Jamie Carragher: 'Ban academy imports at clubs for sake of the England team'

[Ant]

Indie

 

Jamie Carragher has added his weight to the debate on England’s struggle to develop world-class players for Roy Hodgson’s national side by declaring that academies should be prevented from buying in any foreign players.

 

Top Premier League sides find foreign youngsters far cheaper to buy than the best English talent and Carragher told The Independent that clubs’ impulse to purchase them is blocking the potential development of young home-grown players.

 

“Academies should be for our kids and if you buy foreign players they should be for the first team,” said Carragher, a new member of the Sky Sports team of analysts for the new season. “I don’t think it should be made easy for players to get into your first team. The foreign players have been brilliant for this country. But it’s at the stage now where reserve and youth teams are full of foreign players – and what chance do young players have if they can’t get into the youth or reserve team? Let’s give them that chance to show a manager what they can do and then ask, are they ready?”

 

The former Liverpool defender’s concerns about the lack of opportunity for English players are shared by his co-analyst at Sky, Gary Neville, who believes that the current generation of young English footballers are having their route to the top of the game blocked despite being capable of playing at the highest level.

 

The Premier League said that 95 per cent of 16 to 18-year-olds at academies are British and that 75 per cent of players competing in the new Premier League’s Under-21 competition last season were British, including 16 of the 22 players in the starting line-up between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

 

But with a declining number of English players in the Premier League having a detrimental effect on the England team, Carragher believes action is required.

 

“You can buy a young foreign player for £250,000 but you’ll buy 10 of them and think one of them will probably do well,” Carragher said. “As things are, clubs take these players and say, ‘If it doesn’t work out at the end of the day it only cost us £250,000.’ If I was in a youth team and Liverpool bought the French Under-18 captain in my position, that would deflate me. I don’t think it’s that good for the foreign players either – leaving home at 15 or 16 without their family and friends, adapting to a new style of football. I just don’t think it works.”

 

 

Whether he has a point or not purely depends on if you care about the development of the English game and local players.

 

I think he makes some good points though.

[Gomez]

He really doesn't like foreigner does he.

[johngibo YPC]

Daft racist

[Billy Dane]

He'd be better off focussing on improving the quality of the coaching in the UK that means foreign youngsters look better than the local lads that he craves be given the chance.

[Chili Palmer]

If you are good enough, work hard enough and want it enough, doesn't matter if you are from Bootle or Barcelona.

[muleskinner]

He should have checked his workings out

[5InIstanbul]

If you are good enough, work hard enough and want it enough, doesn't matter if you are from Bootle or Barcelona.

Beautiful.

[Billy Dane]

I also wonder why foreign clubs aren't coming over to buy up the British youngsters that aren't being given a chance over here.

[_00_deathscar]

He's going to be an annoying t*** now he's on TV/radio isn't he?

[Ant]

He's in a much better position than anyone to say if local and English talent are given a fair crack of the whip.

 

I think of the time we wasted on Flora, Nemeth, Plessis, Barragan, Paletta to name but a few in recent years has been shocking. I've always said that Liverpool is full of fantastic footballing players, we always tend to produce someone every ten years of significant quality with a few other players who go on to make decent careers.

 

Ultimately if you're good enough, you're good enough. But if you care about the development of local and English talent then that isn't going to be only deciding factor. In a clubs youth policy.

 

It's a much deeper problem than just giving players a crack of the whip, I concede that.

[kop205]

Plus the local lads' girlfriends won't be able to talk to the foreign lads' girlfriends.

 

The only bit that really interests me is the fact that not many of these kids go on to be any good.

 

Is he actually calling for a total ban though? He doesn't quite say that, despite the tag line.

 

And with transfer fees continuing to rocket, who can really blame clubs for casting their nets far and wide to try and get the best players from a young age?

[smithdown]

"The Premier League said that 95 per cent of 16 to 18-year-olds at academies are British and that 75 per cent of players competing in the new Premier League’s Under-21 competition last season were British"

 

great stuff, Jamie

[johngibo YPC]

He's in a much better position than anyone to say if local and English talent are given a fair crack of the whip.

 

The actual stats in that article are massively against him

[Raj]

He's in a much better position than anyone to say if local and English talent are given a fair crack of the whip.

