Steven Gerrard, Liverpool and Englands star player, has added his voice to the growing number of players, managers and officials concerned at the effect the increasing number of foreign players is having on the England national team.
Of the 220 players who started in last weekend`s ten Premier League fixtures, only 74 (roughly a third) were qualified to play for England and the likelyhood is that the number of foreign players will continue to grow.
Asked if he was in favour of the quota system, Gerrard said: “Yes, definitely I am all for there being a rule change.
(It has been suggested that each premier league side fields a minimum of six English qualified players)
“Something has got to happen otherwise there will be more and more foreigners and they will take over. There is a big danger that we stop producing quality young kids because of the amount of foreigners in the game. If foreigners do take over completely, it will affect the national team even worse than maybe it is now.
“I can proudly say I am playing in one of the best leagues in the world, but the important thing is to have one of the best national teams as well. It`s pointless having the best league in the world if our national team is going to suffer in the long run, so it`s important to keep bringing quality players in, the likes of Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen. Otherwise the national team will struggle.”
Gerrard is the first senior England international to raise concerns about the growing overseas influence in our Leagues.
The plan put forward by Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, and supported by Gerrard could be doomed, as the European Commission, has reiterated that sport will not be exempt from the EU Reform Treaty and that footballers like all other European citizens will continue to enjoy freedom of movement.
What is your view, is Gerrard right, do you care about the National team ?
Even if you don’t care about the England team, do you agree that a poor National side will ultimately undermine the premiership ?
Arsenal are currently Englands (term used very loosely) best side, but they rarely if ever include an Englishman or any other British National in the starting line up.
Are English players not good enough or is it that they now cannot get signed on at pemiership clubs because of the large number of initially cheaper foreign imports and foreign managers favouring their countrymen ( Wenger of Arsenal and Benitez of Liverpool, Gerrards own manager ! both cases in point).
Football lovers, let us have your views ?
Article submitted by regular Vital Huddersfield poster, patriot, X Arsenal fan and football lover “tonytime”, whom we thank.
Link to Trevor Brooking article on this subject HERE
Link to Stuart Pearce article on this subject HERE
LINK to humorous look at the foreign future HERE
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Tonytime, where do you get the figure of 168 games from? if walcott joined in Jan 2006, i think you’d be hard pushed to squeeze 168 games into 2 seasons. Walcott has made 68 appearances for Arsenal, which is 29 more than Abou Diaby, who is French. So it seems an english kid who joined at the same time as a frenhc player, has played almost twice as many games as said french player, despite having to compete as a striker with the likes of Thierry Henry or Robin Van Persie (both world class strikers – world class denotes having played at a higher level than league 1, and having scored a couple of goals against swansea). For theo to get into this team suggests he has the quality, and thus, he plays. Yet he is young, so he is used sparingly while Arsene works on rounding off his whole game, to make him a complete player. I don’t expect you to get this, as you don’t appear to have the mental capacity to see things any other way apart from the twisted warped view that you choose to see the world through. Presumably that’s how you reached the figure of 168 games, 2% of which walcott has played (according to your ‘stats’). »»Arsene Knows««
Here are some other stats to play with. Of the 20 games played in all competitons 7 have started with at least one Englishman in the Arsenal line up – 3 games with 2 or more. So 35% of games have started with at least one English player and an English player has featured at some point in the majority of games played – not IF EVER then – not even rarely really.
12 games in the league this season 14 possible players to feature 12×14 =168. I think you guys have got some serious denial issues, your responses are out of proportion to what is after all only an internet article.
Agree with tonytime, boring boring arsenal, not the team just the fans.
Agree too, probably have inadequate cars !
I still say sack McClaren, and yes these boring, droning on gunners fans, going on about how EVERYBODY is against them, boo bleeding hoo, just because they are so f’ing brilliant with a brilliant manager, how dare anyone point out that they have no English players hardly. If only Pennant and Bentley had been more patient, well they weren’t and you sold them, just like you bought Theo Walcott, talk about cake and eat it. Boring boring, NEXT.
you still haven’t answered Amos’ questions have you Tonytime. And as for us being boring, sling what crap you want, i would suggest it is you that are the dullards, coming out ith the same clichéd (french word), hackneyed, braindead arguments, the likes of which woudl come from soneone who cannot think for themself of see through the utter drivelwritten in the media. Ok, let’s take Arsenal out of the equation, that leaves 19 clubs in the top flight. Where is the rest of the quality players from the other 19 clubs in the prem. And while we’re lookinbg at the england squad, where were ashley cole and david bentley educated, in their formative years in football (without which coaching, they would not have benefitted from the coaching and learnt to play the way they can).
