Comments on: Foreigners and English Football

By: Jonathan Sutton

Jonathan Sutton — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:52:57 +0000

Has you stated though all the best teams in the world already have a far higher percentage of national players in their domestic leagues, I don’t think this is no fluke its just with more players getting first team football improves them in ways that playing for the youth or reserve team will never do.

By: Andy

Andy — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:12:53 +0000

As a dedicated football spectator for 46 years, I think they only way “England” can win a major competition is down to two things.

Scrap the current sytem of international matches and replace it with the leagues of each country. On second thoughts perhaps FIFA could instigate this as yet another way of making money.

On a serious note, I feel it is down to the training of youngsters wean them away from this pc world. During my teens, I often played 3 competitive games a week, 2 weekly training sessions and plus school sports lessons.

I am a firm believer in the maxim “GET FIT or GET FAT!”

By: reazonuk

reazonuk — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:26:25 +0000

Good article but the best way to look at why the national side is so unsucsessfull is to study the economics behind everything.First off the name says it all : “premier league”
it is not an english league because it is made of of multiple nationalities.Secondally football clubs are really corporations made up of share holders,whose loyalty is not to the national side and locals but to the club itself.What is happening in the modern world is that more and more english based clubs are being put under foreign ownership,owners who promise big things and potential but again with no loyalty to the national side.Infact it does not matter if the owner or manager is foreign or not because it is the policy of the club,how it is to be developed that will in the long run determine if it benefits english football itself.If the owners and the manager decide to look to the youth system and build that way it encourages local development.But what alot of clubs are now doing (like man city) is buying foreign established stars on the continent for quick short term sucsess.Now supporters of the premiership and media hype constantly states that this will benefit our young players but what is really happening? It prevents an english based player from getting into the starting lineup,sometimes even the bench depriving them of experience and so these young players tend to eventually go to smaller clubs where they can develop properlly,but if they go to smaller clubs they are no longer playing week in week out with the worlds best are they?.If these players do eventually become promising you can bet an elite club come knocking and this prevents smaller clubs from building and holding onto their own stars.The true state of english football is beyond the premiership because most englsih players are in the lower divisions and these lower league clubs are often overlooked by the premiership sides and even the rest of europe when it comes to transfers.The problem is that we are importing huge numbers of foreign players and not exporting any of our own.It is no coincidence that the other europeon leagues like the spanish, have high numbers of homegrown players in their top division,a high number of stars abroad and a sucsesfull national team in comparsisson to England where our top division is increasing with foreign players while homegrown numbers are decreasing,we have very very few english players playing for foreign clubs especially in the top divisions as there is no demand for them and we have what we see as a underachieving national squad.If we exported enough players then we would benefit because these players would gain vital experience and it would give wave after wave of younger generations a chance to come through the ranks which is why national sides LIKE brazil,like spain,like france are so strong.The assumption that the premierleague is the best league in the world and benefits the national side is garbage.Look at brazil,they are highly regarded as the best footballing nation on the plenet in terms of what they produce and yet their league does not have as much money or attract elite europeon players.They have many sucsesfull players based in europe and have a strong national squad.The reason being?the clubs in brazil all have a youth based system of development and high number of sucsesfull exports.This constant flow means generation afetr generation will come through with out competition for places with someone from abroad.What is happening here at home means our boys are having to wait ,face being loaned out to lower sides and most will remain in the lower divisions unwanted.The premier league may well have the most money invested in it above other leagues and attract a large number of big names but that does not represent how good english football is.It just shows that our clubs are desperate to find sucsess no matter the cost.Trophies and television money is their bottom line not the sucsess of the english national team.

By: SY

SY — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:12:30 +0000

The English players who featured that night were Carragher,Gibbs and Walcott.It is a matter of shame that only 3 players featured in a top flight match-up.And this is also not a very good sigh for the future of English Football.More English players should be played!

By: Malcom

Malcom — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:08:23 +0000

In my few years on planet earth, my thoughts and opinions have been shaped by so many, especially great men of time. In particular, Martin Luther King Jr has influenced my philosophy tremendously. Others are John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Jesse Jackson and MalcolmX to mention but a few.
I have been so inspired by them so much so that their words have become part of me that they often found expression in my speech and writings, without necessarily referencing them sometimes.
One of the profound truths that I have

By: Jake

Jake — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 11:38:53 +0000

UEFA/FIFA is trying to nationalize clubs which is INTERNATIONAL. And FIFA is trying to internationalize nations. If I wanna watch a bunch of Englishmen I’ll watch international football. But now FIFA is allowing those under-23 to switch nations while trying to restrict club soccer to a more nationalist restriction. Its completely hypocritical.

Again national teams are NATIONAL teams while clubs are clubs. Clubs are a product, a market so its fine to be international.

Plus these restrictions are pointless because if the clubs want they simply will leave FIFA and UEFA and w/e else. And make the G14 or just a new FIFA.

By: Tom S

Tom S — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:06:01 +0000

Mr Toal,

I have found this article exceptionally interesting and my own opinion has wavered and swayed through several of your points. I will keep an eye out for, look forward to and I’m sure, thoroughly enjoy your future articles.

For the record I also agree with your opinion that foreign quotas would merely lower the standard of the game in England.

What I find strange is that players such as Beckham, Gerrard and Lampard prove consistently outstanding for their clubs even in comparison with their foreign teammates, especially in the vital moments (Think Lampard in the FA cup final this season, Gerrard on several occasions, and Beckham proving himself with Man Utd, Real Madrid and AC Milan, arguably the biggest clubs in each of their respective countries) yet come the major England games have a tendency to fail to produce their best form…

While no doubt at times England’s exits from some of the more recent tournaments have been brave performances (2008, 2006, 1998, 1996, 1990) I think that ultimately it is the British mentality of ‘It doesn’t matter where you finish as long as you’ve tried your best’ that holds this country back, and the perhaps the winning mentalitys of the Capellos of this world may finally bring about a change in this, I’d certainly say the ruthlessness shown in this qualifying campaign is encouraging but it wont be until the last 8 of the world cup that we’ll know for sure!

By: Gaz T

Gaz T — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:38:49 +0000

Thanks for your comments, much appreciated.

Regarding the English players on show in the 4-4 game. Carragher and Gibbs started, the only current English international to play was Walcott, who came off the bench. Cheers.

By: Kanmi

Kanmi — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:29:02 +0000

Brilliant piece.

The following English palyers were on parade in the Liverpool vs Arsenal Match:

Liverpool – Jamie Carragher
Arsenal – Kieran Gibbs and Theo Walcott

By: BD Condell

BD Condell — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:52:13 +0000

I’ve never bought into this ‘detrimental affect on the national team’ thing. Go back 40 or 50 years when it was all home grown players. What did you have? A couple of dozen players good enough to play for England, plenty of decent players and some very average ones.

Foreigners may take up places that average home based players might have had in some teams but the top players of international quality will always emerge. The suggestion that a world class home grown player may be lost to the country through not getting a game because some foreigner was playing ahead of him is complete nonsense.

The cream rises to the top and if you’re good enough you’ll make the breakthrough, regardless of acadamies, ‘modern’ coaching techniques, special diets and all that goes with the myth of the modern game.

How on earth did Charlton, Best and Law make it without being weaned in an academy from the age of 7 etc.etc.

I never could quite figure that out!