Pleased you said "tend" as the first name to my mind on the mercenary front is a former NUFC player and most will know who without even having to name him!! Edit: And I mean an English ex player not foreign.
Yep, even 'tend' is being kind!! History shows us that teams with a strong local core 'tend' to get the job done on the trophies front, both here and abroad. Even at the very top, Bayern, Juve, Barca, Real, have a cultural core to keep it ticking over. 12 individuals have captained their teams to the 23 league titles that have been won. 8 of these 12 PL winning captains have been from UK & Ireland. They are B. Robson, S. Bruce, T. Sherwood, R. Keane, T. Adams, J. Terry, G. Neville, R. Giggs. The other 4 were Cantona, Vieira, Vidic and Kompany. 17 of the 23 Premier League champions have been captained by a Brit (or Irishman).
Pass that one on to Ashley, Carr and Charnley. You build a team around a British spine. You don't build it around a spineless bunch of overpaid, useless ****wits.
