A celebratory week for English football was immediately preceded by a BBC ‘State of the Game’ study, which disclosed that players eligible to represent this country had completed only 32.26% of the minutes contested in this Premier League season to date.
That figure represents a 3.17% drop from the comparable mark in 2007/2008 – the year when England last failed to qualify for a major international tournament. Despite having a marginally broader pool from which to select, Steve McClaren went into the decisive European Championship qualifying match against Croatia in November 2007 with a team which included; Scott Carson, Joleon Lescott, Wayne Bridge, Shaun Wright-Phillips, and Peter Crouch. That quintet have long since slipped off the international radar and, Lescott aside, even at the peak of their respective abilities would not rank as contenders in any squad to be selected by Roy Hodgson today.
In 1993/1994, the season of the Premier League’s second edition, nine of its ten top goal-scorers were English – the lone interloper being the mercurial Frenchman, Eric Cantona, whose 18 strikes placed him eighth in that list. During the previous domestic campaign, no fewer than 69% of players that started the year’s top-flight matches were qualified to play for England. Yet, the national side failed to qualify for the World Cup Finals of 1994.
Indeed, when Graham Taylor selected a team for the game in Holland which would effectively end his hopes of leading his country to the USA, he dug into the well of available ‘talent’ and plucked out Carlton Palmer to fill a central midfield berth. When Palmer was withdrawn, his replacement was Andy Sinton. Lee Sharpe and Tony Dorigo were starters on that infamous night in Rotterdam.
So to now, and with numbers of home nationals playing in the country’s top division falling exponentially, Greg Dyke, chairman of the F.A., has been moved to establish an eight man commission whose prime aim is reversing that trend. The concern, of course, is the harmful effect that lack of playing time for English footballers at the very highest level will have on our national side.
Yet, a lot of what we have seen during the past week, as well in plenty of England’s performances since Hodgson took charge, flies in the face of that commonly held perception. Moreover, across the past 18 months we have witnessed the emergence of a clutch of young, genuinely exciting, home-grown players – each one a product of the cosmopolitan Premier League.
Andros Townsend has surged into the spotlight thanks to his direct, skilful, and enterprising twin Wembley displays against Montenegro and Poland. Townsend’s story is, perhaps, the finest present example of an Englishman earning his elevation into the first team at his star-laden club side, simply by consistently proving his worth.
It has taken nine loan spells, – each with varying degrees of success – topped off by some dazzling displays in an otherwise insipid Queens Park Rangers team last term, before the 22 year-old could convince the managerial incumbent of the day at Tottenham Hotspur that he should be starting matches for his parent club. Even then, when Townsend won his first full international call, for September fixtures against Moldova and Ukraine, Spurs boss, Andre Villas-Boas, cautioned that Hodgson was premature in his choosing of the in-form winger;
‘If there is no continuity in the future, if his performances change in some way or if the player doesn’t get involved in Tottenham and, in the end, he gets dried out then it’s a big surprise for me, because I think a player who gets called up for the national team after two games should have respect and continuity towards the future.
‘So I assume from this moment that there will be that belief. I can recall, last season, we had Jake Livermore, Tom Huddlestone, Steven Caulker, called up for England. At the moment, it doesn’t seem to have any continuity there.’
There were few observers predicting that Townsend would be capable of holding onto his early season starting spot at White Hart Lane, owing to the arrival at the club of a host of high-profile, big-money captures – with many of whom he would be in direct competition. In fact, the Londoner has risen to the challenge, and developed his game to the degree whereby he is already considered a shoo-in to travel to Brazil next summer.
Livermore, Huddlestone, and Caulker, all name-checked by Villas-Boas, weren’t able to win over the Portuguese in the manner of their erstwhile team-mate. Nevertheless, revitalised by his pivotal role in Hull City’s excellent start to Premier League life, Huddlestone is optimistic of forcing his way back into Hodgson’s thoughts. Livermore, meanwhile, is playing regular football for Steve Bruce’s side.
Cardiff City’s Scottish manager, Malky Mackay, saw fit to pay in excess of £8m for Caulker, and has installed him at the heart of the Welsh outfit’s defence for that club’s first top-flight season in 52 years. It is a further show of faith in a promising English footballer – and one who is determined to add to his single international cap.
The predicament of Jack Wilshere at Arsenal has prompted some outside concern that a player, who is undoubtedly one of the most gifted of Englishman to arrive on the Premier League scene since its 1992 inception, is failing to develop at the rate expected when the 21 year-old enjoyed a spectacular breakthrough season at the Emirates in 2010/2011. A combination of injuries and, more recently, the signing of the exceptional German Meust Ozil, have impacted upon the midfielder.
