The Debate ex-Man Utd players and journalists discuss Premier League 2023 24 added-time rule

“It changes the complexion of the game completely,” he said. “You look at the times where it’s touch and go to get the last train back from London, to get back to Manchester. If you add another 25 minutes onto the game or 20 minutes onto the game, you’ve potentially got a lot of fans missing the train.

“I was at the Sunderland and Ipswich game at the weekend and they had six minutes at half-time, 13 minutes at full-time. And it was insane because there was a mentality of people who might just leave slightly before the end and they’re sort of leaving 10 minutes before the end to get away. I thought to myself, you’ve lost 23 minutes in a game just by leaving in the 80th minute.

“So it changes the dynamics for everybody, the way they watch football, the way people some stay to the end, some leave slightly before and from a player’s point of view these players are so fit now but you’re fit for 90 minutes plus maybe five or six. It’s easy to sit and say: ‘Oh, well, you can just add another 15 onto that.’ But it’s high-octane stuff that they’re playing and muscle injuries, fatigue [can happen].