Barwick took over as FA chief executive on 31 January, 2005

In an interview with BBC sports editor Mihir Bose, Barwick said: "We do have good players, but we don't have 50, 60, 70 players to pick from any more."

Barwick also felt the Premier League should be helping redress the balance.

"The Premier League is a great league but it has a responsibility to deliver some good players to the FA," he said.

Interview: Mihir Bose speaks to Brian Barwick

Barwick said it was important for the health of the game in this country to have a flourishing national side.

Over �40m a year is invested by Premier League clubs in youth development Dan Johnson Premier League spokesman

"A great England team is great for English football right across the piece," he said.

The Premier League responded to Barwick's comments by claiming they already invested a lot of time and resources in developing England stars of the future.

"The clubs are intellectually and financially committed to producing home-grown players," said Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson.

"Over �40m a year is invested by Premier League clubs in youth development, but also it's about standards of coaching, it's about grass-roots as well.

"We're working with the FA to ensure the coaching certificates and the coaches that they are responsible for, as well as the raw materials that come into the academies, are up to scratch."

Barwick raised his concerns about the national side as he celebrated his third anniversary as the FA's chief executive.

Some of the top teams have less English players in them than foreign players Brian Barwick

It is also less than a week until Capello leads England out for the first time following his appointment as Steve McClaren's successor.

Switzerland will provide the opposition at Wembley on Wednesday as the 61-year-old Italian attempts to resurrect England's fortunes following their failure to qualify for this year's European Championships.

Barwick admits it is frustrating to see the England team struggle at a time when the Premier League is prospering.

"It's something of a dilemma for us," he said. "Are there enough English players? There aren't the same number of English players, that's for certain. We have to sort it out.

"Some of the top teams have less English players in them than foreign players. That's just the way the game has gone.