What a nightmare. Cristiano Ronaldo could be earning nearly a quarter of a million pounds a week. But he isn't. You've got to feel sorry for the long-necked Portuguese.
The reason behind these ridiculous figures is the near parity of the pound and the Euro. In the summer, Real Madrid reportedly offered Ronaldo £200,000 a week. Were they to offer the same in euros now, the demise of the pound means that he would actually get 20% more (£240,000.) Naturally, this is bad news in terms of the Premiership attracting the top names in world football, but there is an upside.
For years journalists have churned out comparison after comparison. Last season, only 34.1% of the starting line-ups in the Premiership were English. Domestic starters in Spain and Italy average well over 50%. And they are the current holders of the World Cup and the European Championships.
So how will the credit crunch help? Well, over the last few years, the exchange rate has meant that it has been cheaper for managers to pick up established players in Europe than risk buying a young English player. As a result, few home-grown footballers rise through the ranks.
I am not suggesting that the next Beckham, Gerrard or Owen has been stifled. World class players will always rise to the top. Inevitably, this happens at youth level. The competition to snap up youngsters before rivals is intense. But not every player matures so quickly.
A perfect example of this is Jimmy Bullard. Many narrow minded England fans laughed when Fabio Capello picked him for the England squad. But he is a fantastic footballer. And he started his career playing non-league football at Gravesend & Northfleet. In 1999, he received his chance when Harry Redknapp signed him for West Ham. However, he struggled to break into a strong midfield that housed two future England regulars: Frank Lampard and Joe Cole.
So Bullard slipped back to the lower leagues where he would stay until being a crucial element in steering Wigan Athletic into the Premiership. But what if another club had signed him instead of West Ham? He was unlucky to be surrounded by such great young talent. Imagine the player he could have been now if he had broken through at Charlton or Fulham ten years ago?
Buying abroad has become more expensive. (For example, Robinho cost Manchester City £34.2 million in the summer. He would now cost £42.2 million, even at the same price in Euros.) So even with the inflated price that domestic transfers create factored in, Premiership teams will look to the lower leagues for talent. Hopefully this will drive the amount of English players starting on Saturday afternoons up and widen the talent pool Capello has to choose from.
Having world class players doesn't create a winning team. Having sufficient competition for places to keep them driven does. Capello is the perfect manager to implement this. He isn't afraid to take a chance. It is up to the lower league players to take their chances with both hands.
The reason behind these ridiculous figures is the near parity of the pound and the Euro. In the summer, Real Madrid reportedly offered Ronaldo £200,000 a week. Were they to offer the same in euros now, the demise of the pound means that he would actually get 20% more (£240,000.) Naturally, this is bad news in terms of the Premiership attracting the top names in world football, but there is an upside.
For years journalists have churned out comparison after comparison. Last season, only 34.1% of the starting line-ups in the Premiership were English. Domestic starters in Spain and Italy average well over 50%. And they are the current holders of the World Cup and the European Championships.
So how will the credit crunch help? Well, over the last few years, the exchange rate has meant that it has been cheaper for managers to pick up established players in Europe than risk buying a young English player. As a result, few home-grown footballers rise through the ranks.
I am not suggesting that the next Beckham, Gerrard or Owen has been stifled. World class players will always rise to the top. Inevitably, this happens at youth level. The competition to snap up youngsters before rivals is intense. But not every player matures so quickly.
A perfect example of this is Jimmy Bullard. Many narrow minded England fans laughed when Fabio Capello picked him for the England squad. But he is a fantastic footballer. And he started his career playing non-league football at Gravesend & Northfleet. In 1999, he received his chance when Harry Redknapp signed him for West Ham. However, he struggled to break into a strong midfield that housed two future England regulars: Frank Lampard and Joe Cole.
So Bullard slipped back to the lower leagues where he would stay until being a crucial element in steering Wigan Athletic into the Premiership. But what if another club had signed him instead of West Ham? He was unlucky to be surrounded by such great young talent. Imagine the player he could have been now if he had broken through at Charlton or Fulham ten years ago?
Buying abroad has become more expensive. (For example, Robinho cost Manchester City £34.2 million in the summer. He would now cost £42.2 million, even at the same price in Euros.) So even with the inflated price that domestic transfers create factored in, Premiership teams will look to the lower leagues for talent. Hopefully this will drive the amount of English players starting on Saturday afternoons up and widen the talent pool Capello has to choose from.
Having world class players doesn't create a winning team. Having sufficient competition for places to keep them driven does. Capello is the perfect manager to implement this. He isn't afraid to take a chance. It is up to the lower league players to take their chances with both hands.
Good work on starting a blog. I've been meaning to do one but I am very lazy, and in all likelihood never will.
ReplyDeleteFrom my usual parochial out west perspective, the less foreigners the better it is for Welsh players too. They'll get their chances at the higher levels just as English players will. Which would be of great benefit what with the current amazing crop that's coming through.
One thing though, surely Capello will get slaughtered in the press for leaving out some of the old, past it players who have a big rep and giving some of the players coming through a chance. Some guy called Dave springs to mind...
HaggBeard
Hey HaggBeard,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Welsh national side should benefit too. And the Scottish.
I take your point on Capello getting slaughtered if he did that too. But my post was meant to take a longer term view. I.e. in five years time the senior players of the team (by that stage, Theo, Rooney etc) will be under more pressure to keep their place due to the overall quality of English footballers playing regularly.
As an aside, there is an argument that the English players learn from the foreigners in the Prem. Will fewer foreigners stunt development? I fear that if the Ronaldos of the world opt for Spain or Italy then this could be a worry. But I'm sure fewer Boa Mortes (sorry Luis, you were the first person to pop into my head) won't be a huge headache...