Too many foreign players in the Premier League - that's the problem

[goldstone]

With all those foreign players in the Premier League and teams like fecking Arsenal without ONE English player in their team most of the time, is it no wonder that we have a crap international team?

Nowhere near enough players to choose from who are playing at the highest level.

 

[mona]

The Premier League itself is the problem. The stress on money rather than football teams that developed their local talent was bound to cause big problems. It's amazing that England have done so well for so long.

 

[The Modfather]

Not convinced.

We had no foreign players in the top flight in the seventies yet failed to qualify for the 1974 & 1978 finals.

Also failed to reach the finals in 1994 when there were less overseas players in England.

Think out ineptitude maybe due to average players being paid vast sums of money and believing there own hype.

 

[Scotty Mac]

i think it is more to do with the fact that english players can only play one style of football - english - due to hardly any ever going abroad, plying their trade elsewhere and picking up on continental and new ideas of playing

we are stuck in an english way of playing which means no plan b or c - something that was evident tonight as once it became clear we couldnt break down algeria we couldnt change it to find another way to do so

 

[culvers]

So few English players play abroad, sure they get high wages here and demand high transfer fees, but if they were any good more European clubs would be sniffing around.

We just don't produce good enough players who look decent when they play for club teams with players who can control a ball and pass it.

 

[Gully]

Good point Scotty, we are fine when the English way works or we are playing well, tonight neither of those applied.

 

[Scotty Mac]

there is only ONE englishman abroad making a success of himself currently - and most english people seem to think he is the worst manager of all time

 

[mona]

Not convinced.

We had no foreign players in the top flight in the seventies yet failed to qualify for the 1974 & 1978 finals.

Also failed to reach the finals in 1994 when there were less overseas players in England.

Think out ineptitude maybe due to average players being paid vast sums of money and believing there own hype.

Yes fair point BUT consider how many very good players in the 70s hardly got an England cap eg Tony Currie, Alan Hudson, Frank Worthington etc. Today, there are only one or two good players who didn't make the squad.

 

[The Modfather]

It is down to lack of technique.

Not since Gazza at the 1990 world cup has an Englishman taken a tounament by storm.

We were told that playing with the great foreign players like, Bergkamp, Zola, Henry would improve the ability of the English players.

In fact, the ability of our players has got worse in the last 20 years. Why bother improving yourself as a player when you can spend 2 seasons at the likes of Hull, Reading, West Brom, get the club relegated, and still get rewarded handsomly.

Too much cash for poor performance.

 

[The Modfather]

Yes fair point BUT consider how many very good players in the 70s hardly got an England cap eg Tony Currie, Alan Hudson, Frank Worthington etc. Today, there are only one or two good players who didn't make the squad.

Good point.

It was criminal how the flair players were overlooked by Revie.

At least now the flair players do get in the squad. Unfortunately, we only have two of them, and Joe Cole is left on the bench.

 

[IKDRF]

Not convinced.

We had no foreign players in the top flight in the seventies yet failed to qualify for the 1974 & 1978 finals.

Also failed to reach the finals in 1994 when there were less overseas players in England.

Think out ineptitude maybe due to average players being paid vast sums of money and believing there own hype.

mind you 1974 was down to our polish friend and 1978 goal difference with italy and dodgy hungarian referee at wembley.

however, standing back, yours is the most valid point. strange though how that period produced such successfull club performances in europe.

at the end of the day-only one team can win it i guess

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

there's always been non-english players playing in england, they were just welsh/scottish/irish.......so people deemed them to be less foreign

a major problem, as sexy scott mccarthy has highlighted, that so few english players play abroard that we have very little idea of how to play against foreign international sides- somehow!

 

[SI 4 BHA]

i think it is more to do with the fact that english players can only play one style of football - english - due to hardly any ever going abroad, plying their trade elsewhere and picking up on continental and new ideas of playing

we are stuck in an english way of playing which means no plan b or c - something that was evident tonight as once it became clear we couldnt break down algeria we couldnt change it to find another way to do so

Surely that is up to the manager? No team in the Premiership plays a big lump up front, only Capello follows this route. Not rocket science for Capello to have changed things perhaps by bringing on J Cole for Heskey, playing Gerrard behind Rooney etc? Gus has managed to change the Albions style in a short time with what are not the greatest players in the world, so why can't the Eytie twat do something?

 

[OzMike]

Part of the problem I agree, other countrys' teams are just getting better over time and you can no longer write anybody off; ask the Germans.
I think that the players are too overpaid to care, their millions in the bank will still be there if England are knocked out.
Maybe it's time to look at players from the Championship and lower leagues who will be honoured and commited.

 

[Bwian]

Part of the problem I agree, other countrys' teams are just getting better over time and you can no longer write anybody off;

Could that be because large numbers of their players are improving their game playing in the premiershit at the expense of English players? Top coaches, top facilities and regular first team football is bound to improve players.

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

there is only ONE englishman abroad making a success of himself currently - and most english people seem to think he is the worst manager of all time

And two of England's best performers in recent tournaments had been plying their trade abroad - Beckham and Hargreaves.

 

[The French Mistress]

I thought we had a good under 21 side coming through, but unlike Germany, we don't take them that step further. Stand to be corrected.

 

[Scotty Mac]

Surely that is up to the manager? No team in the Premiership plays a big lump up front, only Capello follows this route. Not rocket science for Capello to have changed things perhaps by bringing on J Cole for Heskey, playing Gerrard behind Rooney etc? Gus has managed to change the Albions style in a short time with what are not the greatest players in the world, so why can't the Eytie twat do something?

capello HAS tried it though - defoe has been given plenty of opportunities up front with rooney, most recently in a dire frist half against egypt at wembley. it didn't work - crouch came on, and suddenly we had a convincing scoreline

the fact of the matter is that england always play better with a target man for whatever reason - the form through qualifying with heskey and rooney and the team performances is evidence of it. capello has treid changing it, and everytime with very little success, and if it doesn't work why persevere with it?

 

[tonymgc]

I don't agree with this one bit. There's probably a equal ratio of foreign players to home grown in most of Europes big leagues

 

[JBizzle]

The impact of foreign players should have helped our players develop better technique. The problem is, it hasn't.

The issue comes from playing "The English Way" and no coach of a national team can change this unless all of the coaches in the country are pulling in the same direction.

Frankly, last night showed we are a side of multi-millionaires, devoid of ideas, options and passion and foreign players in the Prem haven't really contributed to that.