England have no hope for 2010
Tue Mar 24 03:29PM
Looking at the England side right now, I don't think we have any chance of winning the World Cup in South Africa next year.Fabio Capello has got the team winning matches in a slightly more impressive fashion than they did under Steve McLaren, but the fact is England are still struggling to find quality players to play for their country.
There are no young players coming through in the English game. Young English players are not given the opportunity to play in the top division with their clubs and until that changes, the national side will not enjoy success in a major tournament.
Quotas for English players in the Premier League might be the only answer to the problem. Somehow we have to change the system and follow the example of the Italian and Spanish leagues - where young players get the chance to develop and there are less foreign stars taking the shirts off their backs.
It's a difficult issue to address now we're part of the EU and I wish the FA had dealt with the problem when we joined to preserve our national side. Something has to be done.
It's not that we don't have the talent in England. There is plenty of potential, but hardly any of it gets the chance to develop. David Moyes at Everton is one of the few managers who relies on homegrown players and brings them through - and he deserves enormous credit. But maybe it's just because Everton don't have the funds to bring in overseas stars?
- - -
Leighton Baines was rewarded with a place in the England squad this week and he deserves recognition for his performances for Wigan and Everton. I'm not sure Baines is an international class player however. If you look back 18 months Nicky Shorey was in the frame and now he can't even get in the Aston Villa team.
To be honest I can't see any fresh faces coming into England's starting XI before the World Cup next year. Even David Beckham is a shoo-in.
There are plenty of young midfielders out there, but how many will get the chance to showcase their ability in a Premier League jam-packed with international talent?
One player I do hope starts for England in South Africa is Glen Johnson. He gets up and down better than any full-back in the Premier League and has real quality in his final ball. Micah Richards is a superb athlete, but I worry about his discipline.
As for Gary Neville, I'm sorry to say it but I think his international days are over. Football is a game of hardships and sometimes you just have to step aside and let the next generation come through.
Gary has been a tremendous servant to his country but I think his international days are over.
preach on brother!!!so true
From jjordaan on Tue Mar 24 03:37PMyOU WISH
From joeportsmouth on Tue Mar 24 03:43PMThe Spanish and Italian league has just as many foreign players at the EPL. The only difference being they are only allowed I belive 3 non-EU players. The Italian national team is an even worse state than ours at the moment. Its the way that football is taught in this country that is the problem.
From hodaz on Tue Mar 24 03:44PMPaul, can you get me a job stating the obvious every week? Looks like a sweet gig...
From ny.doric on Tue Mar 24 03:45PMJUST WAIT JJORDAN
From joeportsmouth on Tue Mar 24 03:49PMJUST WAITJJORDAN
From joeportsmouth on Tue Mar 24 03:49PMI disagree. I think England is on the very short list of the candidates. They have a deep and wide squad. 2 out of the top 10 players in the world, unfortunately in the same role; a rocky defense, a lot of options forward, and then the true strength: the midfield, quantity and quality. A lot will depend on the form of Michael Owen, but there's anyway a certain Rooney. The young generation is not bad at all: Rooney IS young, Walcott is impressive and he also started scoring goals, a few more are growing. The only weak position I see is that of the goalkeeper. Several English goalies can be fantastic in a match, but then you see awful mistakes just the following match.
Of course to win a World Cup things must go all right every time. Any unlucky day means you are out. Brasil won 2002 after they almost missed the qualification in the South American group. France got into the 2006 final after being almost sent home in the preliminary round. Italy might have been in somebody's outsider list, but not the top favourite. You need quality and quantity, and many good replacements. And some confidence. Capello's side has all that. The rest is luck, that's by definition unpredictable. I see England, Spain, Argentina, Brasil as top favourites, with the usual suspects Italy, France, Holland and Germany ready to upset. I expect Portugal less strong than in the last few competitions, where they went almost all the way.From giovannitardini on Tue Mar 24 03:52PMpaul parker you are a waste of human air!
From macka802000 on Tue Mar 24 03:52PMthank you for brightening up everyones day.
From tim_m_everitt on Tue Mar 24 03:53PMIf the English youngsters are good enough they will get into the big premiership clubs.
Walcott, Rooney, Barry, Simpson, Milner & Cole will vouch for that.England Fan
From istekz on Tue Mar 24 03:55PMI agree but also disagree... PP do you not see players like Ashley Young, Agbonlahor, Rodwell, Frazier Campbell, Joe Hart, Rodwell, or Adam Johnson starting to shine in the premier league? Look at our under 21's... quite brilliant considering there's no young English 'talent.' I agree though until they are given a chance for England, even for friendlies, then it doesn't look good for us. We've got great senior players that can't seem to gel but lets not rule out Mr Capello's capabilities as he really is class and if anyone can take England to a World Cup glory in 2010 it's the italian. I wouldn't rule us out but I fancy Spain to go on from their Euro glory and win the World Cup in 2010.
