It’s over before it’s even begun: England are out of the World Cup. Everywhere, forlorn flags are being folded up for another four years; novelty scarves and deeley-boppers put away – until the next sporting event makes wearing such hideous items acceptable again – and the chorus of ‘maybe next time’ echoes dejectedly across every pub and household in the country. The rest of us (the sensible ones) get to say ‘I told you so’. Because the truth is, England are terrible at football.
Okay, I said it. But the truth is, the realists will always be right – and the delusional optimists will always be wrong – until the FA does something to curb the growing divide between the standards of other countries’ players and our own pathetic crop. It seems that valuable places in our excellent institution are being wasted training up average overseas players, where home-grown talent could be gaining experience for the next World Cup.
With by far the best and highest-grossing national league in the world, the quality of our players should be enviable. But it’s not. Because foreign players make up almost 70% of the Premier League. Everywhere you look it’s the Messis, the Ronaldos and the Suarezs we hear about; English players don’t really get a look in. This alone is okay – we should never be so arrogant as to presume ourselves to have the best players in the world – but it’s the rest we need to worry about:
If over two thirds of our league is non-British, then it stands to reason that not every foreign player bought is entirely up to scratch. Have you ever heard of Fernando Amorebieta, newly-relegated Fulham’s central defender, and part of Goal.com’s ‘Worst Team of the Season’? (If you have, then you either play too much FIFA, or you support Fulham. I pity you regardless). Incidentally, 8 of the 11 players in this imaginary team of mediocrity were born outside the UK.
Before you accuse me of making a UKIP-esque argument – lamenting the use of ‘foreign labour’ – hear me out: in every other European league, the percentage of minutes spent on the pitch by native players is considerably higher than in England (except in Cyprus, and who’s ever been pleased to draw them out of a sweepstake?). By enforcing quotas, we would be no different from our counterparts on the continent; in fact it is our dependence on foreign talent that sets us apart. If we want to improve our chances at being taken seriously as an international football team, it’s time to get stricter and apply a scheme that will build up – from the grassroots – a force to be reckoned with.
The FA claims to be tackling this problem with their £340 million ‘Elite Player Performance Plan’ – aiming to train up young English players. But at the end of the day, football is a business. If there are better and cheaper foreign players out there, our budding professionals don’t stand a chance. The only way to make room for future internationals to develop is by making their appearance compulsory.
Clearly, from our shambolic performance this year, the FA are not doing enough to fight the downward-spiral that is the standard of the English national football team. The solution appears to be fairly simple: set a limit on the number of foreign players on the pitch at any one time to ensure that English players are not confined to the bench. If they’re on the bench, they’re not on the pitch, so instead we cheer on those who’ll play against us every four years.
Many will justify the current mockery that is the Premier League as an extension of ‘the love of The Game’, but any self-respecting English football fan should place the interests of their country before the short-term gains of cheaper, foreign-filled clubs. Roy Hodgson faces a difficult choice: as soon as the World Cup starts, all of the players the Premier League’s been training just pack their bags and go home. The next time we see them, they’re shaming us with the skills we gave them.
Perhaps in four years’ time we can hope to survive on more than traditional British optimism. We could bring home our first World Cup trophy in 50 years, with a league that reflects the brightest and most exciting new talent in The Beautiful Game. And, if not, at least the French will stop sponging off our training programs and pull their own weight for once…
The Sixth Form Journal 