When England departed these shores for South Africa a few short weeks ago, there was much hope that at long last, they could bring the trophy home. Yet, that dream was destroyed in no uncertain terms by the old enemy Germany in Bloemfontein as England crashed out of the competition losing 4-1. How could quite possibly such an experienced team who qualified so easily fail to perform? Not surprisingly, the English media has found no shortage of scape goats and causes for what was England’s worst defeat at a World Cup. There has been enough talk about the Italian manager, formations and more but the troubles are a lot more serious.
Since its formation in 1992, the EPL has achieved fabulous success as a global brand. The price of this success has been felt by English football. Improved television cash has forced wages to increase. Consequently this has meant there has been an increasing split between club and country. Clubs pay their footballers a lot of money and are increasingly more hesitant to let their footballers play for their countries.
In turn, players get massively rewarded by Premiership clubs to the extent that success is recognised by getting rewarding contracts rather than anything they accomplish on the pitch. Mediocre players who rarely turn out for their teams are still millionaires and once these footballers put money ahead of playing matches at club level, there is certainly little doubt they don’t have the mental strength or hunger to play international football.
Typically, there was always a regional reserve league which meant young players from lower league clubs could well be guaranteed playing versus decent reserve teams from larger clubs like Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspurs and Manchester United. Yet, in recent years, the EPL has changed which means they will only play versus other EPL reserve teams. This means that Championship reserve teams no longer get to play against EPL sides. For clubs like Ipswich Town, it means their reserve team now plays against Stevenage as an alternative to Tottenham and this drop in standard in opposition obviously has a negative effect on the learning curve of young footballers.
With a great deal of money at stake, things are tailored for EPL survival. Teams spend large amounts of money attracting apparently first-class foreign managers and players in a bid to keep their Premiership status. The ambition of promoted teams to the Premier League extends no further than finished 4th bottom. The EPL cash bonanza means that Premiership clubs can give you £1-2m for young players at lower division sides. The players are keen to move and secure their financial futures but it could very well also signal the conclude of their careers. The young Crystal Palace star joined Tottenham Hotspurs 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 outlook, Bostock would have been best served staying at Palace and learning his trade. How many more young footballers careers are curtailed like this pursuing the money as opposed to playing the game? Its difficult to blame the young footballers for taking the money.
Addititionally there is the popular accusation that clubs take part in too many games in England and an increasing number of managers want a winter break. Of course, players don’t appear to be tired the minute asked to fly off to the Usa or Far East on pre-season trips. Or how about England’s friendly game next June away in Thailand?
There are simply too numerous ready made excuses for failure that players are ready to accept. They live a life well away from real life with their mansions, expensive cars and trophy wives. Simply, there is not enough hunger or desire.
The fixture in Thailand also illustrates another difficulty. As well as the EPL being an international brand name, so are the England team. Supporters want to observe the big Premiership stars play for England and in friendly matches like this, those stars will be expected, if not contracted, to turn out. All the same, it is not the case that the best 11 players make the recommended team. Too several footballers are in the team based on good reputation rather than performances. Young players should be promoted into the senior squad sooner.
For the imminent Euro 2012 campaign, England should dispense with the services of all players aged 30 or over. None of them have played well in South Africa thus why should we persist with them. It would be more effective to promote younger footballers who may still be hungry for success. Having said that, while the worshiping of the EPL persists, things are unlikely to get better anytime immediately.
