Premier League Has Desperate 'English Players Need' - Bernstein

[davieG]

Outgoing Football Association chairman David Bernstein believes there is a "desperate need" to increase the number of English Premier League players.

Bernstein, 69, who steps down in July, said only 30% of players in the top flight were eligible for England compared to more than 50% in Germany.

He said: "The number of English players in the Premier League and the Football League is a really important matter.

"We desperately need to increase the pool of real quality players."

Bernstein, who has been forced to relinquish his post when he reaches 70 under FA rules, said work was already under way to address the problem.

 

He will be replaced by former BBC director general Greg Dyke, 66, who stressed asimilar need for more young English Premier League players last week.

Bernstein, who was appointed in 2011,added: "We have this number of around 30% and in Germany it is more than 50% and that 20% is a lot of players.

"All the work we are doing, such as in youth development, is aimed at doing that over the next few years and it's great to see some very good players coming through now such as Jack Wilshere. There are some coming through but we need many more."

Meanwhile Bernstein expressed his confidence that, under manager Roy Hodgson, England would qualify for the World Cup in Brazil next year.

Hodgson's men are currently second in their qualifying group, two points behind Montenegro after six matches.

Bernstein said: "It is desperately important we are in those World Cups and Euro Championships. We have done OK in qualification so far, we are not first but we have games ahead that are definitely winnable. They are good sides, this is a tough group.

"I am very proud we brought in Roy Hodgson. It is great to get an English manager and I think we got the right English manager. He is great to work with, I enjoy working with him, I have full support for him and I think the spirit we have engendered within the England set-up is very good.

"I believe we are moving in the right direction and I am sure Roy will deliver the goods."

 

 

 

New Football Association chairman Greg Dyke says ensuring there are more young English players in Premier League first teams is one of his biggest challenges.

Former Brentford chairman Dyke, 65, takes over the role from David Bernstein on 13 July.

He arrives in the job at a time when the number of English youngsters in the Premier League is falling.

"A lot of coaches I talk to tell me there is a lot of talent out there, but they can't get through," he said.

Percentage of domestic players in European leagues (2012-13)

• Spain: 61%


• France: 60%


• Germany: 47%


• Italy: 46%


• England: 36%

Source: Opta

"That is going to be one of the big challenges. How do we get talented kids, properly coached, into the top level of English football?"

English players make up 36% of those playing in the top flight, while in Spain's La Liga 61% of players are native to the country. The figure is 60% in France's Ligue 1, 47% in the German Bundesliga, which provided both this season's Champions League finalists, and 46% in Italy's Serie A.

Dyke, 65, told BBC Radio 5 live: "What I recognise is that we have a league system, particularly at Premier League level, where the insecurity of managers is such that: why take the chance on a kid where you can bring someone else in from Croatia, an experienced player who you know won't make the same mistakes that kids inevitably make?

"That seems to me a great challenge."

Dyke, who is a former Manchester United director, was also a director of London Weekend Television and involved in the deal to set up the Premier League in 1992.

But he is concerned that the top flight is not geared to helping the England national team, which has not reached a semi-final of a major tournament since 1996.

"I was around when the Premier League was set up [but] I'm not sure it was set up to improve the England team," he added.

"It was set up to improve the finances of the top clubs, which in some ways it has done but the money goes straight through. It's become like the movie business where there is a lot of income but it all goes to the talent.

"There is nothing wrong with that except the process has distorted the situation, and now we have a situation where English football, by and large at the top level, is owned overseas, is managed by people from overseas and played by people from overseas.

"It's turned it into a brilliant league, but it does give a problem with the English team."

[davieG]

Dyke, who is a former Manchester United director, was also a director of London Weekend Television and involved in the deal to set up the Premier League in 1992.

But he is concerned that the top flight is not geared to helping the England national team, which has not reached a semi-final of a major tournament since 1996.

"I was around when the Premier League was set up [but] I'm not sure it was set up to improve the England team," he added.

"It was set up to improve the finances of the top clubs, which in some ways it has done but the money goes straight through. It's become like the movie business where there is a lot of income but it all goes to the talent.

 

 

It may not have been set up to improve the English team but as someone who was against it I remember the numerous times it was said as part of the justification for the break away from the FL/FA control.

