With so many foreign imports into the Premier League these
days we rarely see English players heading in the opposite direction.
Everything Sport explores if that is because the English game is the place to
be or the English players are not good enough for other countries?
Only three days into the new week and Manchester City have
spent over £50 million pounds on two foreign players, one from Spain and one
from Brazil. There is no doubt that while these figures seem high, it has
become a harsh reality that these numbers are expected. Even more so of a
reality is that these players will be from other countries.
With the Under 21 Championships kicking off tonight with
England involved there is plenty of proof that England does produce fine
quality players, but why do they never seem to leave the Great British Isles to
taste some exotic endeavors in other countries?
Of course some players have flown the nest to try some World
football, however very few have succeeded and most have returned to the English
game after a short stint away. Most recently we have seen David Beckham, Joe
Cole and Joey Barton try their hand in another country. While Beckham is
expected to make an impact wherever he goes, it can be said that it was not his
footballing skills that lit up his time abroad but more his global attraction
i.e shirt sales.
The shortage of English players moving abroad seems to have
been a consistent issue throughout the last few decades, however some of
English biggest stars have made the move, with most considered being
unsuccessful.
In 1993 in form Watford Striker Luther Blissett decided
swapping Vicarage Road for the San Siro of AC Milan was the 'dream'. One season
and just five goals later, Blissett returned to Vicarage Road, so what went
wrong?
"When we played away at Ascoli in the first game, the
change was just chalk and cheese. It was literally just playing keep-ball for
the whole match and it was very difficult." he said in a recent interview
with Sky Sports News
"You'd lay the ball off and spin to get behind people
and the ball would end up back with the sweeper. They'd just be keeping the
ball across the back. That's how it was." He added.
Of course Blissett was not the only British player to make
the move to Italy bringing about the most famous quote from Liverpool legend
Ian Rush who described his time in Italy 'Like playing in a different country'.
Fans of the Premier League will argue that there is no need
for players to uproot and move sticks as these youngsters are plying their
trade in already the Worlds best League. While it continues to attract billions
of viewers, English club performances in the Champions League this season would
suggest that actually we no longer have the best division in the world.
Returning Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho yesterday dismissed
this argument. "Sometimes these things happen and there is no answer. In
my first stint here it was just Chelsea, United and Arsenal going for the
title, now there are five or six teams."
With a rising number of foreign imports joining the Premier
League,could this be the best time for youngsters from England to try their
hand at clubs around Europe? Former Arsenal Midfielder Paul Merson thinks they
should.
"If we had five or six players playing across Europe's
top leagues that would help England". Merson said in a Newspaper interview
last year.
Another issue seems to be the language barrier, however
football is now considered a worldwide language so this should no longer be an
issue.
While Premier League football remains the most watched
League across Europe, it perhaps looks like that it is no longer leading the
way with attractive, exciting, and attacking football with the emergence of
countries such as Germany now leading the way.
The fact that very few players move away from England
appears to be due to the fact that they are not good enough.
What do you think? Are English players not good enough to
play abroad or are they better to stay in the Premier League?
