Foreign Players in BPL

Disagree, though I suspect he's right to an extent.

The biggest problem I see is the lack of quality English talent to form the cores of all 20 BPL squads.

He can point to the Bayern's, Dortmund's and Barcelona's of the world, but surely he also realizes that the cumulative talent in those countries is greater than England's.

Newcastle isn't terrible because they don't have a bunch of English players, they're terrible because they have Pardew as a manager who throws shite at the wall until something sticks.

Doesn't Soccernomics also discuss how England just has zero reason to be good at soccer in the modern era? IE, they outperform their potential as a country tremendously as it is.

I've also seen somewhat similar complaints about their youth system that people have regarding America's. For example, kids get a pat on the back for just launching downfield as opposed to playing a more technical pass.

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Gary Neville on Foreign Players in BPL

What say you soccer board? Agree or disagree?

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I tend to disagree but may be wrong in I that I don't follow the EPL that closely. . .

The only thing I agree about is that fans love to see local/national players on their teams.

but in England:

1. there's not as many English players as German, Spanish or Italian (especially when so many in South America have Italian or Spanish grandparents and can get passports/visas) that are going to fill out high quality rosters

2. Due to this, English players seem to be priced 2-5 times higher than equal players from other countries. Garreth Barry, James Milner etc. . . these are pretty good players but sell for astronomical prices. Milner, to me, is about as good as Alessio Cerci from Torino-- for an example of an extremely similar player--and I'm sure Cerci would sell for around €8m and that only after he really broke out this year.

You also have to compete with the big clubs buying up promising younger talent as an investment like Rodwell or Sinclair even if they're not good enough to play for them.
That makes it even harder for clubs with less money to compete with predominantly English lineups.


3. I don't follow Newcastle much at all so I may be totally wrong but part of the problem may also be the exact discounted foreign players like Santon they're buying. He's a promising talent that was available to go to a side like Newcastle for a reason.

It's the exact players you buy but competing in the EPL with a modest budget and trying to do so with mainly English players seems pretty difficult.

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3. I don't follow Newcastle much at all so I may be totally wrong but part of the problem may also be the exact discounted foreign players like Santon they're buying. He's a promising talent that was available to go to a side like Newcastle for a reason.

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What's wrong with Newcastle is they have a transfer policy that really makes no sense. They don't buy for need, rather they buy when a "bargain" becomes available. This is problematic for a number of reasons, chiefly because it results in an influx of faces with no real organization behind them. Even if they all spoke the same language as the manager, it would still be difficult to make the team "click."

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What's wrong with Newcastle is they have a transfer policy that really makes no sense. They don't buy for need, rather they buy when a "bargain" becomes available.

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Thanks for the insight. It makes sense. An issue likely exacerbated in many of their "bargains" are bargains for a reason and probably players even more in need of a stronger team chemistry/style.

Too bad though, as a kind of casual follower of the EPL, I'd enjoy it more if Newcastle were a stronger presence if just for the accents and that song "The fog on the tyne is all mine, all mine"

Not to mention they gave an 8 year contract or whatever to a massive hypocrite and douche bag who has no business being a manager.

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