I think we have all known for a while that the Football Association (F.A) really have no idea on how to make England a successful national side. I think its pretty clear that when it comes down to it the F.A are more interested in money and a “great” football league rather than successful National Team. At the beginning of the 2013/14 season Arsenal and Chelsea had the least amount of homegrown talent with 5 British players, Manchester City 9 homegrown players and Manchester United 13 home grown players. According to the BBC only 32.26% of players in the premier league are homegrown players. In La Liga, home of World Cup holders and European champions Spain, Spaniards account for 59% of all minutes played. In Germany’s Bundesliga, Germans make up 50% (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24467371). Could it be a mere coincidence that both national teams have won the World Cup in the last 8 years? Is it not obvious that this is one of the reasons why we do not have a half decent national team? Can the F.A. not see this? Here is what i would implement if i was F.A. chief. Now i appreciate what i will suggest will have flaws, but nothing is perfect.
- Overseas Player Cap – Starting 11 should consist of at least 6 home grown players of British nationality. This raises discrimination questions, you cant deny someone a job on the basis of their nationality, this is after all a job.
- Salary Cap – I personally feel players dont need to get paid as much as they do, and i would put a cap on at £65,000-£80,000 a year, which i still think is generous considering players get sponsorship deals which in itself can earn the player a lot of money. And there would be no bonuses for players playing in the World Cup. I would like to think it would filter out the players playing for just money, and influence players with real talent to break through.
- Referees – There is a real lack of respect for officials in the game. The popular excuse for this disrespect is adrenaline and heat of the moment. If this was the case why dont the rug by referees get an earful every time a decision goes against the players? I would fit a microphone just like rugby, if a player knows people can hear him he might think twice about being disrespectful.
- Females – There should be more female officials, commentators and co-commentators. Hell there should be more females on the F.A. board, at the moment its a boys club with them all trying to outdo one another.
These are some of the points i would bring in, and i know for a fact these would never be brought in, in a million years. The F.A. really need to sort out the state of our national team and take responsibility for the state the English game. Because at the moment its all about the money than the football and i think many would agree.
Through the eyes of Jaylord 