english players at LFC

[enema of the state]

obviously we were brilliant and all that against derby but am i the only who noticed there was only 1 english player in the starting line up? anyone else find this worrying? i seem to remember arsenal getting quite a lot of stick for it back in the days and they had no englishmen on the bench let alone the first eleven.

the academy not bringing through a carra or stevie anymore? we obviously all know the transfer market is really inflated for english players but seriously, i see our kids have won the fa youth cup twice in a row and a lot of them are now ineligible to play in that competition so will they get a chance in the first team? with a lot of foreigners bought as squad players it will be really tough for the local lads to even get a chance in the carling cup

discuss

im getting the sense that this poster is WUM whose footballing affinities lie somewhere other than with lfc

[Maestro]

im getting the sense that this poster is WUM whose footballing affinities lie somewhere other than with lfc

I don't think you're the first to voice that opinion mate.

[enema of the state]

I don't think you're the first to voice that opinion mate.

glad to know that

[RPAS]

Gerrard, Owen, Fowler, McManman etc would have come through in any generation because they were good enough. Yes, the academy improved them and rounded their game etc but the raw talent was there from the age of 8/9/10. If Gerrard came through now he'd get in regardless of whether Geraldo and Gerardinho were in the same squad.

To be honest I think that the whole tv/playstation/dvd/ipod flooding of kids time means they are playing less & less sports; more and more are sitting in & not getting into teams/sports etc. Also the whole "age" of people "going out" has changed - kids nowadays are heading out 3-4 years younger than previously so they are being seduced into that lifestyle choice earlier than previous generations.

It's seen as "cool" to get ****-faced and blown as opposed to making the local team now. Youth culture has changed here and that is filtering through as the years roll by.

Take US sports; the vast majority of pro-footballers in the US (American Football that is) are from poorer backgrounds; sports are their outlet, a way to progress, a way to get out of where they are; this gives them a hunger than a lot of "middle" america does not possess. Yes, that is a generalisation but it is in the main true. The same can be said of the volumes of players now coming across all leagues from Africa. Their talent at 8, 9, 10 is the same but in a lot of cases their hunger is greater; their personal demands are less; their workrate is higher; why? again, culture and background have to be large considerations in this.

To finalise ..... take Owen; he was a hugely talented youngster; hungry for the game; hungry to succeed; hungry to learn; hungry to be the best; if he just had the talent and none of the above - he wouldn't have made the grade. He focused on what he wanted and worked his life around that - too many of this generation find that life gives them enough without having to have that focus, that determination, that drive. The ones that maintain focus like Owen; Gerrard etc will make the grade regardless of their country of origin - the rest will fall off blaming someone else or something else.

The English FA have more stuctures in place now than ever before; have more qualified coaches than ever before - this is not the problem.

The problem (if it is indeed that) IMHO is that society has changed, blaming "the foreigners" is the new lazy way to make ourselves feel better about what we've let happen to our own society.

[Maestro]

glad to know that

Apologies...I was just trying to say that you might be right.
My post was poorly phrased, is all.

[RedReet]

Sorry, just a simple question, have skipped through about the past 8 posts. If the foreigners are to blame for England’s demise, what was the excuse for all the other years? Have England always been one of the favourites for International competitions and basically been guaranteed quarter/semi final places?

Prior to 92, England won one world cup, why are the foreigners to blame for not winning one of the four since?

[Dalglish]

1986 FA Cup Final team - not one Englishman

[carrsim]

Sorry, just a simple question, have skipped through about the past 8 posts. If the foreigners are to blame for England’s demise, what was the excuse for all the other years? Have England always been one of the favourites for International competitions and basically been guaranteed quarter/semi final places?

Prior to 92, England won one world cup, why are the foreigners to blame for not winning one of the four since?

exactly right

we were good in 66 and 70

then arguably 86 and 90

for 74, 78, 82 we either didn't qualify or "underperformed" at world cup level,
despite english clubs (mostly us and our team of Celts) dominating europe with barely any non brits at all

i don't believe that english players are coached properly from the youngest of ages. fitness, the need to win, show you can't back down are all admirable qualities but none should be placed above technique and developing game intelligence/tactical awareness.

after the dire 1990s in terms of english players with basic ball skills, i'd say that the current crop of the top english lads, stevie, rooney, joe cole etc have good to excellent technique but little in terms of the game intelligence that xabi, fabregas, bergkamp etc show

it has to be coaching at the heart of the issue. look at the england team- is hargreaves a patch on a macherano/makelele/hamman type? no he's a headless chicken who tries his heart out by comparison

is ferdinand anywhere near as good as other ball playing CBs like hansen, beckenbauer, maldini?

does rooney have anywhere near the vision of a dalglish, bergkamp, zola or even a beardsley in the deep lying striker role?

no where close on all counts if you ask me- and yet these players are lauded as superstars. and they believe it

which is why i don't like following england, except in that car crash watching kind of way

[Howard_lfc]

Sorry, just a simple question, have skipped through about the past 8 posts. If the foreigners are to blame for England’s demise, what was the excuse for all the other years? Have England always been one of the favourites for International competitions and basically been guaranteed quarter/semi final places?

Prior to 92, England won one world cup, why are the foreigners to blame for not winning one of the four since?

70% of the players in Serie 'A' are Italian - and they've just won the world cup. That blows your arguement out of the water.

The italians import players also - but not all the ****ing dross like we do. It's time to wake up and smell the coffee - this is our national game and we're strangling ourselves.

[Kenneth]

70% of the players in Serie 'A' are Italian - and they've just won the world cup. That blows your arguement out of the water.

The italians import players also - but not all the ****ing dross like we do. It's time to wake up and smell the coffee - this is our national game and we're strangling ourselves.

We are indeed. Still couldn't give a stuff though.

[Red_hot]

[Rafa Shankly]

70% of the players in Serie 'A' are Italian - and they've just won the world cup. That blows your arguement out of the water.

The italians import players also - but not all the ****ing dross like we do. It's time to wake up and smell the coffee - this is our national game and we're strangling ourselves.

off hand,whats the percentage of foreign players in the premiership?

[dww]

off hand,whats the percentage of foreign players in the premiership?

Only figure I could find was for 2004-2005 which said that 45% of the players in the PL were foreign.

[dww]

The Telegraph states that 40% of players starting games in the PL last season were English.

[carheex]

obviously we were brilliant and all that against derby but am i the only who noticed there was only 1 english player in the starting line up? anyone else find this worrying? i seem to remember arsenal getting quite a lot of stick for it back in the days and they had no englishmen on the bench let alone the first eleven.

the academy not bringing through a carra or stevie anymore? we obviously all know the transfer market is really inflated for english players but seriously, i see our kids have won the fa youth cup twice in a row and a lot of them are now ineligible to play in that competition so will they get a chance in the first team? with a lot of foreigners bought as squad players it will be really tough for the local lads to even get a chance in the carling cup

discuss

More alarmingly, someone pointed out to me that LFC have one of the lowest amounts of black players down the years.