Football Special Report: The effect the ‘home-grown’ rule has on Arsenal
The Premiere League has been witness to a general exchange of super stars in and out of the English domestic brand of football. With clubs spending millions of dollars to get ‘ready-made’ talent, the bridge between lower end and the International Cup-bound teams has vastly increased.
Chelsea and Manchester City could be ideal examples to showcase the power of the dollar and for once, the FA has sprung into action to remind the clubs who is boss.
Under the new regulations, every top flight club can announce a squad of no more than 25 players. However, here is when things get interesting. The announced 25 can have a maximum of 17 non-home-grown players. In addition, under-21 players shall not pose a count towards the announced 25 man squad – meaning, clubs may use any number of players born after January 1st, 1989 as they wish.
A player can be deemed as Home-grown: "irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Welsh Football Association for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21)"
The new regime greatly benefits a club like Arsenal. Not known for making headlines in the transfer window, the club has often gone for relatively unknown young blood. An example of such a case would be the signing of Cesc Fabregas at age 16 in the September of 2003. The Spaniard is currently a world renowned player and is the heartbeat of the Arsenal formation. He is also the team skipper.
Home-grown players include Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner, midfielders in the form of Denilson, Fabregas, and Alex Song while Gael Clichy and Johan Djourou along with Italian Goalkeeper Vito Manone representing the defence department.
Non-Home-grown players include:
Manuel Almunia, Andrey Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh, Abou Diaby, Emmanuel Eboue,Lukasz Fabianski,Laurent Koscielny,Samir Nasri,Tomas Rosicky,Bacary Sagna,VanPersie,Thomas Vermaelen and Sebastien Squillaci.
Prominent young members Theo Walcott, Carlos Vela, Jack Wilshere, Aron Ramsey and Kieran Gibbs fall under the under 21 category.
This puts Arsenal in a very good position, as they do not have to sacrifice any players to fit the new bill unlike other title contenders this year.
However, Wenger heavily criticized the new ‘filter’.
Theoretically, the new rule will benefit the English national side as it would give more options to Fabio Capello. Wenger on the other hand, believes that instead of bolstering the national squad, the rule will further decrease the quality of the Premiere League. The argument may make sense too, as The Three Lions have been known to feature star-studded sides in the past – Omission of Theo Walcott in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups plus the mere 20 minute introduction of Jack Wilshere before being put back into the Under 21 squad could be proof enough.
"The homegrown rule is all artificial. From 1966 to 1996 this country won absolutely nothing. England won nothing and they had not one foreign player [in the league]. How has it changed?” concluded a blunt Wenger.
Importantly, the youth needs guidance. Any young player added to a first team requires the company of some experienced shoulders. The rule would hamper the number of mature heads in a club. This would also decrease the popularity of the Premiere League and undo much of the work done in the past to make it one of the most exciting prospects for foreign players.
"In my opinion if you are a great player, you want to play with great players. If you are a great musician, you want to play with an orchestra where you have the best musicians. If you offer the guy the chance to play in an orchestra with poor musicians, he will not be happy.” commented the Arsenal Manager.
With all said and done, whether the new rule can somehow ensure England finally winning some kind of silverware on the International stage is another debate. However, it will discourage rich clubs to buy foreign talent at the price of neglecting players coming out of the youth academy. The result may ensure an overall competitiveness to the league and sides like Blackpool, West Brom and Wigan may escape 6-0 thrashings in the future.
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