It's a little bit more than just ability. It's about mentality too and on average a foreign player finds it far easier to not care about the club and find excuses not to try or use their ability. Don't know why, just an observation.
I think that's all a requirement in being a good footballer. You're either good enough or you aren't in my opinion and nationally has nothing to do with it. Look at all the world beaters coming through our youth system. The problem the entire club staff inc scouts, coaches and pretty much anyone involved in decision making on players etc
I think you need a British core to your side. Unless you are buying the very top end of foreign talent, for whatever reason you do just not seem to get away with very often having a team packed full of foreign players. There could be many reasons for it. There are just so few examples of this having worked for any sustained period outside the top clubs who are buying the worlds best players. I agree with Sir Bobby on this, get players who know the league/country etc. Add a few talented players (go foreign if you can't afford the ones here), and you are halfway there. Particularly up here where its cold You only have to look where Bobby took us. He utilised players like Griffin, O'Brien, Hughes, Bramble, Ambrose, Lua Lua, Elliott as players who could come in and do a job. They weren't all that good but people like Griffin had a rock solid mentality. Simpson was the same when he was here although much maligned. He is now unbeaten this season with Leicester. There is a reason for that. He very much wanted to be here which is half the battle, he was fully committed. Bobby had a core of good quality blue chips in Shearer, Speed, Given, Woodgate. Then he had his energy, legs and youth with Bellamy, Dyer, Jenas, Milner. Then you had your flair from other countries with Robert, Solano or lads like Dabizas, Bernard, Acuna, Bassedas, Viana, Gavilan, Distin. He wasn't afraid to utilise foreign lads, he just made sure there was a core of british players who knew what the league was about at all times. Keegan did likewise and it worked. Jose did it at Chelsea, Sir Alex at Man U, Van Gaal at Man U, Pochettino at Spurs is trying to as he did at Southampton, Martinez is doing the same at Everton. There is only really Man City of late and Arsenal who have steered away from it with any success but they are buying world beaters for fees we could not even consider or persuade to come. Its not like its impossible to get the players either. Everton have done it with the likes of Coleman, Jagielka, Baines, Galloway, McCarthy, Naismith, Barry. Spurs too with Walker, Alli, Dier, Trippier, Davies as well as there homegrown crop of Rose, Kane, Mason, Townsend. Southampton with Rodiguez, Forster, Bertrand, Long, Davis as well as the homegrown. Leicester have done the same somewhat with Simpson, Drinkwater, Vardy, Dyer, Albrighton, Morgan. Palace with their team. It may not be that popular with our fans and the players get labeled "cloggers" or "not good enough" but these managers utilising this market are doing ok and seem to have the one thing we can't buy for love nor money - consistency and a bit of metal. I've long thought our fans don't help with this insatiable desire for a fancy foreign signing. I dare say had a few of the above signed for us, it wouldn't have excited the fanbase which I find weird. The notion that british players cost too much is a bit of a feeble excuse too. The list above proves this.
I think Townsend could be half decent for you... offers pace and he's direct. Problem is, he's never really had an extended run at Spurs so you never know how he's going to perform over a season. At Spurs he comes in for a few su games, makes a couple of starts and does alright... similar to England, comes in and plays well for a game or two against lower opposition and makes an impact but is then dropped again. Reminds me a bit of A.Johnson at City, always looking good when he came on for 30 minutes at City with the game already won. £12m is steep and he's probably worth half that, but you have to add the English tax on
Agree with CC on this. The Englishness of the team has nothing to do with it. After all the last time we had an 'English: spine to the team was 2008-2009 and we got relegated. However what we will need now are players we know are going to perform in the Premier League so we are probably going to have buy from other teams in the league and that will be expensive. I can imagine Ashley having sleepless nights worrying about whether to spend big knowing it still might not pay off and we get relegated or not spend much knowing we will in all likelyhood lose the PL pot of gold. There is a good chance he says the better odds might be on more or less accepting relegation and then rebuilding and coming straight back up. He may need to seek CC (the oracle) advise on this after his weekend win.
I've just realised I am turning into the Captain. My last post was the wordy version of: I think we will get relegated and sell all our best players.
To be fair I think there were some larger factors at play in that relegation! We had about 5 managers that season and we were just in turmoil.