Arsene Wenger, however, has retained faith in the man around whom he professes to have built his future plans. Wilshere’s continued inclusion in the Arsenal team has necessitated he play ‘out-of-position’, in a left-sided attacking slot. That switch has inspired the curiously English criticism that routinely emanates when a player is asked to perform an unfamiliar job – see also ‘Phil Jones is a centre-back’. The agitating voices are often the same ones that can be heard eulogising the Dutch ‘Total Football’ ethos, or marvelling at Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta – a player who routinely floats from one area of the pitch to another over the course of 90 minutes.
It is entirely conceivable that Wilshere’s evolution will be assisted by accepting a different responsibility to that which he is used to. The opportunity to work with Ozil everyday can only be of benefit.
There is no question that the Premier League’s pre-eminent imports have been anything other than a force for good in the English game. Cantona’s influence at Manchester United reached far beyond his on-field deeds. In reference to his player’s quality and forcible personality, Sir Alex Ferguson described Cantona as a ‘can-opener’ – the man who unlocked the vast potential in his Old Trafford squad.
Cantona’s famed appetite for practice and dedication to his profession left a lasting mark on David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Gary Neville – the trio, respectively, went on to feature for England on 115, 66 (approximately 50 too few) and 85 occasions.
Gianfranco Zola at Chelsea, and Dennis Bergkamp over eleven years with Arsenal, are credited with leaving a similar legacy at those clubs.
As with the case of Villas-Boas and Townsend, no manager will ignore an English player if they believe that individual’s inclusion improves their side’s chances of success. The sole objective of any football boss is to win matches.
Roberto Martinez, under considerable pressure to hit the ground running at Everton, has trusted the precocious Ross Barkley to shine in a new adventurous Goodison Park era. The 19 year-old has responded in some style, and last month made his England debut.
Sam Allardyce opened the explosive box marked ‘Ravel Morrison’, and the former Manchester United man has belatedly sparkled instead of blowing up as many foresaw would be his destiny. Suddenly, Morrison’s name is being discussed as another real contender for Hodgson’s attention.
The policy of ‘buying foreign’ is largely attributed to the preponderance of Premier League managers whose origin is outside of these shores. On first sight, the Argentine, Mauricio Pochettino’s recruitment at Southampton, since the last campaign concluded, of Victor Wanyama (Kenyan), Dejan Lovren (Croatian), and Dani Osvaldo (Italian of Argentine extraction) would prove that theory.
Look deeper, though, and you will see 18 year-old Luke Shaw performing imperiously at left-back. Shaw’s countrymen; Nathaniel Clyne, Ricky Lambert, and Adam Lallana are Saints regulars, while Jay Rodriguez and the terrific James Ward-Prowse are being granted extensive game time. Crucially, the triumvirate of summer acquisitions fit the ideal criteria for overseas recruits – all having the capacity to contribute towards the league’s rising standards.
Forging a path into the starting eleven at one of the country’s elite clubs is, naturally, the toughest ask. Wilfried Zaha is discovering just that in his first season at Manchester United. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that when David Moyes decrees the winger ready to enhance what the boss presently has at his disposal, the ex-Crystal Palace player will be let off the leash.
It may be that Zaha is allowed to hone his game in a temporary spell away from Old Trafford. Potential suitors for his signature, even on a short-term basis, will form a long queue. Moyes has form for perceptive use of the loan market as a tool for player development. Leon Osman and Seamus Coleman returned to Everton after respective stays at Derby County and Blackpool fully prepared for their integration into the manager’s first-team plans.
Even Barkley’s experiences gained at Sheffield Wednesday and, briefly, Leeds United last term have advanced his growth into the individual that Martinez has come to so value.
For Zaha, as he seeks to win his new manager’s confidence, he needs to look no further than Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley for inspiration. Both of his United colleagues spent time away from Old Trafford, and endured periods when it appeared as if their United breakthrough wouldn’t happen. The two men are now standard features for their club side and, between them, boast 31 England appearances.
Dyke’s commission is an admirable initiative and, with the input of the forward-thinking Glenn Hoddle and certain wisdom of Dario Gradi on board, there is reason to hope that this ‘think-tank’ can initiate the processes which will allow highly skilled English footballers to surface in numbers sufficient to rectify the drop in their collective Premier League involvement.
What is for sure is that if they are good enough they will not be denied the chance to flourish.
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