Does the Premiership's foreign legion restrict homegrown talent?

With the amount of Premiership foreign players increasing ten-fold in the last decade, English football's chief execs are worried for the future.

101 players from abroad kicked off the new season, compared with just 11 in 1992. One of the original group - Peter Schmeichel - is still playing in the Premiership.

Gordon Taylor, head of the PFA, warns that the next generation of young talent could find their progress blocked, and that future England sides will be the poorer for it.

But some argue that foreign players raise the standard of domestic football, teaching young talent the best skills that world football has to offer.

Should the amount of foreign players in the Premiership be restricted?

Just look at English cricket: they restricted the number of foreign players in the county game, and let's reflect on how amazing the national team is!
Raj, USA

I'm a great fan of the Premier League and English football of the 90s and the new millennium. I think the game has become more interesting because of the influx of foreign players and coaches. They have lifted the standards and brought new skills, new perspectives. I'm afraid Gordon Taylor's remarks come from the 'immigrants steal our jobs' quarter - even if that wasn't his intention.
Mari Fitzpatrick, Australia

I started watching my team Liverpool back in 1967. Most of the team were from Liverpool with a few "foreign" Scots in the line-up. Nowadays it is hard to cheer on your "local" team when you cannot even pronounce the players names and when it is apparent they care more about the money that the club.

I think foreiners do block the growth of our home talent and fully support Gordon Taylor's views. A limited number of top players will enhance English football and help us to develop good players.
Ged, India

You only have to look at Scotland for an insight into what will happen if we continue to import cheap foreign players. The two Glasgow clubs have rounded up all the good young players (who wouldn't want to play for them). But if they need another player they always buy one in. It's no wonder that there is not a single decent Scottish international under 25.
Andy, Bolton

Top quality players should always be encouraged to play in the Premiership and the fact we can attract them is indicative of how good our league has become. What needs to stop is where certain teams go off to Scandanavia and other similar regions to get cheap players to bulk out thier squad when young local players would do the job just as well.

Having legislation where a player must play a percentage of internationals before they are granted a work permit does not work. That effectively means you can sign a regular from San Marino.
Dave B, UK

I blame Man Utd...
Lee Bailey, UK

The majority of British youngsters seem to prefer playing their computer games, hanging around in packs or mugging old ladies to undergoing the rigours of football training or trying to improve their skills. No wonder the big clubs can't sign any - they're just not good enough!
AM, UK

Quality foreign imports should be encouraged to play in our leagues, it can only be of benefit to our clubs youngsters and eventually our national team, but there should be a return to the three foreigners per team rule.
Aaron Evans, England

Anyone who says foreign players are detrimental to the English game is clearly a nugget short of a happy meal. The current strength of the Premiership owes a great deal to the influx of quality players from the various continents.

Without foreigners, Chelsea would be a First Division side (is that so bad?) and Arsenal would not have won the league in '98 & '02. The top quality foreign players are an inspiration to the development of the younger squad players in this country and let's not forget that our current England boss is... foreign. Is it any coincidence that, following the influx, the England team is now coming of age on the World stage? I think not...
Nick, England

I firmly believe that it up to the British clubs to scout and bring young talent up through the ranks on British soil. I reckon this is one of the great things about English football!
Mike Allison, Australia

The number of foreign players is not the reason that the national team is not better. The sheer number of games that our boys play is the problem.
Lance Strangely, UK

Foreign players are a healthy addition to the Premiership. Just look at how exciting it's when Arsenal and Liverpool are playing. Compare that to Sunderland and Everton. I mean just the number of spectators says it all. Foreign players bring not only flair and excitement, but also experience that can be emulated by the young and promising English talent.
Chux, Nigeria/England

From a skill point of view I believe that football in this country has benefited from the influx of foreign players - the game is more exciting and the home grown players are reaping the benefits.

However, this has also contributed to spiralling wage costs which is being passed on to fans through the escalation in ticket prices and I think the Bosman Ruling has dictated that their is no player/club loyalty.
Brendan Brammer, England

The influx of foreigners has to an extent stifled growth of British youngsters. Having a Scottish international used to be deemed as having a foreigner. Top clubs in England used to have at least a couple of Scottish players but where are they now?

