By Lewis Rutledge Last updated: 30th May 2008
Blatter: Controversial plan
It's like standing up and saying we are in favour of removing all income tax. Everybody would say 'yes that's great but by the way that's not possible'
Taylor on Blatter
Quotes of the week
PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor does not believe it will be possible for Fifa to enforce their controversial 'six-plus-five' plan.
Fifa have voted in favour of a rule which would restrict the number of foreign players in any starting XI to a maximum of five, with the rest of the side made up of players eligible for the national team.
Sepp Blatter's proposal has been opposed in many quarters because it contravenes European Union regulations on freedom of movement, and Uefa have put forward slightly different ideas.
Uefa are calling for a 'home-grown' player system to be introduced, meaning that clubs would have to include players who, regardless of age or nationality, have been trained by their club or by another club in the National Association for at least three years between the ages of 15 and 21.
Taylor believes that action needs to be taken to address the issue and to make sure that English youngsters get more of a chance, but he is in support of Uefa's plan rather than Fifa's.
"We are very much aware of the decreasing number of players qualified to play for England and it is one of the reasons why we have the embarrassment of not having England at Euro 2008," Taylor told Sky Sports News.
"But in Europe you cannot discriminate on the grounds of nationality so we have to really look at the Uefa proposal and say that not only should we have eight players in as squad of 25 that have been developed in a country or club irrespective of nationality, but to have them on the field of play.
"I'm not saying it should be eight but the figure should at least be four to encourage clubs to develop players for the next generation.
"That would put all clubs on a level playing field.
"It may well be that clubs look at bringing in youngsters from abroad , but it would at least focus them on developing players and at the moment they haven't got the patience to be doing that.
"We would be very much in favour of the Uefa criteria being developed further because the European Commission has indicated they would go ahead with that because focus is on youth development irrespective of nationality.
"That would give English opportunities at least the opportunities to succeed."
Taylor is not sure what Fifa hope to achieve by voting for the 'six-plus-five' rule and feels they should alter their plans.
He explained: "The fact is that club football is so cosmopolitan that you can't really roll back time. They have to look realistically at the law and that is why I think they must look at the Uefa criteria.
"I think it is posturing and tilting at windmills. I think it is just to reinforce the point but I am not sure what they are aiming for.
"It's like standing up and saying we are in favour of removing all income tax. Everybody would say 'yes that's great but by the way that's not possible'."

Wolves 1-4 Arsenal - McCarthy
Wolves 1-4 Arsenal - Wenger
Blackburn 3-1 Portsmouth - Allardyce
Aston Villa 5-1 Bolton - Megson
Tottenham 2-0 Sunderland - Redknapp
Man City 3-3 Burnley - Coyle
Tottenham 2-0 Sunderland - Bruce
Man City 3-3 Burnley - Hughes
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Sunday 8th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:30 | Hull vs Stoke |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Everton |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Fulham |
| 16:00 | Chelsea vs Man Utd |
| Monday 9th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | Liverpool vs Birmingham |
| Saturday 21st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Liverpool vs Man City |
| 15:00 | Birmingham vs Fulham |
| 15:00 | Burnley vs Aston Villa |
| 15:00 | Chelsea vs Wolverhampton |
| 15:00 | Hull vs West Ham |
| 15:00 | Sunderland vs Arsenal |
| 17:30 | Man Utd vs Everton |
| Sunday 22nd November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:30 | Bolton vs Blackburn |
| 15:00 | Tottenham vs Wigan |
| 16:00 | Stoke vs Portsmouth |
| Wednesday 25th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Hull vs Everton |
| 20:00 | Fulham vs Blackburn |
| Saturday 28th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Stoke |
| 15:00 | Fulham vs Bolton |
| 15:00 | Man City vs Hull |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Saturday 7th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Wolverhampton 1 - 4 Arsenal | |
| Man City 3 - 3 Burnley | |
| Tottenham 2 - 0 Sunderland | |
| Blackburn 3 - 1 Portsmouth | |
| Aston Villa 5 - 1 Bolton | |
| Wednesday 4th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 2 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Sunday 1st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 0 - 0 Man City | |
| Saturday 31st October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 2 - 0 Blackburn | |
| Sunderland 2 - 2 West Ham | |
| Portsmouth 4 - 0 Wigan | |
| Bolton 0 - 4 Chelsea | |
| Stoke 2 - 2 Wolverhampton | |
| Fulham 3 - 1 Liverpool | |
| Burnley 2 - 0 Hull | |
| Everton 1 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Arsenal 3 - 0 Tottenham | |
| Sunday 25th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 2 - 2 Arsenal | |
| Man City 2 - 2 Fulham | |
| Liverpool 2 - 0 Man Utd | |
| Bolton 3 - 2 Everton | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 11 | 27 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 11 | 25 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 11 | 25 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 | 22 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 12 | 21 |
| 6 | Manchester City | 11 | 20 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 11 | 18 |
| 8 | Sunderland | 12 | 17 |
| 9 | Stoke City | 11 | 16 |
| 10 | Burnley | 12 | 16 |
| 11 | Fulham | 10 | 14 |
| 12 | Wigan Athletic | 11 | 13 |
| 13 | Blackburn Rovers | 11 | 13 |
| 14 | Everton | 10 | 12 |
| 15 | Birmingham City | 11 | 11 |
| 16 | Bolton Wanderers | 11 | 11 |
| 17 | West Ham United | 11 | 10 |
| 18 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 12 | 10 |
| 19 | Hull City | 11 | 8 |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 12 | 7 |
Sunderland fan Lucinda Gittins was strutting her stuff in the Soccer AM studios this week.
With Didier Drogba in frightening form, Paul Merson expects Chelsea to beat Man Utd on Sunday.
Aston Villa and Tottenham made their Champions League aspirations clear as Arsenal also won but Man City were held by Burnley.
Chelsea go into the match with Man Utd at Stamford Bridge in arguably their best form of the season.
Arsenal maintained their recent fine form on Saturday as they eased to a 4-1 victory over Wolves.
Kevin McDonald's late equaliser ensured Man City's winless run continued as Burnley claimed a 3-3 draw.
Super sub Jason Roberts came off the bench for Blackburn to score two and kill off Portsmouth 3-1.