Comments on: How ‘English’ Is The English Premier League? Part II

By: Darius Stone

Darius Stone — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:33:41 +0000

Simba my friend…make sure you forward the quote and the post page to all the doomers and gloomers you know. The more we tell them, the more they’ll get a bit enlightened.

I remember Darren Bent actually saying that he was now more expensive Than Thierry Henry as his price tag suggested.

More recently, Carlton Cole was being priced way over what Arsenal spent on Andrey Arshavin – do the math.

C1 – Wenger has always been forthright about the fact that he doesn’t look at a players passport.

By: Darius Stone

Darius Stone — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:27:40 +0000

LRV – I suppose you are right in most part about the disappearance of that boundary. I think that for those in the establishment who resort to seeking blame to explain what ails English football, it’s much easier to point to such a falsehood than to knuckle down and address the real issues of culture, training techniques, youth development and most importantly, to embrace the evolution of football.
In Holland for example, by the age of 9 and 10, young players are already being drilled into the virtues of total football and the beauty of expressing yourself with superior technique. This is in addition to other virtues of team work, physical conditioning and mental strenth.

In England, it all seems to still be that ‘push, hit the ball and run’ mentality that puts more value on physical strenth and pace as opposed to tecnique and skill to work the game.

I would have loved for example, for Little Jack Willy to go on loan to FC Twente as Steve McLaren had put it on record that he would love Wilshere to go to Twente for a loan spell.

The lad would have come out with so much more than he will from Bolton.

By: LRV

LRV — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:37:51 +0000

Darrius, Your brilliant article postulates:

“The case is made that the quality of English football and the progress of English players is hampered by the continued participation of such large numbers of foreign players in the EPL….. In my view, it’s an assumption that totally tests the boundaries of arrogance and vanity.”

I say it does not just test the boundaries, it is pure diabolical arrogance and vanity.

By: Simba

Simba — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:20:47 +0000

“The tangibility of the trophies somewhat clouds the intangibility of the vision he has brought to the game, the style and brand of football (better known as Wengerball) that Arsenal plays, and the training and development culture that he has instilled at London Colney.”

This line for me should be read and re-read by our doomer and gloomer nation.

c1gooner
loved that bit about Jeffers/Drogba, reminds me of Henry going to Barca for less that what the sp*ds bought Bent for.

By: c1gooner

c1gooner — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 11:25:58 +0000

“The fact of the matter is that if England players are talented, they shouldn’t have a problem rising to the top and being part of the cream of the crop.” This sentence says it all for me.

ANY player that wasn’t good enough for Wengerball was removed and other brought in as replacement. We’re not going to have a player just for the sake of his passport are we?

I was listening to the “It’s up for grabs podcast” just yesterday. In it, Alan Davies and the boys mentioned the about the time we bought the one called Jeffers, a player called Drogba was available for a fraction of what we paid for Jeffers.

Now, we all know how things turned out after that. This is another excellent example of the over-inflated prices.

By: Saloner

Saloner — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:42:25 +0000

Excellent post Darius.

You’re right: As in society at large, so in football, a coming together of various cultures throws up a composite that’s richer than the sum of its parts.

Those who lament the paucity of opportunities for “English” players, don’t seem to do the Arithmetic. At best, the national team with reserves numbers about 18 players. Is it plausible at all that those 18 players will be crowded out of the Premier League? I hold that they most certainly will represent teams in the Premiership, and as you point out, will be the better for playing with a good selection of the best global talent week in week out.