Football’s worry

Saturday, 24/07/2010

English football has problems. No matter what we think and feel, there is no doubting that fact.

Despite our poor World Cup performances failing to push the country significantly down FIFA’s official ratings, the England team needs help.

It’s not just the manager and his coaches to blame. Far from it. The mass influx of overseas players into the English game has given us the best league in the world but has pushed out homegrown hopefuls.

The Premier League has delivered what it wanted: the best league. It wasn’t their job to decide if our top division should be full of Englishmen.

But the Football Association is the ruling body in this country. They can play a major role – indeed should play a major role – in who plays in the Premier League, and how English football should be developed.

England football fans are not alone in fearing for the future of their international side. Italy and France supporters are also wondering what fate their sides are going to suffer in the future.

All three of the above named teams are past winners of the World Cup – even if England’s sole victory was so long ago that you need to be over the age of 50 to remember it!

All three countries have the same problem – that the top sides in their home countries do not contain enough of their international stars.

A lot of the French stars ply their trade in the Premier League and other top leagues throughout Europe, so in reality they shouldn’t have a big problem with youngsters getting a chance in their home country (or with Arsenal…).

But in Italy faces much the same problem as England. Their top teams are bursting with expensive foreign imports.

Champions Inter Milan and closest challengers Roma and AC Milan all boast talented overseas stars who are keeping local talent out of Serie A.

The Italian side that crashed out of World Cup 2010 at the first hurdle was made up mostly of Juventus players. A top team – but they finished seventh in Serie A last season.

England’s nucleus did come from the current top four sides: Terry, Lampard and Joe Cole and Ashley Cole from champions Chelsea; Rooney, Carrick and the injured Ferdinand from runners-up Man United. Arsenal’s contribution? Walcott stayed home! Defoe, Crouch, King, Lennon and late call up Dawson from Spurs.

More worrying is where are the talented English youngsters coming through? Where were the back-up stars to the first-choices? What if players were injured – some were – or out of form – most of them were.

Even if they are promising, will youngsters even get the chance to show their abilities ahead of a ready-made expensive import?

Where do the youngsters go if they don’t make the grade? The reserves? The Championship? Very few top English players now move abroad. The cash to tempt them isn’t there. They are better off in England.

How ironic then that, certainly in Italy and England, it appears the top leagues have contributed to the downfall of their own national sides.

The answer? I don’t profess to know it. Do you?

THE FACTS

Overseas players in the Premier League

1992-93

English 363 Foreign 96

Team with most overseas players: Liverpool

 2002-03

English 296 Foreign 424

Team with most overseas players: Man City

2009-10

English players 202 Foreign 361

Team with most overseas players: Arsenal

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