Fewer English players playing in England

[Ryan]

The number of England-qualified players starting in the Premier League dropped to an all-time low last season, research by BBC Sport has found.

Only 170 of the 498 players who started matches in the top flight in 2007-08 were English - just 34.1% of the total.

article here

Slightly alarming reading perhaps. It seems to be happening up and down Britain; the home nations' talents being diluted by a plethora of quick fix foreign signings, money perhaps better spent on nurturing and developing the talents of our own youngsters. Might get a few chavs off the streets too...

A system similar to Spain's La Liga, which restricts the number of non-europeans eligible to play, may be one solution to curb the influx.

What would you do?

[Pear]

Nothing.

There isn't a problem with the actual players talent and level of ability. That could clearly be seen in the Champions League Final when 10 of the 22 starting players on the pitch were English. The problem is making them work together as a team.

In all fairness all home countries in recent years have over achieved and maybe this is the result of the Premiership hosting the talent from Wales, Scotland and Ireland. This includes England, reaching the Quarter Finals of three successive tournaments, when did that last happen ?

The players have to become better to break through. The young lads play against the worlds best in training and practice games once they break into the reserve team. Surely that helps them. I imagine Ashley Cole loved going into training against Thierry Henry everyday or David Beckham learning a thing or two training alongside Eric Cantona.

My view is that I want to see entertainment as a paying fan especially with the prices these days. I don't blame those prices on the players either, the chairmen make a massive slice from TV but don't hand a rebate out to the real fans.

Anyway, I'd rather see that over 38 games than the 6 games to final at Euro 2008. I'd rather my club won something (not that they have for a while) rather than England.

[torledo]

Nothing.

Anyway, I'd rather see that over 38 games than the 6 games to final at Euro 2008. I'd rather my club won something (not that they have for a while) rather than England.

that attitude is part of the problem....and it's one that really bugs me. The whole club vs country row is a no-brainer to me...the national team should have priority and the success of the national team should instill a greater sense of pride than the individual success of club teams.

It's a case that fans don't seem to care about the make up of the team so long as that brings results. That's why you get a diabolical situation at arsenal where the only english player to get even a whiff of first team football is walcott.

I mean seriously, are foreign players like ryan babel worth a punt over home grown talent. We've got a fair share of foreign tosh in the premier league, why not give english players an extended run. Look at a team like west ham with the lad ramsay, if he was at arsenal he'd be deemed not good enough, if he were at portsmouth he'd be overlooked in favour of a cheap foreign import, because getting an 'international' to do a job for a couple of seasons is an easier short term fix than blooding a young player.

Because of the shortsightedness and pressures on club managers to succeed, there's no option but to impose quotas on foreign players in a starting XI. A minimum of 4 english players in a team really would put the wind up a team like arsenal. For all his ability as a manager and coach wenger seems to have a penchant for creating petulant ego's who are happy to take the money and run from the premier league because of an inflated sense of self worth...

David bentley would have had a damn sight more loyalty to arsenal if he'd been given the chance to show his worth than the likes of flamini and viera. Flaimni won't be the only foreginer to bail from arsenal over the next year to 18 months...particularly if they fall behind liverpool in the premier league pecking order.

The premier league has become a home for mercenaries, at the expense of the future successes for the national team. Foreign players have undoubtedy added to the standards of the premier league, but it's the english premier league for a reason. And most of the top teams around europe favour having theyre teams consisting mainly of home grown talent. Look at the top italian, spanish and german teams....they don't seem to be doing too badly with home grown players.

[torledo]

fifa prez blatter advocates a 6/5 rule of home grown to foreing players ratio in a starting line up....which is most likely illegal under eu law.

ESPNsoccernet - Europe - Blatter: Quotas can stop English dominance

the uefa home grown rule covers the make up of champions league squads...so all in all it's quite tepid. It really has to be a consensus thing where the leagues opt-in to an agreement on the number of foregin players in a starting XI or squad.

Unfortunately the premier league has shown itself the most blinkered and self absorbed....so guess who's the most likely not to do anything to change the situation. fergies best XI features brown, rio, rooney, scholes, hargreaves and carrick....so a successful team with a majority of home grown players is possible...trouble is united bought most of that talent at considerable cost. That's 90 milions worth of english players, so that english success is not going to be replicated by anyone else bar chelsea.