This week saw yet another of England's national sides (albeit from the women's game) get knocked out of an international tournament at a premature stage. England Women arguably put in the best of the performances compared to the U21s and U20s at respective European and World Championships, but it was yet another disappointment from this year's tournaments. As a nation, we're not demanding they bring home all the bacon, but especially at youth level - give us something to look forward to. And these recent failings severely highlight the effects of the foreign dominance of the domestic league.
Our league is undoubtedly the best in the world - no arguments. Anyone can beat anyone and the league is extremely unpredictable - there at least three genuine contenders for the league next season, when all the other major European leagues have two front-runners each - at best. That, I believe is down to our attitude towards the game; how we were brought up to play football and how to play it the right way. Okay, Stoke's "hoof it" approach is fairly frowned upon, but you don't see anyone diving left, right and centre (and then going unpunished), as the players frequently do elsewhere.
If countries were judged on the league itself, we'd be up there with Spain and Italy every single time without fail. Alas, they are not, and that's partly down to the disparity amongst the players at certain clubs. A massive and crucial difference between our clubs in England and elsewhere is that our best players are everywhere whilst, especially in Spain, national teams are made up of two or three club sides. Meanwhile, some of our starters (i.e. James Milner and Gareth Barry), warm the bench.
Therefore, it's no wonder that Spain (Barca/Real) or Italy (Juventus) play so well together. We potentially have a fantastically talented pool of players to choose from, but as they are yet to prove themselves at the clubs they play for, they haven't had the experience or development to learn and grow into international-calibre players.
The appeal of the Premier League means that we attract players from all over the world, and while England's best players are not always on show week after week, we are almost guaranteed to have other nations' superstars on the pitch - more than likely in their place. As a result, home-grown, younger players cannot have the opportunity to break through because of a manager putting his trust in an imported product. How many times have we seen managers opt for buying a foreign unknown instead of giving one of their native lads a run-out?
What I'm trying to get across is, if we want to be successful as a national team, this has to change. Our attitudes towards promoting home-grown talent must be transformed for the better and moves by the FA such as the creation of St. George's Park is a step in the right direction, though its effect will take a long time in becoming visible. What we can do now is force more English players on those teamsheets and give Roy Hodgson some real thinking to do.
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