From jamesbroadfoot on Tue Mar 24 03:56PMI hope every other journalist thinks we can't win the World Cup. Every time it is played the papers said we are going to win it and we haven't even come close. Maybe if the team go out there without too much expectation then they will not have as much pressure on them and they will perform better. Hopefully.
From phillipcarey1978 on Tue Mar 24 03:57PMyou have got2 give the homegrown a run yay
From jjordaan on Tue Mar 24 03:57PMENGLAND as always will go anywhere, because best players in england are from:spain, portugal, france...when a big english team with at least 50% of english players, WHEN????
From manuelph2007 on Tue Mar 24 03:58PMAre you sure there are no Young english players coming through??
-Phil Jagielka
-Aaron Lennon
-Theo Walcott
-Micah Richards
-Gabriel Agbonlahor
-Joe Hart
-Ashley Young
-James Milner
-Tom Huddleston
-Daniel WelbeckAll of these capable of being in the squad for south africa. The oldest out of these is 22 so think again before writing a silly article!
From reedy0809 on Tue Mar 24 03:58PMPaul you dont half write some @#$%.
From sean.haggerty on Tue Mar 24 04:01PMI think Capello needs to put Michael Carrick as the first name on his teamsheet... with him and Gerrard in the middle of the park and some good width from Walcott and A. Young or J. Cole we've got a chance... Rooney up front with Defoe and a backline of Johnson, Terry, Rio, and Cole with Foster in goal in 2010 then we've got a real chance. Come on England and PP wash your mouth out.
From jamesbroadfoot on Tue Mar 24 04:02PM"human air!"
Whats that exactly?
From markham.anthony on Tue Mar 24 04:04PMSo all you folk knocking paul...
think England are fine,no problems! whats all the fuss?
Paul is just expressing the concerns not just of us here on this blog..but fotball as a whole..FACT:very few qulity players (English) coming through
FACT;To many non EU players!
FACT:Someone as to make a stand and do something!beofre it is far to late.From tinygauge on Tue Mar 24 04:09PMYou English are never happy! On the one hand you brag that the Premiership is the best league in the world, on the other you curse the lack of English talent coming through. Why do you think the Premiership is the best league in world........... perhaps it is due to the amount of talented foreign players plying their trade in the league? And why is their so many foreign players in the premiership? Maybe, just maybe, English players are not as good as their foreign counterparts and rather than allowing that simple little penny to drop thus crushing the massive ego of En-ger-land, the finger of blame is pointed this way and that! Discuss.........
From ronandonohoe on Tue Mar 24 04:10PMI totally disagree once again PP. Look back a few years before the big money in the premiership, were England any good? No, Not really, and that was when almost every player was English
From theshowman2002uk on Tue Mar 24 04:11PMStop making excuses for Englands failure. Inter have very few Italian players in the starting team, yet Italy are World Champions.
Everton bring through youngsters? which have they brought through? Baines, Lescott, Neville, Jagielka were all signed from other clubs. Other main players, Fellaini, Cahill, Jo, Saha, Yakubu, Howard, Yobo, & Piennar are all foriegn. Just cos one player breaks into England team, doesn't mean they are working harder than the rest.
From ima_fat_tw on Tue Mar 24 04:12PMSeriously Parker was it a case of collect ten tokens from the back of a cereal packet and become a journalist.
From mptatchley on Tue Mar 24 04:14PMAnd if we are so bad at bringing players through why is our u21 team always doing pretty well.
From ima_fat_tw on Tue Mar 24 04:14PMHas anybody proof read this before it was published?.. Not likely!
From kevin1985kane on Tue Mar 24 04:14PMLook at the photograph. 6 of them played in the 2008 Champions League Final. We also have Gerrard, who's not in the photograph. If you ask me, that's world class, and good enough.
They don't need any quotas. Only a manager that can bring them together. On their day, working in tandem, Lampard and Gerrard can own the midfield against any side.
The Dutch made waves in EURO 2008. We need to have such team chemistry. Russia and Turkey aren't teams of superstars, but they made the semis then. Team spirit, and a pride in wearing the shirt matters more than quotas.
Cut down their salaries first, and the respect for the shirt will come.
From akilesh_radhakrishnan on Tue Mar 24 04:15PMFoster, Neville, Ferdinand, Woodgate, Cole; Lennon, Gerard, Lampard, Barry; Rooney, Crouch/Owen/Heskey looks OK to me for 2010.
Hargreaves, Johnston, Walcott, Terry, Richards, Lescott, Ramsey, Wilshere on benches?From e.vale on Tue Mar 24 04:15PMWhat players has Moyes brought through? two players get an occasional game and they are brought through?
From ima_fat_tw on Tue Mar 24 04:16PM"Gary has been a tremendous servant to his country" = Pi$$ing myself laughing
From kevin1985kane on Tue Mar 24 04:18PMI think he meant Paul is a waste of space and I agree!!! That's a nice and optimistic approach Paul. I still can't figure out how you are not fired yet!!!
From b_etu on Tue Mar 24 04:20PM
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