 

Mr Dyke you have selected memory probably due to your involvement with Man Utd and blinkered attitude to how it would affect English football over all.

[Captain...]

The EPP stuff should make it easier for the top clubs to pick up young English talent rather than be forced to pay through the nose, but that is to the detriment of smaller clubs, I am still not sure if it is the fact that foreigners are cheaper or better or it is just an obsession with having exotic foreign players in the team.

 

What is more worrying though is that there are no English players playing in other leagues, Germany may only have 47% available but there are also plenty of German players playing in other leagues.

 

It still frustrates me when you see the career paths of people like Scott Sinclair, I would love to see him go and play in Spain or Italy or France rather than bench warming at Man City.

 

The problem as always comes down to money, you get more money bench warming here than playing first team football for say Valencia, Dortmund, Fiorentina this means that nobody wants to leave the Prem, and everyone wants to come, there are so rich owners around in other leagues but the prem money means that even the shittiest prem team can attract top foreign talent and beat off much better teams from other leagues.

 

As for resolving it, FFP might help, EPP might help, but both of them will seriously damage grass roots football, and it is probably too late for this generation.

[indierich06]

The short termism of the Premier League means that managers will never risk bringing through young talent in any great numbers because they will always prefer the finished articles. Buying English youngsters is too expensive and you can get much better and much cheaper players by going abroad. It's a real, deep-rooted problem in football and something needs to be done about.

 

Until we bring in first-team quotas we'll never produce top talent like Germany, Spain etc. I personally think at least 6 players in the starting 11 of every PL team should be English.

[MPH]

I like how when talking about all the great players coming through he mentions ONE. Jack Wilshere.

 

 

 

 

 

And how the FA can hint at taking the credit for Arsenals youth system is beyond me..

[purpleronnie]

I have no problem with clubs buying numerous foreign players but years of clubs academies full of foreign talent just doesn't seem right.  But the league clubs hold sway over the FA and have more power, so it's very much club first, country 2nd.

[Super_horns]

The short termism of the Premier League means that managers will never risk bringing through young talent in any great numbers because they will always prefer the finished articles. Buying English youngsters is too expensive and you can get much better and much cheaper players by going abroad. It's a real, deep-rooted problem in football and something needs to be done about.

 

 

Spot on - just look at the stick Lambert got for having a young side rather than going out spending millions on proven talent which many fans demand and managers do because as you say its the pressure of instant results.

 

if the media had their way he would have been sacked.

 

Could there ever be a quota system - would it be legal?

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

Spot on - just look at the stick Lambert got for having a young side rather than going out spending millions on proven talent.

 

if the media had their way he would have been sacked.

 

Could there ever be a quota system - would it be legal?

 

There is a quota system in place in German academies, if I'm not mistaken (which I probably am).

[morris1234]

This always pops up whenever an international game comes around.

We can view this in many ways but to be honest, It's as if the powers that be, think its an easy fix.

It isn't. Like mentioned above there's too much at stake and most teams need short term fixes to maintain their respective aims.

I'd like to see more English players too but the way football is these days, unless they are technically gifted they aren't being given that chance.

We have those rules on registration, is it 8 players trained in England between a certain age and 4 have to have been at the club for so long between a certain age??

Either way, it's like the "wages are too high" argument. One club can stand up to it and make changes but there will always be somebody who will pay it, and in terms of player development, with bigger teams being relegated and finding financial trouble, they need to spend their money on the most effective but cheapest players available. And most of these are found abroad.

I'd love to see wilshere go without injuries for a while, his potential is massive.

[Pride_Of_The_Midlands]

It's a bit rich coming from the FA after they spent £50m on foreign managers.

[Corky]

And often, when we had mostly English players in the league, we didn't actually qualify for major tournaments.

 

We've reached two semi-finals since 1966, we are not a consistently top side and it will take years probably to become one.

 

Blame it on foreign invasions all you like but maybe we have a level, that is under the top nations?

[Father Ted]

No shit Bernstein. Funny how he says this when he retires in a months time instead of saying it 2 years ago when he should have done something about it. 

[Dan]

The short termism of the Premier League means that managers will never risk bringing through young talent in any great numbers because they will always prefer the finished articles. Buying English youngsters is too expensive and you can get much better and much cheaper players by going abroad. It's a real, deep-rooted problem in football and something needs to be done about.

