How can we prevent our national teams suffering as a result of investment in foreign players at club level?

Answer 1

Have a minimum quota of at least 5 'home grown players' in the playing 11 at any one time in club football. Then perhaps teams such as the English, Spanish and Portuguese could prosper for the better at national level. Most Italian teams have at least 5 or more 'home grown players' in their squads and they have benefited immensely recently i.e. winning the recent world cup!

Answer 2

I think that this is about having our cake and wanting to eat it too. We have one of the best leagues in the world and admittedly this is down the foreign talent. Yes I agree that home grown players should be given an opportunity but this is a dog eat dog league with every club vieing for top poistion, European football or avoiding the dreaded 'R' word. So understandably teams will feature the best players they have on offer.
Ok so we can propose that a team has a limit to how many foreign players they can send out every weekend but this will in turn impact the football that is played.. Is this something we are willing to accept? A drop in standard in the league to improve the plight of the National side? Almost all our National players are playing in the Premiership and doing well for their respective clubs, so their talent cannot be the issue here. It must therefore be the coaching side that is waivering.
We are making excuses for our National side not performing as we expect, by blaming the influx of foreign players, when really we should be looking at the real issue in terms of the management of the National side.
We should stop making excuses and instead lay responsibility on the players to let the football do all the talking. Individually their have heaps of talent to offer and would get into any top side in the world, what is required is better team work, not spirit as this they already have!

Answer 3

I'm not sure if national teams do suffer as a result foreign players in our domestic teams, if anything they widen our scope of experience with the different styles of play they bring.
England, for instance, has a fantastic selection of talented players and yet that is not reflected when they play as a team. I think the problem lies elsewhere.
I don't think there is enough coaching time devoted to the national team and the workload during the domestic season is getting heavier.
Domestic football has become an industry, clubs are now businesses driven by profit and from that perspective the international team has become an inconvenience that they must endure.
Domestic clubs and the domestic leagues need to give more towards the international team, most specifically time. Perhaps shorten the season by reducing the amount of clubs in the premiership, perhaps a mid-season break.

Answer 4

Do we want to protect our national teams? Surely international football is better with more clubs competing on a par with the bigger more established nations. Do we want a rugby situation with only 8 good teams and the rest are poor and get thrashed every time they play a bigger nation?
The thing that makes football great is that it is an international sport, the thing that makes the premiership the best league in the world is that everyone wants to play in it, and it is truely an international league. If we did anything to take away from that, forcing clubs to have inferior players just because they are from that nation, then the league will dip and other nations will rise.
There are many nations with a limited number of foreigners, and so is the championship which is like the true english league, with all the young players aspiring to play in the premiership.
I also prefer to watch club than national football. It is better, the teams more organised, play better more attractive football. Players for big national teams just don't play at the same level as they do for their clubs, that is the problem, nothing else. Maybe managers should be looking to players who do care.

Answer 5

Maybe in the case of the english league we can or should of started a deal with premiership teams involving the recent TV deal. This deal would mean that at least E.G. 10% of the £30milliom should go to grass roots football weather that be improving existing youth academies or investing in local sporting facilities (In the UK or better in that clubs city). That way the local community gets something back from the club and hopefully within the next 10 years each club would have a Fabregas coming through the ranks. A player like that in each team would save everyone at least 20million in the long run and the bonus for the national side is a few great, young players for every world cup.
Another idea would be premiership sides having to have a certain level in their youth setups simular to how we judge stadiums. IF it isnt up to a high standard you could lose your status.

But the problem may not lay with managers and clubs but with the countries youth itself. Im only 22 but before when i was younger id play football all day but now my younger cousins would rather play PES or FIFA on the playstation then actually get out there themselves. I always thought that brazilians were so good because they have nothing else to live for, maybe our youth is suffering because we now have too much else to live with.

Answer 6

I don't think that the solution has to be as severe as allowing only 3 or 4 foreigners per team. We should be embracing the fact that the premier league is played at such a high standard. But teams that put out sides that don't even contain a single british player isn't on. Maybe a cap should be put on the amount of home based players that have to be included. Even as little as 3 or 4 would be enough. And at least 2 of those have to be a product of the clubs youth system. Being from Middlesbrough and seeing the difficult start to the premier that we are having is hard to take, as I believe that we under the control of Steve Gibson are one of the only clubs going about it the right way. Investment in the youth, giving the young local lads a chance, instead of trying to bail our selves out with overpaid foreign players, who no matter how well they may play will never fully understand what this stupid game means to us.

