And now the Premier League is under fire for the demise of the English national team by allowing such a great influx of foreign players that are inhibiting English players to develop in the Premiership. I believe that there is some truth to this claim, but some accountability must fall on managers who are not putting their faith in English players. Scott Parker and Shaun Wright-Phillips found their chances limited at Chelsea and never progressed into stars. Foreign players such as Torres, Tevez and Fabregas bring in a bigger commercial windfall through merchandising sales and publicity. However, the counter argument could be that managers are under so much pressure to succeed in every match, that they cannot take the risk in playing unproven English talent. Another side to this story is the culture of the English game and youth academys. The emphasis in England is the physical game and physical development, rather than the technical game as seen in Italy and Spain. One can cite the examples of Messi, Zola, Maradona. These are all incredibly gifted players who may have struggled in their early years if they were placed in the English academies because of a lack of height or strength. As seen with Wenger and Arsenal, he was unhappy with the state of the Arsenal academy when he first joined. He created a shift in paradigm where greater focus of technical development was created from a young age rather than the physical game. This is why he has now started to bear fruit with the emergence of Kieron Gibbs, Jack Wilshere and Emmanual Frimpong.
Heavy investment is made at Chelsea on their youth development, but their faith lies in young foreign players rather than English talent. We see the emergence of Gael Kakuta and Jeffrey Bruma, and these could be the future of Chelsea. However, it appears that they have shunned the likes of Ryan Bertrand, Scott Sinclair and Michael Mancienne who are now plying their trades at lower clubs on loan deals. Chelsea do have Daniel Sturridge on their books, in which they bought from Man City. Yet I forsee his first team chances to be limited as Chelsea would rather buy and then play established stars such as Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli or Kaka.
The new squad rules that is implemented this season on having at least 8 home grown players in the squad may improve the situation. However, the success of this intervention will only be seen when these 'home-grown players' are actually playing for their teams on a regular basis, rather than warming the bench on matchdays.
I would like to list the potential England squad for 2014 to show that there is hope for English football.
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Man City), Ben Foster (Birmingham City), Ben Amos (Manchester United).
Defenders: Micah Richards (Man City), Nedum Onaha (Man City), Gary Cahill (Bolton), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Michael Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur), Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City), Kieron Gibbs (Arsenal), Leighton Baines (Everton).
Midfielders: James Milner (Aston Villa), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur), Jack Rodwell (Everton), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham Hotspur), Fabian Delph (Aston Villa), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Adam Johnson (Man City), Ashley Young (Aston Villa).
Strikers: Wayne Rooney (Man Utd), Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea), Theo Walcott (Arsenal).
There are other players who could be considered too such as Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur), Victor Moses (Wigan Athletic) and Danny Wellbeck (Manchester United).
If you closely observe, you will notice that all these players ply their trade in England. It may be beneficial for them if they gain experience playing in the European Leagues such as La Liga and Serie A. Also, many of these players lack Champions League experience which is vital in knowing how to play against foreign opposition in cup competitions. However, these are young players who have yet to hit their potential, and one can only hope that they realise it by taking advantage of their opportunities and having the determination to succeed. England does have young talent waiting in the wings, and Fabio Capello must adapt with the times and prepare the new generation for future tournaments. We will have to wait and see how and if the England team evolves in the European Championships Qualifying campaign.
