Comments on: So now the foreign quota debate is a Manchester United versus Arsenal thing

By: gery

gery — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:52:38 +0000

i agree with quota system .

By: Namu

Namu — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 05:11:39 +0000

i think a big issue that’s part of this discussion is that, when you look at the mid-table squads of the Premier League, you see that the squads are still packed with many more foreigners, compared to the mid-table squads of comparable leagues such as the Primera Liga, and Serie A.

when you think about the top squads of these three leagues, they’re packed top to bottom with foreigners, because they compete in the CL, which has become an international product rather than a continental product. i dont think people have too much of a problem with that.

but when you look at the Premier League, the whole league, from top to bottom, has become more of an international product as well, rather than a product that is national as well as international. and you see quite a lot of mid-table squads packed with foreigners as well. if i was english, i would start having problems with that.

i know that many mid-table spanish and italian squads have many foreigners as well, but when you look at their bench or their 25-man squad, you see a strong spanish and italian influence. you dont see that in mid-table english squads. i am writing this as a asian in canada, by the way, not as an englishman.

By: Linda

Linda — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:35:35 +0000

100% agreed with Jan. If, say, Spanish players can go abroad and get into top sides in other leagues, why can’t English players?

By: Inara

Inara — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:48:53 +0000

Yeah, but taking football to such international levels practically negates the domestic aspect of it. Chelsea, Barca, Juventus, etc still try to retain some ties to their countries, and one of the ways they do that is by taking pride in their home based talent. But if we’re going to jump on the global bandwagon, then we might as well get rid of domestic leagues entirely and move to a European league format.

By: Noah

Noah — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:15:39 +0000

Once again, I completely disagree with Fergie. If anything, this will make it much more difficult for small market teams to compete because the demand for relatively good home country players will be such that only the top clubs can afford them, thereby driving up the value and pricing out the small clubs. And because they’re limited from bringing in foreigners, they’ll have to contend with fielding an even worse team then they would if they could field whoever they wanted. One of the beauties of football is that it’s an international sport; hopefully they’ll remember that when voting against this proposal.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:32:24 +0000

I’m 100% behind the quota rule because then Ligue 1 teams would totally kick butt in Champions League and all other international competitions.

By: Jan

Jan — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:10:48 +0000

If the players don’t want to learn a new language, they could alternatively flood the MLS or A-League with surplus English talent.

By: Jan

Jan — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:09:16 +0000

Well, how about those English players, who can no longer make it into a PL side, just go abroad. They can get their first team playing time and experience somewhere in Eastern Europe or Asia, or wherever they’re still needed.

By: Ian

Ian — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:00:04 +0000

I guess, to me, it’s for worse. The Prem might be a global product, but its base is in England and always will be. PL head office people should be smart enough to know that growing means getting new markets AND keeping the ones that made you rich in the first place.

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 17:47:33 +0000

But do the neutrals in England really matter anymore? The league is being sold as a global product and the money is increasingly coming from outside England. For better or for worse, I’d argue that the Premier League is much more concerned with its global audience than its domestic one.