 

I think of the time we wasted on Flora, Nemeth, Plessis, Barragan, Paletta to name but a few in recent years has been shocking. I've always said that Liverpool is full of fantastic footballing players, we always tend to produce someone every ten years of significant quality with a few other players who go on to make decent careers.

 

Ultimately if you're good enough, you're good enough. But if you care about the development of local and English talent then that isn't going to be only deciding factor. In a clubs youth policy.

 

It's a much deeper problem than just giving players a crack of the whip, I concede that.

 

The biggest issues relate to the lack of high level qualified coaches in the UK. This coupled with the lack of meaningful competition at youth/reserve level.

 

In relation to the players you mentioned above, who specifically wasnt given a crack at the whip and proved us wrong. It appears to me that Paletta and Barragan have proved that they are far better players than anything else we had produced through the youth system. Maybe not for us but certainly we can see why they were signed as they have gone on to have had reasonable careers.

[Logic]

Problem isn't the amount of imports. The problem is that the players don't get enough competitive games during the crucial years in the development.

 

If more players got competitive games between 18-22 years of age they'd continue to develop. Has nothing to do with nationality.

 

As Chili said above, if you are good enough you are good enough - as proven by Kelly, Sterling, Wisdom and to a lesser extent Ibe.

[JonShar]

Next up he'll be suggesting one training facility for the English lads and another for the foreigners. Separate bathrooms + showers too.

[surf]

since when does carra care about the england team?

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

If you are good enough, work hard enough and want it enough, doesn't matter if you are from Bootle or Barcelona.

 

not hard to grasp is it?

 

He's in a much better position than anyone to say if local and English talent are given a fair crack of the whip.

 

I think of the time we wasted on Flora, Nemeth, Plessis, Barragan, Paletta to name but a few in recent years has been shocking. I've always said that Liverpool is full of fantastic footballing players, we always tend to produce someone every ten years of significant quality with a few other players who go on to make decent careers.

 

Ultimately if you're good enough, you're good enough. But if you care about the development of local and English talent then that isn't going to be only deciding factor. In a clubs youth policy.

 

It's a much deeper problem than just giving players a crack of the whip, I concede that.

 

There's a good list of English players that we've shipped on - and the Mancs etc - that haven't made the grade past a Championship level.

 

Speo got a fair crack for one

[Falconhoof]

since when does carra care about the england team?

 

He's paid to comment on football matters. He's having these common sense, man of the people opinions for a very healthy salary.

[Molby]

problem is, there's nobody around at Sky to bat this back at him with some common sense replies

 

1 s*** coaching in the UK

 

2 lack of good competitions at youth level

 

3 if players are not getting through over here but they are actually good enough then why don't they go to academies in Spain, where their undoubted talent will soon catapult them in to Barca's 1st team? and also the food and weather is better and there are fewer hoodies hanging around too

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

and it all boils down to simple economics as well.

 

English players are overpriced compared to foreign players. Don't know why

[Earl Hafler]

problem is, there's nobody around at Sky to bat this back at him with some common sense replies

 

1 s*** coaching in the UK

 

2 lack of good competitions at youth level

 

3 if players are not getting through over here but they are actually good enough then why don't they go to academies in Spain, where their undoubted talent will soon catapult them in to Barca's 1st team? and also the food and weather is better and there are fewer hoodies hanging around too

 

s*** planning at national level. Rodwell should have been at the U21's instead of a sub against Brazil.

[John am Rhein]

F*ck off Carragher

[smithdown]

He's paid to comment on football matters. He's having these common sense, man of the people opinions for a very healthy salary.

 

 

yeah, not great is it

 

It's not evil or nothing, it is just a bit rent-a-gob for the Seftoner

 

problem is, there's nobody around at Sky to bat this back at him with some common sense replies

 

1 s*** coaching in the UK

 

2 lack of good competitions at youth level

 

3 if players are not getting through over here but they are actually good enough then why don't they go to academies in Spain, where their undoubted talent will soon catapult them in to Barca's 1st team? and also the food and weather is better and there are fewer hoodies hanging around too

 

 

And then what is he gonna say?

 

'oh aye yeah yer right there'

[kop205]

Speo got a fair crack for one

 

He played over 50 games for us and started an FA Cup Final.

 

He's a lucky lad.