How To Help England Soccer

[vernonk]

Stop foreign players like Balloteli and Suarez playing for English clubs, surely?

[jim360]

Not going to happen.

[pixie373]

Yes! I'm saying this on the other thread.

[tamborine]

drop their wages & make em hungry

[RandyMarsh]

practise defending goal kicks more

[jim360]

I don't think it would help that much, really. In the first place this isn't exactly a problem unique to the English Premier League. A glance at the squad of Bayern Munich, German Bundesliga champions, and while it's mainly German some of the star players are Franck Ribery (France), Arjen Robben (Netherlands) and Mandzukic of Croatia; while Real Madrid's squad includes Gareth Bale (Wales), Christiano Ronaldo, Pepe and Coentrao (Portugal), Benzema (France), Luka Modric from Croatia... All football teams across the world have players from across the world, not just the UK. Foreign players in the Premier League itself is not the problem. Indeed, barring them from the league would see quality drop while probably not benefitting the remaining English players -- after all, playing against the best can raise your own standards too.

The simple truth, then, is that we don't have a squad that's good enough to compete on the World stage at the moment. Turning the Premier League into a glorified Sunday league won't change that.

[pixie373]

Don't pay them unless they win.

[Buenchico]

It would be illegal for the FA (or the Premier League) to seek to prevent EU citizens, such as Mario Balotelli, from playing for English teams.

The top English teams also compete in European competitions, against teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus. Any rules preventing non-EU nationals from playing (or limiting their numbers) would have to apply to all UEFA teams, otherwise English sides would be at a disadvantage.

[pixie373]

That's fair enough, buenchico, but why can't they play for England in that case? Why has all the practise, money, training etc that's gone to that Liverpool player (forgotten his name, sorry), now just benefited the Uruguayan team?

[pixie373]

...practice

[sir.prize]

RMarsh - and how would defending goal kicks have helped England against Uruguay?

[jim360]

Just to point out Pixie that Liverpool's very successful Premier League Season was built on the partnership between Suarez and Sturridge up front, with able support from Gerrard, Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling. Oh, and Glen Johnson at right-back... a core, then, of English players.

[RandyMarsh]

2nd goal came from a goal kick

[pixie373]

^^Thanks jim. Not sure if we cross -posted? My argument would be that. Suarez should have been playing for England tonight and not Uruguay. I think that's wrong

[Buenchico]

Changing the rigid coaching scheme which qualified FA coaches are expected to use with kids might help though.

Kids in this country are taught that the ONLY way to play is to first ensure that your team's defence is rigid and only then to seek to score some goals for your own side.

When I ran school teams I taught kids to totally ignore the actual number of goals we conceded in any particular match but simply to ensure that we always scored at least one more. Such an approach leads to positive, attacking football. Of course it's not the only way to play football but any aspiring FA coach who teaches it to kids these days will automatically FAIL to get his coaching award because every kids has to be taught the same way to play (which totally suppresses flair and individuality in young players).

[jim360]

He's a Uruguayan. So he should have been playing for Uruguay. And besides, that's also who he wanted to play for.

[sir.prize]

RMarsh - 2nd goal did not come from a goal kick.

[pixie373]

I think we're having the same conversation on two threads ;-)

so he's Uruguayan...wants to represent Liverpool, but not England? I just don't see why that makes sense.

[RandyMarsh]

but it was booted 60 yards from his box by the opposition goal keeper, agree with that sirprize?

[sir.prize]

I agree. But it was not a goal kick - agree?

[jim360]

Why doesn't it? Liverpool has provided him with a handsome salary (money matters) and an opportunity to play football in one of the top leagues in the World. Who wouldn't want that? But at his heart he's Uruguayan, from that country, and wants to play International football for that country.

This is hardly an alien concept. People move to wherever they think they can get the best opportunities for what they want to do, but that doesn't automatically make them a local. I went to Edinburgh University but I'm not suddenly Scottish. Gareth Bale moved to Spain but he's still Welsh. This shouldn't be a hard concept.

And yes we are.... haha.