As England left these shores for South Africa a couple of weeks ago, there was much hope that at long last, they could bring the trophy home. Nevertheless, that dream was destroyed in no uncertain terms by the old enemy Germany in Bloemfontein as England crashed out of the finals losing 4-1. How could such an experienced team who qualified so effortlessly fail to perform? Not surprisingly, the English media has come up with no dearth of scape goats and explanations for what was England’s heaviest defeat at a World Cup. There has been a lot of talk about the Italian manager, formations and more but the problems are far more serious.
Since its formation in 1992, the EPL has achieved exceptional success as an international brand. The price of this success has been felt by English football. Greater TV revenue has pushed wages higher and higher. Subsequently this has meant there has been a growing split among club and country. Teams pay their footballers a good deal of money and are increasingly more hesitant to let their players turn out for their countries.
In return, players get massively rewarded by Premiership clubs to the extent that success is classified by signing rewarding contracts as a substitute for anything they do on the pitch. Ordinary players who rarely turn out for their clubs are still millionaires and as these footballers put money ahead of playing matches at club level, there is little doubt they don’t have the mental strength or hunger to play international football.
Typically, there was always a regional reserve league which ensured young footballers from lower league clubs could possibly be guaranteed to play against decent reserve teams from more established clubs like Arsenal, Tottenham and Man Utd. Even so, in recent years, the Premier League has changed therefore they will only play against other Premiership reserve teams. This means that Championship reserve clubs no longer get to play versus Premiership sides. For clubs like Ipswich Town, it means their reserve team now plays against Stevenage as opposed to Spurs and this drop in standard in opposition no doubt has a negative effect on the footballing education of young players.
With so much wealth at stake, everything is tailored for EPL survival. Teams spend large sums of money bringing in theoretically top-quality foreign managers and players in a bid to hold on to their Premier League status. The ambition of promoted teams to the Premiership extends no further than finished 4th bottom. The Premiership cash bonanza means that Premiership clubs can will offer you £1-2m for young players at lower division teams. The players are inclined to move and secure their financial futures but it could very well also signal the end of their careers. The young Crystal Palace star joined Tottenham but barely made an appearance and was last seen on loan at Brentford, a division lower than when he was at Palace. From a football view, Bostock would have been best served staying at Palace and learning his trade. How many more young players careers are curtailed like this going after the money rather than playing the fixture? Its difficult to blame the young footballers for taking the money.
There is also the popular accusation that clubs take part in too many matches in England and more and more managers want a winter break. Yet, footballers don’t seem to be tired when asked to fly off to the Usa or Far East on pre-season visits. Or how about England’s friendly match next June away in Thailand?
There are way too many ready made excuses for failure that footballers are ready to accept. They live a life well away from the real world with their mansions, sports cars and trophy wives. Simply, there is not enough hunger or desire.
The fixture in Thailand also highlights another trouble. Not to mention the Premier League being an international brand, so are the England team. Folks want to watch the big EPL stars play for England and in friendlies like this, those stars will be expected, if not contracted, to turn out. Having said that, it is not the case that the recommended 11 footballers make the finest team. Too many players are in the team based on name rather than performances. Young footballers should be promoted into the senior squad sooner.
For the upcoming Euro 2012 campaign, England should do away with the services of all footballers aged 30 or over. None of them have performed in South Africa consequently why should the manager persevere with them. It would be more practical to promote younger footballers who may still be hungry for success. Nevertheless, while the worshiping of the Premiership remains, things are not going to get better anytime immediately.
