Are there too many foreign players in the Premier League?

[Gash]

I dont see the problem with Arsenal and our two English boys

 

we have developed many good quality players and sold them to our premiership rivals so its not like we arent developing them.

 

I think teams need value for money, and if you can get one player of the same quality for a better price because of their nationality, i really am oblivious to ANY problem!

 

Arsenal do indeed develop talent but they have to look elsewhere to get games, which suggests your transfer policy and preference for foreigners is the cause of that, which is a problem. But it's a double edged sword. Arsenal's main objective is to win matches and to satisfy fans, same with any club really, and today it's hard to justify giving a kid a good run of games to see if he can make it or not, because the money and pressures involved from the media and stands is huge. How we change that I don't know. We can change how we develop players though and if we produce more good players more will come through.

 

Well Arsene has iven Theo Walcott a very big chance to prove that he is worth it, he needs to make these games show, this season he is our second choice RM'er and it is only his, as with other players, opportunity to blow.

 

If he steps up this season, he will keep his place and cement his place in the future of the club.

Its not a matter of nationality, if theo steps up, Arsene wont give a fuck hes english, like wise if he doesnt!

 

HOyte got many chances last season and probably will do this season.

[brummie]

Talking of which, interesting article here:

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/aston_villa/article2388758.ece

 

*thumbs up*

[madras]

Talking of which, interesting article here:

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/aston_villa/article2388758.ece

 

*thumbs up*

we've been there,spurs last season aswell

[Menace]

I can't imagine the premiership without them, we'd be worse off.

 

I say we haven't got enough. If English players aren't good enough, tough shit on them.

 

Exactly.

[Guest SeattleToon]

Truth be told, it really is a rather complex problem. Because of the financial pressures of the Premier League, especially among clubs expecting to qualify for Europe every year, many clubs cannot afford to take a risk on questionable talent. Therefore they take the safe route and sign a more proven foreigner. We're no different, to be honest....Chopra never got a real opportunity with us...had to drop down a league to get a chance to prove himself, and is now back in the Premier League. Same thing is happening to Andy Carroll....

 

That said, to some extent the blame can also be placed on players for taking the money and signing for clubs where they were not going to play regularly....Crouch with Liverpool, Cole, Wright-Phillips, and Bridge with Chelsea, Walcott with Arsenal, Bent & DeFoe at Spurs....all would be much better off at mid-table clubs where they would play every game. The fact that they are not playing regularly is almost certainly stunting their growth as players.

[Guest sittingontheball]

I don't know the answer to this one, but I'm sure that the lack of interest many established football fans take in the England team is 100% the FA's fault. We've had years of them courting mediocre but noncontroversial managers (Taylor, McClaren, etc) and blatant favouritism in the team selection. There's far too much PR and chummy chummy complacency about the whole setup.  He's probably not good enough as a player, but Joey Barton has the right idea. The England team is not there to sell David Beckham shirts, Micheal Owen keyrings, or Frank Lampard books.

 

Does anyone know if Barca fans or AC Millan fans, say, are as disinterested in their national team?

[alpal78]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/6975955.stm

 

English football under threat

 

By Matt Slater

 

England's chances of football success are in jeopardy, according to the man responsible for producing the next generation of talent.

 

Sir Trevor Brooking told BBC1's Inside Sport the rising number of foreign players in the top flight has led to a lack of depth in key areas for England.

 

The FA's director of development warned: "(The national team) has to be under threat - the numbers show that.

 

"I don't think you can underestimate it. It's a major concern."

 

Brooking was speaking after a summer of record transfer spending by English clubs - much of it abroad - and before two must-win Euro 2008 qualifiers for Steve McClaren's under-fire England team.

 

Research by BBC Sport has revealed the extent of the challenges currently facing the national team as the pool of talent available to the manager decreases.

 

# 76% of the starting XIs that played on the first weekend of the first Premier League season in 1992 were English, only 37% were English on the first weekend of this season

# Only 10% (23 players) of the starting XIs in 1992 were from outside the UK, this season that number had increased to 56% (123)

# Non-English players have scored 69% of Premier League goals so far this season - they have even scored two of the three own goals

# Of the 118 goals scored so far, only nine have been scored by seven English strikers

# According to the latest Deloitte figures for disclosed transfer fees, spending by Premier League clubs rose from £333m in 2006 to £531m in 2007

# Half of that went to non-English clubs

 

Brooking is under no doubt that the growing number of foreign players in the Premier League is depriving domestic talent of first-team football and that is having a detrimental effect on England's chances of challenging at major tournaments.

 

"Last year about 40% of starting XIs in the Premier League were English," the 58-year-old England and West Ham legend said.

 

"And with all the buying that has gone on over the summer that will probably fall to under a third. Will there be first-team opportunities for some of our youngsters between 17 and 21?

