- Fri Nov 08, 2013 10:40 am
#500668
Arsenal have quite a good English representation in their squad with about 20% of our first team squad being English (in Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Wilshere as well as Gibbs & Jenkinson) - but it's certainly not easy to do have English players playing regularly at Champions League teams, purely because we don't produce as many good players as other countries.
I'm firmly of the belief that if young players were willing to travel to other countries in order to play regularly at good teams then they would become much better players. Otherwise it's a choice between Arsenal, Utd, Chelsea, City, Tottenham or Everton or Liverpool - and in most of those squads you're likely to be superceded by better players from abroad, due to an increased necessity to win and have a reduced amount of playing time.
If Adam Johnson moved from City to another modestly successful European club (Shalke, Leverkusen, Sociedad etc.), I think he would be in the England squad - as he'd be playing with better players, likely be statistically better and have more confidence. The same could be said of any 'budding England stars' who have ended up under performing and moving from to a big club too soon, then to a small club.
English players hate moving, as they think it will spell the end of their international career - for all his faults, I genuinely think Hodgson's past European managing experience would mean this isn't the case.
Ah well, I've always maintained that the relative lack of poverty in the UK (and increased focus on higher education) when compared to more successful footballing nations will always mean we won't be producing reams of players who are desperate to make it at the highest level.
chrismoyles.net
