Why football clubs need TWO TEAMS to succeed

Modern football simply doesn't stop. Between league games, cup ties, European nights

international breaks and half-made-up tournaments, the calendar is bursting at the seams

It's no longer enough to have a world-class start in XI. If you want to survive, let alone win

at the top level, you need something more. You need two full squads ready to go

In this video, we'll have a butcher the impact caused by modern-day football

Why squad depth has become the non-negotiable for success at the highest level

and how it's affected clubs' transfer market strategies. Papa Pink is here with 4-4-2. Let's talk about it

So why do clubs need two squads? Well, to state the obvious, the football calendar is absolute chaos

A club competing in all comps can play up to 65 games in a single season

That includes 38 league games in most leagues, up to 15 in the Champions League if they reach the final, domestic cups, pre-season tournaments and more

When you average that out, it's a match every four or five days for 10 months

I mean, just ask Pep Guardiola about it. In Man City's treble winning season back in 2023, they played 61 games

Not just competing either, but dominating. They did it by rotating heavily, sharing the load and having depth in every position to keep themselves fit and fresh

For example, in the Premier League, they used 37 different lineups in their 38 games

And not because of an injury crisis, but because they could. Because their schedule demanded it

And because they had the quality in personnel that meant changing players or positions didn't lead to a drop in standards

In comparison, Arsenal fielded just 22 different line-ups when they finished runners-up that season, making fewer changes to their line-up than any other Premier League team

Because when they did give their bench players a go, they went out of both domestic cups very early on

Same can be said for Liverpool last season where one decision to play a couple of youngsters and a few fringe squad players resulted in them crashing out of the FA Cup to Plymouth while their best 11 consistently sliced through the Premier League week in week out as Arne Slott used the second fewest amount of players throughout that campaign

While there is an argument to be made that rotating a squad and keeping it fresh could

interrupt the fluency and consistency of a team, having the option of squad depth today

is just non-negotiable. With these busy schedules, no player, no matter how elite

no matter how talented, can stay at their peak across 60-plus games

with constant travel involved too. All of this inevitably leads us on to one of the biggest disruptors in modern football, injuries

According to the UEFA Elite Club injury study, elite clubs suffer about 1.2 injuries per match

Typically soft tissue injuries, the kind caused by overuse and fatigue, have increased by over 20% in recent years

And clubs competing in four or more competitions have an 18% higher injury rate than those playing in two or fewer

Look at Liverpool in the 2020-21 season. They were the defending Premier League champions, but injuries completely and utterly destroyed them

Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Matip were all out with long-term injuries

Henderson and Fabinho had to play at centre-back on multiple occasions. In total, Liverpool used 20 different central defensive pairings that season

The result? They scraped them to the top four thanks to a winner from their goalkeeper

But their title defence was gone by Christmas. Now compare that with Real Madrid in the 2023-24 season

They lost Courtois, Militao and Alaba, three key defenders, all to ACL injuries

But thanks to squad depth and tactical flexibility, they adapted. Chouameni filled in at centre-back

Carlo Ancelotti reshuffled his system without reducing the quality, and they still won La Liga and the Champions League

And that's the difference. One club had to sacrifice their identity and collapse under pressure

The other had a second wave of players ready to step in. Successful teams rotate their squad strategically

The best clubs aren't just playing the same 11 week in, week out. They distributing minutes to 18 or 20 players consistently So with all those stats in mind let talk about what a successful squad actually looks like and how teams go about assembling one Firstly it an obvious numbers

game. You need the bodies in there, but not just any. You need first team quality players who can

slot in without dropping the level. On average, title winning squads feature around 18 to 21

players who log at least 500 minutes over the season. These aren't bloated squads. They're

cleverly constructed teams where almost every player has a clear role and a genuine impact

But second, and most importantly, clubs need to strike the right balance between bringing in

multiple of the same style of players, but also having a variety of tools in the box

to adapt and surprise. For example, some clubs are now so committed to a specific playing style

that they've actually started recruiting players who are stylistically identical to their starters

almost like clones. The goal isn't just to have cover, it's to keep the system ticking even when

someone drops out. Look at Arsenal for example, they're eyeing up Nani Madueke, not just because

he's got talent but because he plays almost identical to Bukayo Saka. Left-footed, direct

hard-working and positionally disciplined on the right-hand side. Newcastle doing the same thing by

signing Anthony Ilanga, whose high-pressing, electric pace and counter-attacking style lines up neatly with what Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes bring. It's clever recruitment, building

a squad where the machine keeps running no matter who's on the pitch. It's not about

signing superstars for the sake of it. It's about having ready-made replacements for both

now and the future. Barcelona are a prime example of how to attack recruitment from both angles

After years of big-name spending and faced with financial issues in previous years

their 2023-24 season was bolstered by breakout talents like Lamine Yamal and Pau Koubasi

A good academy pipeline turned their 25-man squad into a 30-man rotation machine

without spending a penny of their transfer budget. In the 2024-25 campaign, those youngsters became starters and shining lights

It's a win-win. The clubs that lift trophies in May aren just the strongest they the deepest They can rest their best players rotate effectively and shift tactics on the fly They survive the full 60 grind

and come out thriving. So next time someone says a team doesn't need

another midfielder or a backup winger, remember, modern football is a 60-game war

And to win it, you don't just need a strong team, you need two

But even that might not be enough, because while clubs are busy trying to manage

this relentless schedule, there's something they have absolutely no control over, and that is the international calendar

These aren't high-stake qualifiers or tournament deciders. They're meaningless games dropped right in the middle of a brutal club season

like potholes in an F1 track. You've got players clocking 60 games a year

giving everything to fight for league titles, cup runs and Champions League glory

And then suddenly they're flying to Moldova to jog around in a half-empty stadium

for a friendly no-one cares about or remembers. And yet, the consequences, they are very real

Pulled hamstrings, rolled ankles, torn ligaments, all because someone played 82 minutes

in a game that quite literally means nothing. Just ask any fan who's watched their club season unravel

because one of their best players came back from international duty with an injury

Odegaard. The risk-to-reward ratio is completely off. There is no reward. And this isn't about disrespecting international football, by the way

The Euros, World Cup, AFCON, Copa America, these tournaments matter. They're sacred

That's where the magic lives. But these drop-in friendlies during the season, they make me sick

So maybe it's time to evolve. Maybe it's time to protect the product

And more importantly, protect the players. Modern football requires squad depth, sure

But it also requires some common sense. And until something changes, clubs will keep waging war across 60 games whilst holding their breath every time an international break rolls around

Because in today's game, it's not just about building a great team, it's about surviving the chaos that happens outside of your control

So what changes would you make to the football in Canada? Let us know in the comments below

Thanks for watching. Till next time