 

"If you look at Italy when they won the last World Cup, I think they had over 70% of their league made up of domestic players. Spain, France, Holland, they're all up there too. Germany aren't much better than us but we're the lowest.

 

"The more that goes down, and the pool of choice reduces, we must come under pressure. In 10 years' time you don't want us just being pleased to qualify for tournaments."

 

How England's top flight compares with other leading leagues

 

Brooking, who was speaking at an FA-backed coaching day in Romford for five to 11-year-olds, was particularly concerned about the dearth of attacking options open to McClaren for Saturday's game against Israel and next Wednesday's crucial encounter with Russia.

 

With inspirational forward Wayne Rooney and midfield goal threats David Beckham and Frank Lampard injured - and Peter Crouch suspended for the Israel game - England have been forced to call up Emile Heskey and Ashley Young to bolster a strike force that can hardly be called prolific.

 

The much-maligned Heskey has at least scored this season - a claim that cannot be made by fellow England forwards Jermain Defoe, Andrew Johnson, Alan Smith or Young. And only Michael Owen, who has just returned from a year out injured, can boast of a goal this season and an international pedigree.

 

"We have nowhere near the depth we should have and that will be an issue as soon as you pick up injuries," said Brooking, who made 47 appearances in England's midfield during a distinguished career.

 

"We have that now in attack with the senior squad and we're struggling to find a replacement."

 

But as well as highlighting the threat to England's hopes of success posed by the diminishing number of players to select from in the Premier League, Brooking acknowledged the quality of English players had to improve too.

 

"Creating and scoring goals will be the big challenge for the English game and that will not improve unless we focus on developing our players better," he said.

 

"Injuries, form and combinations play a big part but you would like to go to any tournament with a chance. OK, it's frustrating when you don't win but let's stay in the melting pot.

 

"We've got a good nucleus now - our squad in last year's World Cup was one of the youngest - so they should stay together for the next five years or so. But after that, is there enough coming through?"

 

I know many would rather a tramp clutching a 1997 football sticker of an ex-Newcastle player won a tiddlywinks contest in Morocco than England won the World Cup, but your thoughts?

 

 

This is interesting, so many posters commented that they disapprove of the conclusion in the article yet voted "Yes" in the poll, maybe a bit of Levitt Frekonomics at play.

 

The only significant stats in the article is the how the number of foreign players far exceed the number of their British counterparts. Based on that, then surely there would be more foreign players in the first team and that they would score more goals, all the other stats are just a consequence of the former.

 

As for Brooking's arguments, it's the same free trade conundrum, competition leads to efficiency Vs protecting local industries (players). Although some of the young homegrown players might not get a chance with the big clubs, if they don't get regular action, their price will drop even if they are English and then they will be affordable to mid table teams. If they then perform and excel, then the bigger clubs will snap them up again. Let's not forget the likes of Lampard, Shearer etc....all came from mid table clubs. It's all market forces man.

 

Besides, the EPL is not there to fulfill a national agenda, once a club becomes a PLC, then results that brings in money has to come first. If they can get better players for cheaper, then that is what they will and should do. As for the below average foreigners that are sometimes bought by the clubs, well tough shit...mistakes happen in life and it is not something that happens exclusively with foreign players only. It only sticks in our mind more because we expect more from a foreign player and because there is a higher frequency to the mistake, because clubs do buy more foreign players. There is no fool proof way of making sure that only the best foreigners are bought by clubs, the rule that seeks to enforce this should be flexibility, there is no way that Everton for instance should have been prevented from buying Yakubu who is at least one or two notch better than Bent. 

 

 

[Guest Ridzuan]

In my opinion,yes I think that there are currently too many foreign players in the premier league but I think that the situation is unavoidable unless of course there is a limit to the number of foreign players a club can buy during the transfer window which I dont think many clubs will be happy with.The good thing is that it is showing that the premiership is getting more and more competitive each season but the bad thing is that,the future of the england squad could come under jeapordy in the future if young english talents are not being the opportunity to expose themselves.I would like to think that there are more english players playing in the championship than the premiership,I may be wrong but thats what I think of the situation.

[Guest SeattleToon]

While there is clearly a problem at the youth level in that England is not producing enough talented young players, I think part of the problem is also that the few good young players that are produced often sabotage their own development and career by moving from smaller clubs where they play every game to bigger clubs where they play much less. Look at Steve Sidwell....played every match for Reading, now will be lucky to see any first team action with Chelsea.

 

Other example of this would be Wayne Bridge, Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips, and Steve Sidwell at Chelsea (played every match at their old clubs, are part-timers for Chelsea), Peter Crouch at Liverpool (now fourth choice striker behind Kuyt, Torres, and Voronin), Theo Walcott at Arsenal (not a regular starter even after Henry was sold), and Darren Bent and Jermaine Defoe at Spurs (both part-timers in competition with Keane and Berbatov for playing time). These eight players are the best of the next generation of English players, and none of them are playing regularly.