The problem with English football

In contrast to the England football team, the Barclays Premier League has soared in reputation, to the point where it has become known as the best league in the world. This has been done so by the massive influx of foreign players into the Premier League in the past 15 years, adding extra quality and flair into the league. But it seems as if young, talented Englishmen are shunted out of the leagues and are replaced by these foreigners. As a result, the amount of English players in the Premier League is declining, but more worryingly, the quality of the English youngsters is also declining. This has had a massive impact on the national team, to a point where England can no longer compete with the best teams in the world. Therefore, the question must be asked; is it worth it to sacrifice talented English youngsters in order to improve the entertainment value of the Premier League? 
Foreign players such as Ronaldo have contributed
massively to the reputation of the Premier League

Sure, having foreign players in the Premier League can be advantageous. It helps the quality and attracts attention to the Premier League, and foreign players play a huge part in attracting fan bases from all across the world. Manchester United and Liverpool have become supported from all across the globe, mostly because they extend their fan bases by creating a multi-national team. For example, Manchester United currently have Ji Sung Park and their most recent signing, Shinji Kagawa, both of which increase publicity massively in areas of Asia. This attracts attention to the Premier League, whilst also increasing the money pumped into the League from all across the world.

It could also be argued that if the English FA were to be strict on how many foreign players a club could have, then world class players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry would never have graced the Premier League and made it what it is today. The foreign players that have decided to play in the Premier League have added to the high reputation that the Premier League now has, which is a prestigious and proud title for everyone involved with football in England. Everyone loves watching these exciting players perform week in week out, and if the English FA rather sacrifice youth development to make the Premier League more exciting, then so be it.

But in my opinion, this is not the way forward. It is right to have some foreign players plying their trade in the Premier League, but there must be some limit to how many non English players you can have in a team. Other countries use this sort of method, most notably in Spain and Germany, whose national teams have reaped the rewards and have now established themselves as two of the best national teams in the world. Youth Players in these countries don't have to force their way into a team packed with high quality foreign imports, meaning they can take centre stage and develop quicker from an earlier age.
Germany's concentration on youth have allowed the likes of
Mario Gotze to reach their full potential

This is evident with the emergence of young world beaters from these two countries, such as Mario Gotze of Germany and Thiago of Spain, who both had a vast amount of experience before they even reached their 20th birthday. The difference with these two is that they've had the opportunity to flourish and have been nurtured from an earlier age, meaning they have developed at a faster rate in comparison to the budding youth players in England. English youth don't have this same opportunity, most notable with one of our most promising young full backs, Ryan Bertrand, who has only played a handful of Premier League games for Chelsea and he is verging on 23. Although he looks to be a very good player, his lack of experience in Chelsea's first team is frightening, and there is no doubt that he'd be a better player if he were to be given more first team opportunities.

But this isn't only happening to Ryan Bertrand, it nearly affects every player below the age of 21 in England. Chelsea are a prime example of a team who have abused their youth system, with John Terry being their last player to break into the first team, nearly 12 years ago in 2000. They have spent massively to compensate, most recently bringing in attacking stars such as Eden Hazard and possibly Hulk. This will potentially force out more English talent, such as Josh McEachran and Daniel Sturridge, both of which have been tipped for future greatness. But their development will be severely hindered by a lack of first team opportunities, meaning they may not become the stars that they are expected to become. This indicates that England's top rising stars aren't getting the sort of treatment needed to develop into the world class players that they could potentially be, due to having to fight for their places with older, superior players. Consequently the national team isn’t benefiting, and this is unacceptable.

The inclusion of foreign players mean that England has not produced the world class players it once did at a regular basis, and as a result the national team will not win trophies any time soon. It's all well and good having a top quality Premier League, and I am proud to agree that it is the best league in the world. But if you are going to sacrifice promising youngsters in order to achieve this feat, what is the point? The national team is more important, and with their quality declining at a faster rate, it is time that a rule was put in place to limit the amount of foreign players a team in the Premier League can have. This will allow English players to flourish and fulfil their maximum potential, and the national team will reap the rewards as a result.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

(GOLF) BMW PGA Championship Betting Tips

Eastleigh 6-4 CPR All Stars

Arsenal in talks to sell midfielder to Serie A club