 

Until we bring in first-team quotas we'll never produce top talent like Germany, Spain etc. I personally think at least 6 players in the starting 11 of every PL team should be English.

 

Totally agree with this and I'd personally make it 7 English, and 3 of them produced by yourselves.

 

The Premier League and the money in it has ruined our national side. No doubt about it.

[davieG]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22738219

Bridging first-team gap proves toughest hurdle for under-21s

In 2005, 10.33% of the minutes played by Premier League players was by under-21s, the highest figure of Europe's big five leagues. In eight seasons it has dropped to 4.45%, lower than all its major competitors.

According to research by the CIES Football Observatory, when English under-21s are considered, the figure falls to 2.28% for last season, the lowest it has ever been. Only 35 English under-21s played in the Premier League last season, also a new low.

[Guy1960]

The top premier league teams should be restricted on the number of players they loan out.  Chelsea had I think 26 out on loan this season, how can this be good?

 

If players are loaned out to lower league clubs surely they miss out on better quality coaching and getting hints and tips off better players.

 

Many people think EPPP is the answer, it's not.  All it will do is allow the prem clubs to stockpile players, few will get a chance to develop.

 

The future's bleak for football in England and the sad thing is that there is too much self interest for anyone to do anything about it.

[AdamN]

And often, when we had mostly English players in the league, we didn't actually qualify for major tournaments.

 

We've reached two semi-finals since 1966, we are not a consistently top side and it will take years probably to become one.

 

Blame it on foreign invasions all you like but maybe we have a level, that is under the top nations?

 

This may well be the case. 

Yes, we may have a smaller percentage to choose from, but the fact of the matter is that we DO have enough quality English players playing for the top clubs in the PL... I mean look at the starting XI vs Ireland:

 

01 Hart

02 Johnson

03 Cole

05 Cahill

06 Jagielka

04 Carrick

07 Walcott

08 Lampard

11 Oxlade-Chamberlain

09 Sturridge

10 Rooney

 

Not one of those players plays for a team outside the top 7 in the Premier League, so we can hardly complain about them being 'forced out' by foreign talent, because if they're good enough, then they'll play. But for some reason they rarely seem to show that quality on an international stage. Perhaps it's a tactical thing? Maybe their respective club managers play to their strengths, whereas for England they're expected to play a role that they are either unfamiliar with or do not excel at. When was the last time Rooney played as an out-and-out striker for Man Utd, for example?

[purpleronnie]

This may well be the case. 

Yes, we may have a smaller percentage to choose from, but the fact of the matter is that we DO have enough quality English players playing for the top clubs in the PL... I mean look at the starting XI vs Ireland:

 

01 Hart

02 Johnson

03 Cole

05 Cahill

06 Jagielka

04 Carrick

07 Walcott

08 Lampard

11 Oxlade-Chamberlain

09 Sturridge

10 Rooney

 

Not one of those players plays for a team outside the top 7 in the Premier League, so we can hardly complain about them being 'forced out' by foreign talent, because if they're good enough, then they'll play. But for some reason they rarely seem to show that quality on an international stage. Perhaps it's a tactical thing? Maybe their respective club managers play to their strengths, whereas for England they're expected to play a role that they are either unfamiliar with or do not excel at. When was the last time Rooney played as an out-and-out striker for Man Utd, for example?

 

Or maybe having foreign players in their side improves their play?

[AdamN]

Or maybe having foreign players in their side improves their play?

 

Maybe so.

[Manwell Pablo]

This may well be the case. 

Yes, we may have a smaller percentage to choose from, but the fact of the matter is that we DO have enough quality English players playing for the top clubs in the PL... I mean look at the starting XI vs Ireland:

 

01 Hart

02 Johnson

03 Cole

05 Cahill

06 Jagielka

04 Carrick

07 Walcott

08 Lampard

11 Oxlade-Chamberlain

09 Sturridge

10 Rooney

 

Not one of those players plays for a team outside the top 7 in the Premier League, so we can hardly complain about them being 'forced out' by foreign talent, because if they're good enough, then they'll play. But for some reason they rarely seem to show that quality on an international stage. Perhaps it's a tactical thing? Maybe their respective club managers play to their strengths, whereas for England they're expected to play a role that they are either unfamiliar with or do not excel at. When was the last time Rooney played as an out-and-out striker for Man Utd, for example?

