Foreign invasion a boon for clubs, death for local talent

This has been of benefit to British clubs. To begin with, playing skills and styles have improved and changed considerably. Eric Cantona made fashionable, while at Manchester United, a fitness regimen that is partlyresponsible for the athleticism and stamina of David Beckham. The traditional English game of long balls and strong centre-forwards has been replaced in many cases by smooth, sublime passing and a more cerebral style of play.

The foreign invasion has also proved to be a marketing boon for clubs. With their flair and good looks, they created a buzz that set the game alight. It’s no coincidence that the revival of the game’s popularity in England has come about at the same time as the foreign influx. And if you had to choose between a poster of Paul Scholes or of Marc Overmars, there really is no choice, is there ?

But it hasn’t obviously been only a success story. The biggest downside has been the stifling of English talent. It’s the product of a vicious cycle; as attendance increases, so does revenue. With more spending power, clubs surf the continent for talent; why buy the centre-half from Leicester when you can get one from Lazio ? The extreme example of this is Chelsea who, last December, became thefirst Premiership team to play a match without a single English player.

Ruud Gullit, as manager, used his considerable contacts to lure foreign players to England; Gianluca Vialli has continued the tradition, the latest example being Liberian George Weah. In the process, the career of Jody Morris, widely tipped as a future England star, seems to have been put on hold.

The second problem, and one with long-term implications, is that smaller clubs in the lower leagues have been cut out of the loop. They were the traditional feeders for the top clubs, nurturing local talent to be sold when mature for the right price. That’s much less the case now which means that cash flow is reduced, as also prospects for young talent. Unable to compete with the spiralling wage structure and transfer fees, the small clubs can only watch as the gulf between them and the rich keeps growing. However, it’s a gulf that could one day destroy the game.

Changing the system will not be easy. Current rules exempt players from EUcountries requiring permits to work in England; this has been extended to countries in the European Economic Area, which includes Norway. Any change in the rules in one area of work would have serious implications for other trades.

Another side to the foreigner issue is the fact that they would play for their own countries and therefore miss matches for their club sides. The issue has been at the forefront over the past couple of weeks as leading clubs from Arsenal to AC Milan have lost players to the five-week African Nations Cup tournament. Enough, said the G-14 (the richest, most powerful clubs in Europe), and this week Bayern Munich put forward, on its behalf, a list of demands to UEFA aimed at balancing the books. The demands include compensation, a share of the profits from international matches and scheduling of tournaments during the off-season, June-July. Incidentally, the last time the G-14 raised a stink, the European Champions’ league was born.

Read devil
Just when one thought Manchester United had won enough over the past few months, they go and do it again. This time, it’s off the field: Manager Alex Ferguson’s autobiography Managing My Life has been named Book of the Year at the British Book Awards, beating John Major, Thomas Harris and Frank McCourt to the title. So the Rof the Year at the prestigious British Book Awards, beating John Major.