England's Youngsters: Why They Fail To Make The Grade

The World Cup 2014 in Brazil is looming large and the usual excitement and optimism that accompanies it in England is being stifled unusually early. The cause being the debate over the failings of English youth. Usually we at least get to enjoy the festivities before fading into the background as the real competitors battle for the honour of world champions and subsequently the worshipping of the German and Spanish youth development systems begin.

The primary argument for the lack of quality English players is being laden on the amount of foreign imports in the Premier League. A weak argument at best and simply avoiding the honest truth that English players aren't good enough. The percentage of English footballers playing in the league has dropped dramatically from the 70's to the 30's in percentages in current times. Calls for a quota will not solve the problem although there may be some credence for it at youth level as it is unnecessary to have so many foreigners present in the youth teams.

More than anything the blaming of foreigners is nonsensical. Critics are essentially saying they want the English players to have an easy ride to the top. Playing at the highest club level is no doubt beneficial to development but no matter how long you play there, you may just not be of required standard. We should be thankful that players from abroad are on display every week to remind us just how much better we need to be to compete at these international tournaments. The Belgians have struggled for a long time but are now being dubbed as dark horses for the tournament. The Uruguayan's last tournament almost rekindled their glory days of the 1930s yet England continue to flounder. Mesut Ozil has lit up the league in a matter of weeks and has shown us a glimpse of what the Germans will be packing next summer whilst Jack Wilshere, heralded as a saviour of English football and the maestro we need to build around, has been shunned to the wings at Arsenal. Maybe Pep Guardiola wasn't being as cheeky as we thought when he said "we have many of him in our B team" at Barcelona. With that being said, the trend of overrating a new youngster the second he emerges needs to come to a halt. Ross Barkley, for example, has only just broken into the Everton team but already £20 million is being quoted as his price. Given the short time managers are afforded in the Premier League, it is only natural that they seek cheaper players abroad. Taking the gamble on an expensive Englishman is problematic. As soon as the player fails to deliver, the manager is already in the doghouse (as in Kenny Dalglish's second stint) so why would they want to risk it at the next opportunity when more technically gifted and cheaper options are available? As a fan I remind myself that it is my duty to support in the tough times if I want to celebrate in the great times but with all due respect to Hodgson, his past approach to winning games leaves me drained of enthusiasm. Seeing Danny Welbeck on the wing is exactly why we won't be winning the World Cup and will be engaging in another pointless season of debate-upon-debate of what to do to aid youth development on Sky Sports by every former player who will then go on to do nothing about it. As much as a source of pride it is that we show off our heart and grit, maybe it's time we learned how to play with the ball? Not necessarily to perform a copy-cat routine of the Spanish but just because logic dictates we should have the ball and be productive with it if we want to win. It's time more English players developed themselves in foreign leagues as many of the players that arrive here have done. They pick up nuances that can't be found in other countries that aids their game in ways that can't be taught. Understandably the draw of the English league is colossal but everyone else is doing it so why can't English players? On a more positive note England do possess players to carry the torch for the next generation but Hodgson needs to maintain the adventurous style he adopted in the recent qualifiers and pick the right personnel if he wants to go far in the World Cup and beyond.