English Premier League Part 3 - F.A’s new rules face tough test
English Football Association’s new rules have been supported by some members of the English Premier League but in other quarters, these reformed regulations have come under criticism by club managers and long standing English international team players as well.
For one, the rules have been termed as protectionist measures. They signal to the world that English players are below par than everyone else, therefore the Football Association has to take steps to protect their players’ development at the youth level. It implies that English players are simply not good enough to compete against international stars and that is exactly why the new laws have come under fire from various corners.
Arsenal F.C’s manager Arsene Wenger have been one of the most vocal critics of these new rules. Wenger came to England in 1996 and upon his arrival, was dubbed as “Arsene Who” by the British media. However, ever since then, Wenger has gone on to become Arsenal’s longest serving manager and has won more trophies with the club than any other manager in the Gunners’ history.
Wenger has brought in youth from foreign clubs such as Marseille and Barcelona and turned them into superstars through his superb coaching methods and man management. Wenger expressed his views on the new regulations earlier in August, when he termed them as an attempt to paralyze the footballing market.
Arsene observed that such rules reduce the quality of football in the English Premier League. He also labelled the new rules as “rubbish”. The Frenchman said that the rules were artificial in nature and that they had nothing to do with quality. Wenger has opined for a long time that young players are nurtured through quality coaching and that is what makes them into better players during their developing years.
However, these new English league rules protect the English youngsters from competition which means that their competitiveness at the international level will still be hampered, even if they are given more chances to play in the English Premier League. Arsene also added that the English Premier League has to decide whether it has to stand for quality, and in doing so, aim to become the best football league in the world. Otherwise, it should act as a breeding place for English footballers so that England’s national team can improve.
Arsene has been blamed as a result of these outbursts for being anti-English but the manager who is popularly known as “The Professor” because of his looks, said that he will be very happy if England won the World Cup. Wenger even said that he will be ready to support the 2018 World Cup bid by England if he was requested to do so.
Manchester United’s club captain Gary Neville has also come out and added in condemnation of F.A’s latest attempt to make the Premier League a better place for English footballers. The former England international said that Premier League’s global appeal generates from the fact that the league accommodates foreign footballers.
In honesty, some of the Premier League’s biggest stars have been foreigners which include names such as Thierry Henry (French), Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Dutch), Eric Cantona (French), Roy Keane (Irish) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portuguese). Nonetheless, there have been impressive English stars as well with the likes of David Beckham, Alan Shearer, Michael Owen, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney making it big in the league.
Gary also added that if English players are good enough, they will come through the academies. He further elaborated that the Premier League is not in a position to stop other countries from producing good players. Neville conceded that the academy programmes in England do need improvements but also said that there is no “secret formula” to do that.
All in all, it looks like the new rules are here to stay despite all the cons. In a broader picture, it seems that the English F.A is ready to compromise their league’s international attractiveness in order to protect and improve their local youth setups.
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