Will fewer spots weaken England?
English fret over rise in imports into Premier League
Posted: Sunday July 26, 1998 02:07 PM
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Wenger: "Nothing now can stop the arrival of so many foreigners into the game here and everyone knows that eventually it will kill off all the young talent." Ben Radford/Allsport |
LONDON (AP) -- Future England soccer teams could become the
victims of the Premier League's insatiable hunger to sign the
world's best players.
Arsenal's FA Cup and League double winning manager Arsene Wenger
-- a French import -- says the number of foreign players in the
Premier League will ultimately weaken the England team.
Britain's Sunday newspapers were filled with predictions of
England's future woes.
The Express on Sunday said only 103 of the 220 players -- less
than half -- expected to start the Premier League season were
English.
Wenger told the Express that Premier League teams had to look
abroad for value for money because the transfer market for English
players is "crazy."
"Nothing now can stop the arrival of so many foreigners into
the game here and everyone knows that eventually it will kill off
all the young talent," Wenger said.
"When that happens, ultimately it can only mean the death of
the national team."
The News of the World said foreigners were killing English
football.
"It is frightening. I don't say England will ever be a third
rate but for me the national team's future is in danger," Wenger
told the News of the World.
"The buying of so many foreign players means there is more to
obstruct the careers of young English players," he said.
The Arsenal boss admitted he had contributed to the problem --
the Gunners had 12 foreign players on its books at Highbury.
Chelsea's European Cup Winners' Cup winning coach Gianluca
Vialli -- an Italian -- is the leading importer with 16 foreign
players on his books, while Derby has 13, Liverpool has 12 and
Manchester United has 10.
Professional Footballers Association chief executive Gordon
Taylor said he had been trying to highlight the problem for years.
"We don't want to be a finishing school for other countries --
the question that should concern all of us is how many [Michael]
Owens have been lost to the game because there was no stage for
them to develop their ability," he said.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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