 

It's all utter bollocks. If having a league full of elligible players = having a good national team can someone explain to my why France with their 60% of eligible top level players have been so shit they aren't even seeded first in World Cup Qualifying anymore?

[Guy1960]

Back in the 1970's and 1980's we had very few foreign players playing in England and we were still crap then so although the amount of playing time is a factor it's not the main reason for our poor performances.

 

It's down to poor coaching at youth level, a winning at all costs culture at school age, premier league teams refusing to risk playing young prospects and stock piling players and young players being given too much too soon.

 

Whilst the big teams buy big to get success nothing will change

 

I'm hoping we fail to qualify for the World Cup, only then will the authorities look at making changes.  

[Kitchandro]

http://www.gizoogle.net/index.php?search=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxestalk.co.uk%2Fforums%2Ftopic%2F88836-premier-league-has-desperate-english-players-need-bernstein%2F%23entry2630692&se=Gizoogle+Dis+Shiznit

 

This is great

 

I'm going to bust up some bitch ass motherfvckin threadz the wayz I is goin.

[davieG]

England have no chance of achieving Football Association chairman Greg Dyke's target of winning the 2022 World Cup, QPR boss Harry Redknapp has said.

Defeats by Italy and Uruguay have seen England knocked out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in the group stages.

Redknapp, 67, said on BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek: "Will we win the World Cup in Doha? Not a prayer."

He added that, during his managerial career, he had "two or three players who did not want to play for England".

Dyke set England the target of reaching the Euro 2020 semi-finals and winning the 2022 World Cup in a speech made last September,shortly after taking up the FA chairmanship.

But Redknapp argued that an influx of foreign players at youth level was damaging the progress of homegrown talent.

He said: "It's a problem at youth level. I'm sure the best youth teams in the country have plenty of foreign lads in them.

"At one time, the youth team was probably more about local kids. Not just English kids, but local kids. I grew up at West Ham, and all the kids came from that area. We didn't even have kids from the north of England.

 

"Now when you look at Chelsea and Manchester City, certainly in the last few years, they've got an awful lot of foreign lads in their teams. That is a problem as well."

Redknapp, who has also managed West Ham, Tottenham, Portsmouth and Southampton in the top flight, added that he had dealt with English players who did not want to play for their country.

He said: "When full internationals came around, two or three players didn't want to go and play for England.

"They'd come to me 10 days before the game and say: 'Gaffer, get me out of the game. I don't want to play in it.' That was how it was.

"I said to them: 'It's your country. You should want to play.'

"And it's only going to get worse. They see the stick that the England players get. They're earning fantastic money at their clubs, they're all playing in the Champions League and they think: 'Do we need that aggro?'"

England have not gone beyond a World Cup quarter-final since they reached the last four in 1990 and have only won it once, in 1966. Their best performances in the European Championship came when they reached the semi-finals in 1968 and 1996.

[Guest Col city fan]

The short termism of the Premier League means that managers will never risk bringing through young talent in any great numbers because they will always prefer the finished articles. Buying English youngsters is too expensive and you can get much better and much cheaper players by going abroad. It's a real, deep-rooted problem in football and something needs to be done about.

Until we bring in first-team quotas we'll never produce top talent like Germany, Spain etc. I personally think at least 6 players in the starting 11 of every PL team should be English.

Absolutely spot on..

[Jordan]

Nobody should be allowed to comment on this whole English players/Premier League/national team situation before reading this first.

[Fox92]

Fed up of teams not looking into their academies.

 

I know Ferguson spent money, more than what people like to think actually, but at least he didn't completely ignore the academy at Manchester United. Arsenal have done well to bring a few through, and in more recent times, Liverpool and Everton have brought a couple through. It's always nice to see young players get into the first team, even from a neutral point of view.

 

But Manchester City and Chelsea don't seem to do it, it's them in particular I find, that are quicker to just look abroad. And I'm amazed with City because they pump so much money into the local area, and Evening News up here have just reported they've signed a contract to build houses in the area. Even Gary Neville commented "when was the last time Chelsea brought a player through?" towards the latter end of the Premier League season on Sky.