Does International Success Effect English Football?

November 20, 2007

If you have watched a Premier League game in the last few years, you’ve probably noticed that they are an influx of foreign players taking over the game. Though the past has been a good one for the English national side, the future may be more daunting as the international talent seems to have taken a serious strong hold.

Though things still seem to be headed in the right direction for the most part, things might not look quite as nice if things continue on the way they are currently. English football has been the world’s standard for a long time, but now it’s time for the players to step up and meet the standards presented by their international counterparts.
At current standing, the 220 players who hold starting positions in the Premiership were largely foreign. Only 74 of those players were English. This is a startling trend for those who hold the game near and dear.

The international stars have certainly made the game much more enjoyable for the fans. Names like Didier Drogba and Cristiano Ronaldo are mainstays with their current British clubs. They are certainly part of the reason why the English Premier League remains the best and most watched league on the planet.

This is a recent trend that might leave some people within English football feeling somewhat jaded, though. Coach McClaren has some great young talent of his own to work with, but it looks like his job is going to get much harder.

That leaves fans to consider the newest proposal, which looks like it could be a solution. A new proposal has mandated that at least six English players must be on each team in the league. Though it might be a good idea for English football on the whole, some wonder about the impact that it might have on the Premier League. Will it make the league a less than desirable product?

Still, there is hope out there that the wild success of the league will promote more kids in England to play the game. According to those within the know, that’s the only way to help preserve the game that we all love.

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