UNTHINKABLE!
Premier League slam Dyke’s plan to impose home-grown quotas
RICHARD SCUDAMORE has dismissed the idea that Football Association chairman Greg Dyke could force the Premier League to accept increased quotas of English and home-grown players.
Dyke has proposed the minimum number of home-grown players in a top-flight 25-man first-team squad be increased from eight to 12, with the plans being phased in over four years, beginning next year.
Scudamore ridiculed the idea that Dyke might force the change through even in the face of Premier League opposition.
‘Greg was asked a direct question about that by one of the clubs at one of our meetings,’ said Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive. ‘And he said, “No, we want to consult”. It never needs to be tested.
‘But the idea that the FA can put rules in our rule book is unthinkable. Because our rule book is our rule book.
‘If the FA wish to put quotas into the FA Cup, that’s entirely their responsibility. It’s their competition. I think they should consult with the clubs that play in it, but that’s just a matter of courtesy.
‘There’s no way they can write a rule into our rule book regarding our competitions.’
Just 33.2 per cent of players starting in matches during the Premier League opening weekend were eligible to play for England. It dropped to 27 per cent yesterday, with just 36 English players out of 132 starters. And just three of those 36 were under the age of 21.
RICHARD SCUDAMORE last night dismissed out of hand the idea that Football Association chairman Greg Dyke could force the Premier League to accept increased quotas of English and homegrown players.
Dyke has proposed that the minimum number of homegrown players in a top-flight 25-man first-team squad be increased from eight to 12 with the plans being phased in over four years, beginning next year.
There have been suggestions that Dyke might be prepared to use a ‘nuclear option’ and force the change through even in the face of expected Premier League opposition, but Scudamore ridiculed that idea.
‘Greg was asked a direct question about that by one of the clubs at one of our meetings,’ said Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive. ‘and he said, “No, we want to consult”. It never needs to be tested.
‘But the idea that the FA can put rules in our rule book is unthinkable. Because our rule book is our rule book. It’s how our clubs contract to deal with each other.
‘If the FA wish to put quotas into the FA Cup, that’s entirely their responsibility. It’s their competition. I think they should consult with the clubs that play in it, but that’s just a matter of courtesy.
‘There’s no way they can write a rule into our rule book regarding our competitions. We submit our rule book for sanction every year and they have to sanction our rule book. But they are sanctioning it for whether there is anything that is contrary to FIFA law or FA regulations. They can’t send our rule book back saying you need to put seven more rules in that cover X, Y and Z.’
Just 33.2 per cent of players starting in matches during the Premier League’s opening weekend were eligible to play for England, a 1.8 per cent drop from last season. It dropped to 27 per cent yesterday, with just 36 English players out of 132 starters. And just three of those 36 were under the age of 21.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is another who has suggested English football needs to revamp its development of youngsters or risk losing an entire generation of players.
‘You have a generation of players who are lost between 18 and 20,’ said Wenger. ‘When a guy of that age feels he doesn’t move forward he loses motivation.
‘And I am a bit scared about that because in France they play in Division Three with their reserves so you get competition against adults. In England you have created the Under 21 league. I am not a fan because it is not the same as playing in competitive games.’
Wenger’s comments come in the wake of FA chief executive Martin Glenn pledging to invest a record £260million in grassroots football over the next four years, with one suggested solution to help combat the lack of English players in the Premier League being for youngsters to go abroad and gain experience.
‘Young players could go abroad or to Championship teams and play,’ Wenger added. ‘But if good English players go down to the Championship, that level goes up. You could have a B team in League Two or League One maybe. There is no ideal solution.’