Yet no, bash Arsenal. your tired espousings of regurgitated, second-hand, ‘read-it-in-a-paper-so-it-must-be-true’, twaddle, make for the truly boring reading here. There have been no coutering to the arguments we have put forward, Tonytime continues to duck the questions posted for him (as he requested), you have nothing worthwhile to say. All mouth and no trousers (which is why you must need an ‘adequate car’, to make up for the mini metro in your pants.)»»Arsene Knows««
There you all sit – tut-tutting like some matronly Les Dawson figure in his apron gossiping with each other over the garden fence about those nasty gooner fans daring to respond to your invitation to debate the ‘Arsenal backlash’. “It’s only an internet article – it doesn’t have to state the truth – we don’t have to respond to any points – Ray Wilson played for us half a century ago – what’s their country of origin? – I bet most of them are not even English” What a sad pathetic apology for so called football supporters you are. I’ll leave you to the mind-numbing mediocrity you seem to relish.
Wingston, more like Whinger, Huddersfield might be easy to make fun of, top flight football and all, but at least our fans watch players who represent their town, not some bunch of mercinary over paid prima donnas, who don’t give a ***** about the fans, and your so up your arses to even notice you are being totally fleeced. Henry, Petit, Viera, Overmas, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, get the cash, glory and trophy hunters. Can’t see them settling in Islington or North London, they all love the club so much don’t they. I for one have had enough of your borish, self serving oh so superior drivel. Looking at these posts most town fans have reponded to your insults in a polite and considered fashion. Enough is enough, Go away you boring idiots. Come on Town.
I take exception to the remarks made about Ray Wilson, which are designed to belittle our club and Town it seems to me. Ray Wilson came back to Huddersfield after his playing career finished, and up to very recently still ran a business here, and lives in the locality. He put his kids through the local schools system. I went to school with his son and we played in schools and other sides together. Many other Huddersfield Town footballers live in the town and most of the succesful local lads came back and settled here after their careers finished. Whigston and Amos are protesting about a poster not being in poccesion of the facts, whilst they themselves are showing a large degree of ignorance and prejudice.
Actually, Galpharm, Bergkamp still lives in London, Pires has a flat in The Highbury dvelopment too, where he intends to divide hs time between when he finishes playing. OOPS! »»Arsene Knows««
you take exception to the ray wilson remark? Getting sensitive are we? I thought that was the exclusive domain of us gooners. Not that you are trying to belittle us and our club by calling us foreign, ‘hardly english’ etc. no, you woudlnt be doing that would you »»ARsene Knows««
ok eddie, what facts have i displayed ignorance of, and what prejudice have i displayed?? »»Arsene Knows««
Well said Eddie01, Arsenal probably do have world Cup Winners though and no not Alan Ball they signed him after he’d won it, oddly enough all their winners must be with foreign nations.
Those stats showing less than 5% of Arsenal football time to English players, are grim reading for any England manager. Mind you I doubt this manager McClaren could make winners out of England if he had twice the players to pick from.
I have come to this debate a little late I see, briefly looking at these posts, I have some observations. What i presume are Arsenal fans demand a lot but actually don’t answer in any realistic way the stats etc put out their. Many of their postings are rude, insulting and designed to inflame, and derogatory of our club.
I feel more proud to be a terrier than less just now, some people posting on here should be but probably wont be, ashamed of themselves. Eddie01 agree with all you said in your post. Finally insulting Huddersfield with our history and tradition could only happen from people very ignorant of English football. Come on Town.
Walcott, Hoyte, Muamba, Bentley, Lansbury, G Hoyte, Upson, Cole, Sidewell, Harper etc.
Tonytime.. I left my answer on the spurs forum.. But the fact remains is that most english players are thick numpties with a total lack of education.. and the lack of atributes are beginning to fail in the modern game..
hear hear cpusop