Yesterday's signing of Middlesbrough keeper Brad Jones for £2.3m, who counts as a homegrown player despite his Australian nationality, appears to spell the end of Diego Cavalieri's tenure at Anfield. All summer long we've seen English players, many mediocre at best, linked with Liverpool ostensibly because of the new homegrown rule.

The English Premier League has upset some of their members - specifically Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, with it's new policy to limit the size of its team rosters to 25 players, while at the same time enforcing a regulation that ensures at least eight players are "homegrown."
Wenger debates the influx of foreign-based players in La Liga in Spain (Spain is the World Champions) and in the German Bundesliga (Germany were World Cup semifinalists) as examples to refute the need to limit foreigners.

By Andy Jones, writing from London

This season, in the Premier League, we see the introduction of the new Home Grown regulation, which all teams must adhere to. For those of you that haven't read them or aren't quite clear on them, here's a brief explanation:

Every club will have to name a first-team squad of no more than 25, of which a maximum of 17 may not be home-grown players.

With the transfer window closing today, I know a lot of Premier League fans are asking about the new homegrown rule and how it affects their clubs. Hearing that there's a 25 man squad limit or that every team has to have at least eight "homegrown" players has caused some fans to worry that their team might no be able to comply.

Arsenal and Mexico hitman Carlos Vela has turned today 21. The young Mexican was an unused substitute on Saturday as the Gunners romped a late win against Stoke City at Britannia Stadium.

The match was of course overshadowed by the horrific injury of Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey. The Welsh teenager has broken his tibia and fibula in his right leg and is out for the remainder of this season and possible longer.

On This Day In Spurs History: 24th May

1914 Two months before the outset of the First World War, Spurs made the rather silly decision to tour Germany. On this day in 1914 we drew 1-1 with Stuttgart and this match, along with the others on the tour, was most notable for the fact that our hostile German hosts kicked us all over the park.

Much has been said this summer about the Premier League's new rules concerning a squad of 25 registered players. Previously, teams were allowed to freely play players that were on their books at any point in the season provided they were registered with the league (so this included the normal first team players, reserves, youth players, etc.

With the English Premier League less than two weeks away, it's time for IntelligentSoccer.com to get over its World Cup hangover. There's a lot of preseason story lines (Are Manchester City title contenders? Is Cesc leaving or staying? Is Chelsea too old to repeat?) but what's getting a lot of attention is the new 25-man roster rule for the English Premier League.

I wondered whether I'd posted too early on the subject of Ryan Bertrand but it turns out it was right, because he's signed a six month loan agreement today, which is also his 21st birthday. Despite his tender years, he's had plenty of experience at this level and in League One with long term [...

Transfer deadline day, for the summer of 2010, has come and gone. So, too, has Sept. 1 deadline day for submission of the newly regulated Premier League squad lists. How has our very own Chelsea Football Club graded for each? Not exactly great. Let's take a look.

A list of Chelsea's deadline day targets.

Poor old Jonathan Woodgate. From Wembley glory to the wilderness in two and a half years. The beleaguered defender's ongoing problems with injury have unfortunately cost him a place in our official 25 man roster for the current season. It's a crying shame for the man. At his peak with Spurs, he was an imperious, commanding defender and had the know-how and the ability to prevent a crisis.