The Large One
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Former Football Association executive director David Davies believes English football must tackle a number of "big issues" within the game. Davies will discuss the issues with a panel of influential figures in a BBC Five Live football special on Thursday.
"I think the foreign influx - owners, managers, players - has been a great boost for the game in so many ways. But it's now reaching a point where young English players are not coming through the academies," he said. Davies described some English football academies as "finishing schools for young foreign talent".
FOOTBALL'S FUTURE GOALS
BBC Five Live, Thu 9 Aug, 2000-2200 BST
Guests: Richard Scudamore, Brian Barwick, Karren Brady, Eggert Magnusson, David Sheepshanks, Lord Mawhinney, David James, Gareth Southgate
Your questions: TEXT 85058
E-MAIL fivelivesport@bbc.co.uk
Davies also believes there should be a change in the disciplinary procedures in football. "The disciplinary process would be much better if it was opened up to public scrutiny," he said. "Magistrates court, crown courts, industrial tribunals are all open to public scrutiny but the football cases go on behind closed doors."
FA chief Brian Barwick and Premier League boss Richard Scudamore will guest on the programme, which goes out at 2000 BST on Thursday. Birmingham City managing director Karren Brady, West Ham owner Eggert Magnusson, Portsmouth goalkeeper David James and Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate will also appear.
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Around 1989/90, especially after Hillsborough, there were lots of programmes and debates discussing these issues - about the future of English football, about supporter participation, ground safety, policing etc. A generation after these issues were debated, I think it's time these things were re-examined.
A lot of what came out of these debates had, at the time, good intentions, but ultimately a lot of it backfired, especially when money was pumped into the game, but only for the benefit of a few clubs, creating a massive chasm in the 'haves' and have nots' of football - something these debates and discussions were not supposed to create.
I'm looking forward to this programme because, from what David Davies is saying - and I basically agree with his sentiments - the effect of 'foreign imports' is the result of the creation of this financial imbalance. English football, as a whole, and the national team specifically has suffered. We do need to re-look at everything, especially at what is going wrong.
There are times when I despair of the Premiership, seeing what a circus it has become, and looking at how many people never want to get off this gravy train, even if it does mean the industry ultimately imploding if this carries on the way it is. The sore point is, even if the football clubs and football fans basically agree that this imbalance is not right, they won't do anything about it - it won't be in this small number of elite clubs' interests to do so.
"I think the foreign influx - owners, managers, players - has been a great boost for the game in so many ways. But it's now reaching a point where young English players are not coming through the academies," he said. Davies described some English football academies as "finishing schools for young foreign talent".
FOOTBALL'S FUTURE GOALS
BBC Five Live, Thu 9 Aug, 2000-2200 BST
Guests: Richard Scudamore, Brian Barwick, Karren Brady, Eggert Magnusson, David Sheepshanks, Lord Mawhinney, David James, Gareth Southgate
Your questions: TEXT 85058
E-MAIL fivelivesport@bbc.co.uk
Davies also believes there should be a change in the disciplinary procedures in football. "The disciplinary process would be much better if it was opened up to public scrutiny," he said. "Magistrates court, crown courts, industrial tribunals are all open to public scrutiny but the football cases go on behind closed doors."
FA chief Brian Barwick and Premier League boss Richard Scudamore will guest on the programme, which goes out at 2000 BST on Thursday. Birmingham City managing director Karren Brady, West Ham owner Eggert Magnusson, Portsmouth goalkeeper David James and Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate will also appear.
==========
Around 1989/90, especially after Hillsborough, there were lots of programmes and debates discussing these issues - about the future of English football, about supporter participation, ground safety, policing etc. A generation after these issues were debated, I think it's time these things were re-examined.
A lot of what came out of these debates had, at the time, good intentions, but ultimately a lot of it backfired, especially when money was pumped into the game, but only for the benefit of a few clubs, creating a massive chasm in the 'haves' and have nots' of football - something these debates and discussions were not supposed to create.
I'm looking forward to this programme because, from what David Davies is saying - and I basically agree with his sentiments - the effect of 'foreign imports' is the result of the creation of this financial imbalance. English football, as a whole, and the national team specifically has suffered. We do need to re-look at everything, especially at what is going wrong.
There are times when I despair of the Premiership, seeing what a circus it has become, and looking at how many people never want to get off this gravy train, even if it does mean the industry ultimately imploding if this carries on the way it is. The sore point is, even if the football clubs and football fans basically agree that this imbalance is not right, they won't do anything about it - it won't be in this small number of elite clubs' interests to do so.
