Sad to say but I'm not sure, Ive only started watching the premier league again recently after being bored of it.
The premier league teams (and fans) want the best players and it's all about money and the best players.
When the premier league was born I don't think anyone expected the number of foreigners to come in. Personally I don't blame the premier league for this as such, but it's certainly the Champions league which can shoulder the blame.
Premier league sides with rich foreign owners saw the riches of the champions league and teams like Blackburn, Leeds, Chelsea and more recently Man City have pushed the financial boundaries further and further. In turn clubs with less money have tried to compete. With so few talented English players about over the years teams have gone overseas to get better/ cheaper imports. All the while the poor English players play second fiddle.
But if they're pushed out of the 'best league in the world' and champions league football, why don't they go abroad? Micah Richards, Bale and Ashley Cole are three I can think of. What about the rest? I'd say most of them are greedy and can sit on the bench for more money than bothering to play football elsewhere
Sorry Swiss, I don't blame the Champions League. If the Germans can be at the top of their game in Europe and their international team can win the World Cup in South America, then you cannot blame the Champions League for this. If Spain can be competitive internationally and also their league teams can be competitive in Europe then you cannot blame the Champions League.
I lay the blame wholly at the feet of the Premier League and the greed of the clubs who drink from that cup. Its become a closed shop. Now you can argue the merits of capitalism in society but in sport it is wholly wrong. To say fuck you to the bottom three divisions of English football and just drain all the resources from the game is an utter disgrace. We all in some part let it happen, we all chased the dream and we all sleepwalked into a situation where football can be played at 12.30 on a Sunday lunchtime in spite of the fact its an utter bastard for the fans to get to and from a ground. We have an FA Cup final moved for TV, which to me is one of the last nails in the rotting coffin of our game. We let Man United go chase some financial gain and more global recognition by them squirting off and playing a world tournament rather than a domestic cup competition.
As for, if English players were good enough they would start, there may be some merit in that but when clubs are hoarding English players and they aren't even getting squad numbers to play what the fuck is the point for them? As a nation we should be making sure our own players get precedence over foreign ones. A bit UKIP but if we want to have a world cup winning team in our lifetime this is the fact.
However, most don't want a World Cup winning side and England are the poor relation against Man U, Liverpool and the other wankers that populate the top tier.
The English league isn't even the best technically in the world. The game we play doesn't help us in the slightest. We don't base our game on skill and technique, but on speed. The continentals come across and need to adjust to the game, but you can become stronger and quicker, it is possible. What you cannot then teach is the skills they learn when they are 10 or 11, touch, guile, left and right footed passing.
I've said this before, the ONLY way this can change is if we put English players first and have a wage cap system. Any club can only pay its players £10k per week max. If they play that Saturday (or Friday, or Sunday etc) then they can be put into the pot for an additional bonus. For argumnents sake lets say that bonus is £1m per the first XI then you can pay Rooney £250k and you can pay someone else £200k but you only have £550k to share around the other 9. Now anyone can live on £10k per week so you aren't skinting anyone. What you do however is make players want to play. You make them want a shirt and even sitting on the bench isn't good enough. That way more players want to move. Foreign players looking for a last pay day aren't going to come because they won't get it unless they are good enough to start.
Then you don't lose players like Harry because unless he starts for Hull he isn't going to get so much of a benefit. So he develops at SUFC for a couple more seasons until he is really ready. If he doesn't develop then it was never going to be and no one wastes silly money on him.
