On 25 Jun 2012, at 09:58, John Lee <[email protected]> wrote: > I think the FA need to accept the Premier League experiment has failed - our > footballers arn't getting better with exposure to decent foreign footballers > - they're getting worse, as they can 'hide' behind them. If anyone is truly > bothered about having a decent national team then it has to change, but, as > usual, money will talk so get used to the sort of abject embarrassment that > was last night.
I agree with this; there's now simply too much money at stake in the Premier League for The Powers That Be to have any interest in improving the England team. Why invest in youth development when you can buy an off-the-peg player from a smaller club, thus cementing your dominance at the same time? (You don't need to be good; just better than the teams below you.) and why should a player stay with a club to whom he has no allegiance other than a three-year contract when he can get better money at a richer club? In many ways, the problem is epitomised by the clamour to employ Pep Guardiola. Because any Chairman of a Champions League club can open his chequebook and hire a manager - but this Barca team isn't the product of Guardiola's managerial genius, it's a product of a youth system put in place by Johan Cruyff nearly twenty-five years ago. Obviously it would be brilliant if a Premier League Chairman looked that far ahead, but I can't see the fans going for it, can you? The closest we get in this country is Arsenal, and their fans seem to be pretty pissed off that they're no longer contenders for the league more than they are happy that they are continuing to produce technically gifted youngsters... Ed. _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] PETE CASS (1962 - 2011) Rest In Peace Mate
