Why the Premier League is England's worst enemy
By Mark Samain
After a poor showing and an earlier than hoped exit from last year’s World Cup, the focus in England was on what the English team has to do to compete and excel at a major tournament? Not since the 1966 World Cup had England held up the winner’s trophy in high level competition.It would seem that as England's Premier League is one of the most competitive leagues in the world, its success would translate to the national team as well. However, it is the success of the Premier League that is going to make it difficult for England to develop the players necessary to compete and win in the world’s biggest tournaments.
The first issue simply has to do with money. The financial rewards of just staying in the Premier League, let alone winning it, means that practically all 38 games a team plays are of vital importance. A dropped point here or there can be the difference between securing a place in Europe or relegation to the Championship. It is not a conducive environment to try out untested youngsters, as the stakes are too high.
Secondly, even though the Premier League resides in England, it is really a “world” league. In addition to being available via television in every corner of the globe, the rosters of the teams are filled with players from every continent. A perfect example is Arsenal, whose 1st team squad contains only three Englishmen - Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshire, and Kieran Gibbs. Only Walcott and Wilshire could be considered 1st team contenders. Don't get me wrong, Arsenal are a joy to watch, but I don't think manager Arsene Wenger is too concerned with the development of English players. The one avenue where young English players can develop is through the loan system, where a player is "loaned" to another club so he can experience 1st team action. This practice definitely helped Wilshire in his meteoric rise to a central role in Arsenal's midfield this season. Kudos to Bolton Wanderers' manager Owen Coyle for taking the chance on him last season
The foreign influence doesn't just extend to the team rosters in the Premier League. In addition, English ownership and coaches are also in a minority. If the powers that be tried to mandate limiting non-English or non-British players in the league they would be hard pressed to do so. European Union rules ensure the free movement of labor for citizens of member countries.
What the FA (The Football Association) is doing to arrest the declining numbers of good English players, who eventually could be good enough for the national team, is to finally start the development of a national training centre in the English town of Burton. Germany, France, and Spain have had such developmental centers for years, and their on field success over time shows such centers can bear fruit. England’s hope is that in the near future the investment in this national centre will yield higher quantities of higher quality players that can eventually turn the fortunes of the national team. Until then, I fear that the emergence of the next Wayne Rooney or Steven Gerrard will be the exception rather than the rule.