English Premier League: Eric Cantona says Premier League imports must be controlled
Cantona, who is widely recognized by many as one of the most inspirational players ever to grace the English league, has warned English clubs that English national team’s demise is directly linked to the increasing number of foreign players in the league.
The renowned French offensive midfielder led Manchester United to their dominance of the English Premier League in the mid 1990s. United have since then built on their success and have moved on to win many more premier league titles.
Cantona also guided Manchester United’s rivals Leeds United to their 1991-1992 English league success as well but this was before he was bought by Manchester United in 1992. Cantona was also voted by Manchester United’s fans in 2001 as their best player of the century (1900-2000). He still enjoys legendary status at the club where fans remember him as King Eric.
Eric Cantona played a total number of 182 games for Manchester United, in those games he scored 82 times for the English giants. His transfer from Leeds United to Manchester United remains widely debated even today, as it was seen as an unconscious shift of power in the English league back then between the two rivals.
The transfer fee which Manchester United paid to Leeds United amounted to £1.2 million. Cantona’s most productive season in terms of goals for United was the 1993-1994 season during which he scored 25 times for the English club.
Cantona was famous for his cocky and arrogant behavior on the field and is also well known for his explosive temper. Recently English team’s lack of performance in international football tournaments has sparked a debate which aims at discussing whether or not the amount of foreigners in the English premier league are hurting England’s own player development system.
Cantona commented on this debate and said that the league needs to limit the amount of foreigners that teams can have in their starting lineups. He said that a limit is very important; a team can only have three or four foreigners in their starting lineup. He also emphasized the fact that teams should have good young English players, which will benefit from playing alongside experienced foreign players.
He said that more English players in starting lineups at different clubs in the English league will mean that these players will gain experience by playing in big games and various competitions such as the UEFA Champions League. He added that if this foreigner dominance in the English Premier League continues, England national team can find itself in trouble in around ten years time.
He also said that to compete in international competitions such as the European Championships and the World Cup, players need to be experienced in terms of big games. He said that as there are not many English players playing in most of the top clubs in the Premier League, the search for such players becomes difficult.
He highlighted the fact that Arsenal and Liverpool seldom play with more than one or two English players in their starting lineups. He also went onto say that it is important for a country’s national football team that young players are involved in good football teams because that way they will play in strong competitions
Cantona has always been known to pass controversial remarks during his interviews; he is also prominent for his opinions about football. The ex-Manchester United star is currently coaching the French beach football team. It will be interesting to note whether the Premier League and F.A take any notice of such remarks by Cantona, however it should be noted that he is not the only one who has highlighted the issue of increasing foreigners in the English Premier League.
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