Answer 7

Hello all,
It's quite funny we are living in denial with regards to football. It's a fact that football club are business company operating in a very competitive environment and in doing so they need to hire the service of the best. Now you get the best by having your scouts all over the place spotting the best talent around.
As far as the national team is concerned they only take the player on loan for a short period of time to represent national pride; For this national pride to be restore the country therefor need to invest themselves in ways and mean to make sure that the people they will be hiring or getting on loan from clubs are one of the best in the future. This is not the responsibility of the clubs.
Let's be objective and use our heads. Do you remember the last two countries that won the world cup in Europe? How many of their players at the time played in their top six teams? How many foreign players are they in theses leagues.
If we go on the argument that there should be a cap then Russia, Albania and the like of Switzerland should be world champions as they have hardly any foreign players. What about getting real and accept that our players are over-rated and our expectation is getting in the way of our judgement.

Answer 8

It is not only the national teams which are suffering but also the domestic clubs in the smaller European countries.
This basically comes down to 2 reasons-a:due to European legislation's there is no cap on the amount of foreign players allowed in a team and b: more importantly the Bosman ruling which was really put in place to protect footballers rights to move freely but basically what happened it encouraged disloyalty towards clubs and an unfair competition. The dollar or euro sign became more important then the actual talents. The amount of players which have been bought for big money by wealthy teams and who haven't played a match is phenomenal.
When you look at teams like PSV;AJAX or Anderlecht which did quite well before the Bosman ruling they really do not play a part anymore in European soccer except for supplying bigger teams like Chelsea,Liverpool,Man United and Madrid with players.
Once you reverse these 2 matters you will see a much more healthy European soccer culture where talent is nourished ad not just set aside by money.
Clearly like in so many other areas the EU should not have intervened in this.

Answer 9

The level of investment in foreign players should, and to a degree is, beneficial to the international game - just not necessarily for the country that is investing in them. I am sure this year's African cup of nations will be the strongest yet as many of the players participating have been bought to play in european leagues and the higher level of training has meant the emergence of some amazing players. If a country is concerned that the level of imported players is affecting the national side then more should be done to encourage domestic youngsters and provide better grass roots facilities. Otherwise squads are getting larger, more players are required and the standard is rising - all good for the game at any level. I take it the question is mainly centering around england, as they have the best league and an underperforming national side. I notice that Italy, who have large numbers of foriegn players, do not have this problem and are current world champions. Player caps are not the answer and it is obviously something that the Italians are doing right and we are doing wrong.

Answer 10

The major problem as I see it is that youngsters in this country are not allowed to develop the skills (that most foreign players take for granted), because from the age of about 8, they are chasing after plastic medals and trophies and being screamed at by fanatical parents. If a young player tries a new skill in this environment and it does not work then he is castigated. This win at all costs mentality in youth football stifles the creativity we should be nurturing.

In a lot of continental countries, 11 a side football and competitive youth football is strictly regulated. Instead of jumping on the bandwagon and blaming "johnny foreigner", perhaps we shoul be learning from him.

As to the number of foreign players affecting the national game, I don't believe we had too many foreigners in the english game in the mid to late 1970's, and yet the national team was at best mediocre.

What would also benefit the national game would be english players and managers playing and managing abroad. This would give them a much more rounded and enlightened view, the world does not begin and end with the Premiership.

Answer 11

This is a fable based on fear, and even racism.
The national team benefits because of foreign players at club level. There are no drawbacks.
The better the league, the more kids want to play.
The higher the league standard, the higher the kids standard.

Even if local players were banned from playing in a local league and it was only open to foreign players, I believe those kids watching at higher level would be scouted by foreign teams to play at the top level.
Kids playing in league teams will have international stars as teammates / coaches / mentors.
Indeed if foreign players were banned I would expect the stagnation and eventual death of most leagues.

The club v. country argument will be with us until the playing year is separated for all countries. And that won't happen in the professional era.