One of the most hotly debated topics in modern football in this country is the increasing number of foreign players plying their trade in our leagues.

According to some, this is to the detriment of young English talent, who can't get the opportunities at the highest level. This in turn is affecting the national team's performances at major tournament finals, should they qualify, of course.

It is time for a reality check. England have not been a dominant force in international football for decades, failing to qualify for the World Cup Finals in 1974 and 1978 and also the 1976 and 1984 European Championship Finals - long before the Premier League and the foreign player influx had started.

'There are very few English players to leave the comfort zone of home and have a successful career on the continent'


People at all levels of the game, right up to the FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, believe a quota rule of homegrown players should be brought back in across all leagues to redress the balance. As romantic as this sounds, this is never going to happen.

Not only would it contravene European employment law, why should clubs replace top-quality first team players with inferior ones just because of what their passport states. Times have changed and many supporters want to see the best players playing the best football regardless of nationality; club football rules over the international game in the modern world.

There are very few English players to leave the comfort zone of home and have a successful career on the continent. Kevin Keegan at Hamburg in the late 70’s, Glenn Hoddle and Mark Hateley at Monaco in the late 80’s/early 90’s along with Chris Waddle at Marseille, while Steve McManaman and David Beckham at Real Madrid in the not too distant past have proved it can be done.

As a nation, we are generally lazy when it comes to learning a new language or immersing ourselves in another culture but expect complete fluency when other nationalities come here, our media taking great pleasure in mocking someone like Claudio Ranieri’s pidgin English, for example.

If the stars of the future cannot break into the top sides in this country, rather than sitting in the reserves bemoaning their luck or trawling the lower leagues, I would like to see more talented, ambitious, young English players taking a chance abroad and broadening their horizons.