If foreigners have improved the premier league so much why aren't we doing better in Europe? In the 70's & 80's we had no continental player in our top teams yet we ruled in Europe. Since the premier league began we have had one team in the European cup final and most of their best players where home grown.
Michael, England

If you look at a lot of clubs now there's a lot of youth being bought through and given their chance - albeit bit by bit. Look at Spurs - they are building up an impressive collection of the countries (and Europe's admittedly) best young talent, and bringing them through slowly and not rushing them. The likes of Davies, Etherington, Doherty, King and Jackson spring to mind straight away.

A lot of the other clubs are doing the same; it's only in the 'bigger' teams where they find it harder to break through. These clubs should stop and think about this. Where would Man Utd be if their crop of youngsters (Giggs, Beckham etc) hadn't of come through as they did?
Scott, UK

As a Leeds fan we can be proud of the number of players who have come through the ranks. They may have more commitment to the club; Alan Smith is a good example.

Gordon Taylor has missed one point which is that English players cost clubs much more than the same foreign players and an increasing number of clubs i.e. Bolton cannot afford the transfer fee or their inflated wage demands, average players expect high salaries. Whilst that situation continues clubs will go and seek best value, and who can blame them. If the PFA were more realistic about players wages their members may do better. Presumably they don't go abroad often due also to their wage demands.
Michael Greenwood, UK

I dread to think of the Premiership without all the foreign players. Their flair and skill far outweighs that of the majority of the home grown players. Supporters do not pay their money at the turnstiles to watch 22 Englishmen. We want to be entertained by class players regardless of their country of birth.

Exceptional talent will always shine through, and let's face it, if England had managed to have Owen and Beckham fully fit for the world cup along with Steven Gerard, it would have been a totally different story.
Phil P, UK

Foreign players are good for the Premiership but I suggest a compromise and have a ruling that there must be six English players per team. This would allow for youth development and also have foreigners in.
Robert Cherry, Ireland

The premiership is a European league, it just happens to be in England. The playing staff, and increasingly the backroom staff are European rather than exclusively British, and foreign players now are those from outside the EU. The problem is that in the other European leagues there is only Steve McManaman from these shores.
Nick, England

I would favour a ruling where a team has to field at least three or four British players each game. At least the window of opportunity would stay open for promising English talent and not pushed completely shut, which is what I think Taylor fears. The foreign influx is a good thing, but not if it utterly saturates the EPL.
Alex Rigby, England

I think that it's absolutely ridiculous that people complain that there are too many foreigners playing in the premiership. One of the main arguments that I've heard is it "restricts home-grown" talent. But surely if these youth team players were good enough then they would be playing in the Premiership.
Kiran, UK

How many of the players at the World Cup play in the Premiership? Isn't it better that our youngsters play against the world's best week after week? It's only a matter of time before our home-grown players are picked before the foreigners.
Scott, England

In the last 10-20 years all the world's best players have played in Italy, Spain and England where wages are highest. None of these countries has won a World Cup since Italy in 1982.

I doubt that this is a coincidence - countries like Brazil, Argentina, France and Germany have their best players abroad and plenty of opportunities for young footballers to play at home.

I wouldn't argue that the likes of Cantona and Bergkamp have been good for the game here, but surely there should be a quota for foreign players in each team so that young British players get a chance too and mediocre foreign players aren't signed just because they're cheap.
Tom, UK

What's the difference between young foreign and young English players? Composure - they have it, we sadly do not. We have great teams, but not great players, which is why so many foreign players are brought over here. It's made the league better and hopefully their skill, technique and composure will rub off on our youth.
Johnno, UK

The world-class foreigners add depth to English football. Henry, Van Nistlerooy and other like them are more than welcome. However the 30-somethings that come over for a retirement fund (Ravanelli, Djorkaeff etc.) add nothing to the game.

It was good to see some clubs investing in young English talent from smaller clubs - particularly Newcastle - and bringing them into their first team on opening weekend. I would like to see at least six English players starting for every club throughout the season.
Chris, UK

Is it just a coincidence that when English football had fewer foreign players, such as in the early 90's the state of the national game was dire? Now with more and more foreigners the state of the national game has never looked better!
Michael Glarvey, England

As a Chelsea fan, I fully expect my club to take it's fair share of bashing. However, Chelsea have also proved that if you're good enough, you will get your chance. Take Carlton Cole, John Terry etc... This season should see the emergence of Joe Keenan and Ribert Huth, all excellent products of the Chelsea youth system and there's plenty more where they come from. We also have Leon Knight and Rhys Evans out on loan.

