I don't know, but surely I don't have to tell you that correlation does not equal causation. True, but so what? If you spend lots of money developing players who never play (for whatever reason) that's not going to help is it? You can't deny the premier league is an important part of the puzzle. It is where all future England players are expected to play after all.
1. That would be illegal 2. Even if it wasn't why would the clubs agree to that? 3. It probably wouldn't work. England were probably worse than they are now in the 70s, 80s and early 90s when most of the players in the league were English (or at least British).
1. Yes and no. Football has a knack of quoting normal business laws when it suits and completely going against them when it doesn't, hence all the business about football related payments being covered before paying taxes etc. 2. Why indeed? Especially with all the foreign owners. This is why this whole commission thing is a bit of a farce. Ultimately who's going to enforce the required changes? 3. We probably were worse back then as you say but thats because we had a very unprofessional and archaic approach to the game and to fitness etc back then. These things have improved as has coaching generally, although still sadly lacking in many areas. As CBK has said, kids are spotted at a very young age and taken into club structures (too young probably), so it can only be that they do not get exposure at the highest levels of the game. Its no coincidence that the standard of the Championship and even Div 1 is way higher than it ever was. No doubt because, in the past, many of these players would have being playing in the top division. Also, you but "British" in brackets but lets not forget that Scotland used to qualify for the odd World Cup back then, can't see that happening any day soon.
31.8% of players in the Premier League are English, that's still quite a healthy chunk considering how small a country we are and how many better footballing countries there are. The coaching at grass roots level and the attitude of your average talented young footballer (I'm sure some of you have been to school/college with a few and they were probably ****ers) is the reason why England players are so inferior to many of their foreign counterparts. As CBK and others have pointed out, the England teams have always been this average or worse and it is the whole English belief that they have to be the best in the world at everything that this inane debate is continuously raised. I'd rather watch a good Premier League and an average England team as oppose to a majority British & very boring Premier League and an average England team, personally.
Agree with a lot of what you say OtB. But look how we love Le Tiss, Benali, Ward-Prowse, Lallana etc. I think instinctively we would all prefer to have local players in the team if it were possible. Extending that I think most people would prefer a mostly English team with the odd overseas player in the mix. Ivan Golac was one of the first to venture to England and we loved him. However, if he had been one of 11 foreigners I doubt we'd have felt the same.
It's illegal. The Bosman ruling isn't just about players moving for free at the end of their contract and made it clear that quotas based on nationality are illegal within the EU. Any rule along those lines that was introduced would be challenged in the courts. That would obviously be expensive and the rule would almost certainly be deemed illegal. You simply can't limit the number of players with EU nationality. You could probably have a limit on non-EU players and that might be worth doing but I don't think they're as much of a problem and work permits already limit their numbers to some extent.
Ilegal or not they have to find some way to do it or things will just get worse. I thought we had squad quotas already.
The Homegrown rule is a good balance IMO - it's full effect won't kick in for a while, but it seems to have already gotten rrind of most of the aging mercinaries coming to the PL for one last pay-day.
Not knocking it. Just knocking this stupid fascination with making the England national team win a world cup by setting up a committee.
We tend to do things by think tanks and consensus...the best way to run anything is a tyrannical genius...unfortunately they are few and far between (Saints have cornered the market in that area). What you tend to get is a tyrannical idiot.
There's the answer then. Sorting out the England setup will be Nicola's next project, after we win the Champions League in two or three years.
Well, this is how Spain and Germany got where they are. Or at least, began to get where they are. How would you do it?
Hoddle talking about a residential football academy for England. Put them in competition with the PL academies...which to choose...putting a boy into an academy with a direct link to the national side or into a professional club. Suspect there is room for both.
Dyke seems to be greeted in some circles as the new Messiah, they way he predicts a world cup win in 2022. I don`t see where he gets his credability from - he doesn`t sound like he knows his football.
I've just realised what we need to do! Leave the European Union!!! Then we Kick out all the foreigners! It's a win win situation!
