Foreign Players

Derek1952

Looking at the BBC Gossip column every day it seems that 90% of immanent transfers are Foreign Players,is it not about time there was a restriction on these players,as good as they might be.How can we hope to win an International Competition when there so many players in our Premier League from other lands.It should be like Cricket where most Players are British.

ForeverAddickted

Trouble is I don't mind these Foreign Players in if its going to make the League exciting etc...

What I hate is when the Foreign "talent" coming in is clearly crap... i.e. Bebe / Djemba-Djemba / Kleberson are all perfect example of rubbish that Man Utd have signed when they could have played their own kids

GretnaGreenAddick

The problem is that because of our poor quality of coaching in this country we fail to create as many top quality players as many other countries, so it understandable that clubs go for foreign players IMO, as when football clubs now need to be run like a business why would they spend double the amount on an English born player when you can get a cheaper & quite likely a better technical player from abroad.

Restrictions will not make our players better, just make our clubs worse, so change the coaching not the regulations.

Belgian_Spur

The problem (as far as i can tell) is that in England the focus still lies heavily on pace and power and the fact that English players are overpriced like @gretnagreenAddick said. Something that always strikes me in the EPL is the sub par technical skills (ball control and passing mainly) of the English CB's. They are very good in the air, have decent pace and good tackling skills but it just seems like they are not challenged/coached to develop a wider skillset.

And the star cult surrounding young players is a problem too, calling that lil *** Wilshere the English Messi isnt going to help matters.

Addick in SW16

GretnaGreenAddick said:

The problem is that because of our poor quality of coaching in this country we fail to create as many top quality players as many other countries, so it understandable that clubs go for foreign players IMO, as when football clubs now need to be run like a business why would they spend double the amount on an English born player when you can get a cheaper & quite likely a better technical player from abroad.

Restrictions will not make our players better, just make our clubs worse, so change the coaching not the regulations.

Agreed. Would the Premier League be as big a brand without the foreign players? It has to begin with grass roots football (been argued to death and I am stating the obvious a bit). At a young age kids aren't being encouraged to develop their technical abilities but are (or were when I was a kid in the '90s) constantly told to lump the ball or move it on for the sake of the result. When I was 8 I was playing 11 a side football. That would never happen overseas.

Goonerhater

If the players are from EU countries then EU law means they can move between other EU countries so i cant see how you can stop that. Even for players outside the EU im sure there is a "5 year" rule that if they have been playing then they get the same rights of free movement. 78% of the Prem will be "foreign" players next season and 50%+ in the Championship.

Maybe if the top clubs play NO English/British players they should pay a fine (£25K) a game all monies to grass roots coaching.

moutuakilla

British players are too expensive as has been said again and again. Chambers = £16mill, Filipe Luis £15.8mill. Luis won La Liga last year and played in the champions league final. Mad, Mad, Mad.

Belgian_Spur

Addick in SW16 said:

GretnaGreenAddick said:

The problem is that because of our poor quality of coaching in this country we fail to create as many top quality players as many other countries, so it understandable that clubs go for foreign players IMO, as when football clubs now need to be run like a business why would they spend double the amount on an English born player when you can get a cheaper & quite likely a better technical player from abroad.

Restrictions will not make our players better, just make our clubs worse, so change the coaching not the regulations.

Agreed. Would the Premier League be as big a brand without the foreign players? It has to begin with grass roots football (been argued to death and I am stating the obvious a bit). At a young age kids aren't being encouraged to develop their technical abilities but are (or were when I was a kid in the '90s) constantly told to lump the ball or move it on for the sake of the result. When I was 8 I was playing 11 a side football. That would never happen overseas.

We had that over here too when i was young, focus on physical skills and result. Nowadays they play 5 a side, sometimes without a goal and do all the training with the ball up to the age of 13-14. Players need to develop both feet, receive mental, physical and technical coaching and the result as such only starts to count at the age of 15-16. We used to only have big lads that could dominate their age groups and the ones that were born later or had a slower grow cycle were ignored.

The swizz takes this even further, they take into account the month of birth of players to create very homogenic age groups up untill 12 (i think) to avoid disadvantage for those born in september-december.

Absurdistan

Back in the 70's/80's the theory was that we were crap on the international stage because we didn't have enough foreigners in our leagues. Now people argue we are crap because we have to many.
LOL

MrLargo

The cost of English players makes foreign imports more attractive - correct.
Coaching in this country is poor at grassroots level - correct.

However, I think there's a lot more to it than that. The likes of Manchester City and Chelsea have no interest at all in developing their own talent, but will happily bolster their squads with decent English talent in order to meet the homegrown players criteria, only utilising those players when they really have to. Jack Rodwell, Micah Richards and Scott Sinclair should all have been pushing for a place in the World Cup squad, but all three of them have spent the last two or three years struggling to make the subs bench.

In addition, the last time the England manager's job came up, there were only two realistic English candidates for the job, Hodgson and Redknapp. This situation isn't going to improve anytime soon, because clubs in the Premier League continue to favour bringing in foreign managers, regardless of their pedigree - Pepe Mel appointed by West Brom despite leading Real Betis to the bottom of La Liga in his previous job, Solskjaer appointed by Cardiff with only Norwegian league management experience on his CV. Why are the likes of Eddie Howe, Sean Dyche and Kenny Jackett not given a chance at Premier League level? They've all proven their skills over a sustained period.

Another problem is that the English players seem completely unwilling to go and develop their skills abroad - Italians, Germans, Spaniards, the French, Portuguese and Scandinavians are represented in leagues all over Europe, they learn different styles of play and, consequently, they know what to expect when they play in international tournaments. Our players know the Premier League and nothing else.

More bleak times ahead for England I fear.