The FA have tried to stop the rapid decline of young English players in the Premier League but statistics show that they are failing miserably.
The current quota of domestic players Premier League clubs must have is eight but earlier this season FA Chairman Greg Dyke tried to get clubs to agree to increase this to 12. Whilst every team has to have the young players it seems not all of them are using them to their best advantage. Four clubs, Manchester City, Hull City, Chelsea and Stoke City, have not given any starts to domestic players age 23 or under. While people will not be as surprised by Chelsea and Man City, the other two come as something of a shock.
Money talks in football and those with more to spend look all around the world for the best talent that they can buy. Clubs like Hull and Stoke tend to have more domestic players as it is what they can afford, but something is clearly going wrong. The issue has become a major battle ground between the FA and the Premier League clubs but research shows that in the past decade home-grown talent as decreased at an alarming rate. Only Southampton, Aston Villa and Newcastle have produced more than five domestic youngsters in the last ten years.
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At the other end of the scale, seventh place Tottenham have given 71 starts between young stars, Harry Kane, Andros Townsend and Ryan Mason. Arsenal are the highest top four team with 41 starts but they have only produced three home-grown players over the last decade - Justin Hoyte, Jack Wilshire and Kieran Gibbs.
The statistics show just how much the Premier League has become a world league not an English one anymore. Statistics show that clubs spend around £3million-per-club on their academies so what they are producing for the first teams is pitiful. There is plenty of young talent in the UK but because clubs are spending big money to bring in names from Europe and South America. It is no wonder our England team is not up to scratch. While we have a number of very talent players in the England squad we are never going to be the best in the world if our own league doesn’t utilise our players. You get better by playing more and at the moment our domestic players aren’t getting enough game time.
Whilst Southampton may lead the way in the number of home-grown under-23s they have produced they have only given 21 starts to them so far this season. Greg Dyke might think that increasing the quota of home grown players is the right answer but just because they have more English players doesn’t mean they will play them. Whilst the Premier League clubs have become very outspoken in this matter, saying that it is unfair, something needs to be done.
We want the Premier League to be the best league in the world but we do not want our four national teams losing out because of it. English players can be the best in the world, clubs just need to give them the chance.
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