his third appearance of the season and the 21-year-old will hopefully have received a boost from the manager's decision to play him in the match, despite the competition's regulations.

While the match on Tuesday was in the National League Cup, the Rovers are targeting a return to League Two after missing out on promotion last season by coming third. Hopefully, with Balagizi's involvement in the side this season, a renewed promotion charge could succeed this time around.

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