The Bridge Is Over
How the Premier League’s influx of money will kill the English National Team.
The English Premier League is enjoying an unprecedented influx of cash that will alter the shape of world football. For the first time, the minnows of the league has the cash available to access talent they could only dream of. The “Big Six” clubs have additional revenue to challenge traditional powers on the mainland for talent at a level that they haven't been able to before — snagging established stars and young foreign prospects that have gone to La Liga and the Bundesliga in recent years. But does this new model have an adverse effect on young English players and in turn, the English National Team?
In the olden days, many English clubs were dependent on their internal academies to develop talent. Clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal, West Ham, Liverpool churned out massive amounts of players to not only their senior team but other English clubs. This well established pipeline has been the lifeforce of the league and the English National Team. In recent years, clubs such as Manchester City, Chelsea, and Southampton have also joined as clubs churning out talent although their prospects come from a more global demographic. This has created an insular culture of English football.
Young English players are groomed differently than in other major soccer nations. While every country is responsible for grooming its own talent in its country’s academies, the penultimate culmination for an English youth player to play in the Premier League, whereas players from other leagues are determined to make it, even if that means plying their trade overseas. Those who do go overseas, are publicly scrutinized. For instance, Oliver Burke, a Scottish player, chose to go to rapid upstart Red Bull Lepzig in Germany, rather than signing for Premier League minnow Burnley. Former Arsenal striker John Hartson hit Burke with a hot 16 following his move:
“He’s gone over to Germany and I can’t understand that, to be honest with you. I think that stinks of agents more than anything else. How much German football do we all see? We see highlights of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, and that’s about it. The Premier League is the place to be. I thought that was the next step for him. He’s gone to Leipzig, but what about a Burnley or a Sunderland or a West Brom? It’s only my opinion, but I think he is good enough for the Premier League. I think the Premier League would have tested him and I think that would have probably suited (Scotland boss) Gordon Strachan too. He could have had a better look at him. Who watches the German league? You watch the Premier League, then the Spanish league.”
Meanwhile, Burke is playing for the second best team in Germany and seeming like a lock to be playing Champions League football and Burnley are languishing 6 points above the relegation zone. Who watches the German League for real?
Another factor in English youth development is the lack of B teams. In many leagues in continental Europe, teams in the first division are allowed to have secondary squads that compete in the lower divisions. That allows teams to keep a close eye on players. Rather than loaning players to foreign lands, they can guarantee players quality playing time while still being groomed in the style of play and tactics of the senior club. England do not have that structure. Because of a lack of desire to travel abroad, many of the lower leagues are filled with loanees from Premier League clubs and their academies. However, the negative of this system is that it does not provide the grooming that comes with a direct B team. Players on loan are not protected from minutes restrictions, incoming transfers, and tactical alterations the same way that players in B teams are. In B teams, the development of the players comes first where as the loanee club’s goals come first, player development be damned.
In 2010, The English Premier League instituted a “Homegrown Player Rule”. This rule states that a homegrown player is a player who::
(a) is 21 or older on January 1 of the year in which that season begins; and (b) spent three years between the ages of 16 and 21 with a team in the English football League system.
Teams must have at least eight Homegrown Players, which is a seldom discussed cause for the well-known English Premium. If you have to have eight spots on your squad taken by these Homegrown Players, they better not be trash. That drives up the price for quality English youth. English talent has come with a fuck you fee lately. Peep some of the latest transfer fees:
- Raheem Sterling — £49m
- Luke Shaw — £30m
- Adam Lallana — £25m
English players with quality are so expensive, it behooves clubs to actually buy youth talent from overseas who do not come with this hefty price tag (which is the exact opposite of the intended consequence of this rule). With the added TV money, midtable and low level English teams have the funds to secure serious talent from around the world for the first time. For the price of any one of these (admittedly really talented) English yutes, a squad like Watford can bring in 4 prospects from overseas. This English tax along with the lack of B teams means that the old way of loaning players to lesser clubs to get playing time is no longer as effective as in the past. It is that much difficult and unlikely that an English yute will get through an academy, get loaned to a nurturing club in England, get incredible training, come back and break through to the first team.
This ultimately culminates in a generational vacuum of talent. Players are not getting the playing time and the standard of young players securing English Caps is dropping at an alarming rate. Below are the English National Team players under 23 as of Nov 15th 2016 and the number of caps they have:
- Jordan Pickford (22) — 0 caps
- John Stones (22) — 15 caps
- Eric Dier (22) — 15 caps
- Raheem Sterling (22) — 29 caps
- Marcus Rashford (19) — 6 caps
- Luke Shaw (21) — 6 caps
- Dele Alli (20) — 15 caps
That’s it. Between them, that young group has a whole ass 7 goals. Dassit. Yeah.. not good enough. With players like Rooney, Cahill, and Jagielka on the verge of retirement, England is going to be in a world of hurt if it doesn’t seriously think about youth development and revamping itself to be as good as they claim they are. Then again, when has the English FA ever been worth a damn..? Shoutout to Big Scams Allardyce.
God Save the Queen, indeed..
