re: Foreign Players in BPL

It's been years since I've read it and now I'm struggling to remember the main points of the book.

But yes, in general, the English youth system is nowhere near as efficient as the Dutch, German or Spanish ones. They are getting a bit better though in terms of placing emphasis on technical ability.

A strong presence of domestic players is very important in order for a league to maintain an individual identity. Otherwise, all of the major leagues would just mirror each other.

And Cwill, I think Neville is saying that not only do the pros of English players outweigh their respective price tags, but that emphasis needs to remain on academies and involving youth players (which to be fair, Newcastle did try to an extent at the beginning of the season).