No one can deny that stars such as Gianfranco Zola and Eidur Gudjohnsen have lit up the premiership and in Cudicini, we have arguably the best shot stopper in the division. Usually, Chelsea get lambasted for buying foreign, this season Chelsea get lambasted for not buying anybody but blooding youth instead, it seems some clubs cannot win.
Keith, England

The biggest problem is that we don't seem to export any of our talent. There are Italians, Spanish, French and German players in our league, but how many of our boys go over to play there? These countries get experience of our type of football, whilst young Brits get the experience of reserve team football.
Sam, UK

The problem is not the truly world-class players such as Van Nistelrooy, Henry or Hyppia it's the mass of average foreign players who take away starting positions from capable home-grown youngsters because they are cheaper and can be bought "ready-made".

With the financial pressure to stay in the Premiership now, clubs just can't take the risk and try to bed younger players in. Countries where domestic football is not so rich such as France, Portugal, and Holland and to a certain extent even Ireland seem to have a never ending production line of younger players.

The reason is that the younger players in these leagues get first team football and progress and the truly gifted are snapped up by the wealthier clubs in Spain, Italy and England where given the best coaching, diets and care. Then we wonder why they thrash us all come international time.
Matt Child, UK

The best of our young players will always make it through i.e. Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole, and how many times have these players stated how much they have learnt of their foreign team-mates?
Simon, West Sussex

How can we talk of foreign players arresting development, when we have a crop of current and up-and-coming young players to rival any in the last thirty years.

For all the foreign players (who have revolutionised the Premiership), new and homegrown talent will always shine through. If anything, the standards for youngsters to make the grade is higher, due to greater competition.
Guy Alexander, Spain

The influx of foreign talent brings character to the British game. It is hard to say that foreign players are stunting our growth as the young players of genuine class such as Michael Owen or Rio Ferdinand will still break through.

The England squad is now stronger than it was five years ago, and with youngsters such as Joe Cole, Defoe, Carlton Cole, Rooney, Jenas, Ashley Cole and Bridge, I think we are seeing that this influx of foreigners is not damaging the top flight. It is probably sharpening our international pedigree, as our players are used to playing world class opposition.
Ashley, UK

As a Chelsea fan, I've got to say that I approve of the influx of foreign players. But taking off my Chelsea hat for a moment and talking as an England fan, surely it can only be good for the national game if key English players face some of the best international players week in and week out.

Pandora's box is open - trying to close it will only harm the national game.
James Tandy, UK

There are far too many foreign players in the Football League. It makes me laugh when an English club does badly in Europe. The critics start harping on about how bad it is for English football, when there are only about two English players in the team!

All the top Premiership clubs predominately have foreign managers, who subsequently buy foreign players. How anyone can get excited about watching Chelsea is beyond me. Shouldn't they be in Serie A?

England will never have a World Cup winning team, as there are just too few youngsters getting through the ranks. Football is purely money orientated and has taken the game to new lows.
Matthew, England

This problem originated from the unrealistic over-pricing of English players. So why not buy foreign players at the same quality for less money? Everything is business nowadays, no exception for the football clubs.

The young local players can be lent to the lower division clubs and come back when they are ready. Don't blame the foreign players if the local players are not good enough.
Takki, Thailand

I think that a certain amount of foreign players should be allowed in the Premiership, but not to the extent that proper chances are not given to the English. Let's take an example concerning goalkeeping.

Almost all of the Premiership first choice goalkeepers are foreign, and second and third choices, who are probably English, are forgotten about and not played until the first choice is injured.

So when it comes to the World Cup, no English goalkeepers are properly trained and experienced, resulting in poor performances. And this also applies to other positions.
Sara, Malta

The reason the number of foreign players is increasing is twofold: first, most of them are technically more gifted/talented than home-grown players - has Owen got a first touch to rival Bergkamp's? Second, the English teams are willing to pay preposterous wages.

Gordon Taylor should note that world interest in English football (not to mention its standard) has increased because of the influx in foreign players.
GQ, UK

Without Bergkamp, Henry, Hasselbaink etc, the English Premier League wouldn't be that good.
Gijs den Dulk, Holland