England football on all levels has been heavily criticized by the media and some say it is because of the Premier League, let's explore this further before we really get into why England have failed.
The Premier League is one of the most profitable leagues in the world, the league is fast paced and often brutal which makes for great viewing. By having such a prestigious league it becomes a beacon for players across the globe to come and play in England. By having such interest in the league it has left the young English talent to take a back seat as many managers in the past and present times of the Premier League have favored a move for young foreign talent which come at a cheaper price or older more marquee type players to boost the clubs image.
The young talent are not to blame as they can come over to England and receive a good education not only on the field but off it, this is something everyone given the chance would take. The young English players have been staggered through each teams system, some players have been fantastic players for their club but can't make the jump into International football. Young English players have been tagged with a high transfer fee which has put managers off as they could go to another European country and pick up a better player for quarter of the price, this is not the players fault but more the business side of the game which sees an opportunity to exploit the younger players. Mid to lower end of the Premier League teams know the top teams need English players to fill the quota of home grown players in European squads, this is a sort of ransom but a well executed one. The home grown rule also let's players join clubs at 15 and go through the academy set up so they are classed as home grown, the players can be from anywhere and fall into this category. The foreign influence on the Premier League is exciting for club level but the International level has been hit by this. The England coaching staff across all levels have said it is because of the lack of talented players at the big teams which is causing the International team to suffer. They are right in a way and the youth levels suffer as if they are considered good enough at 18 the player goes straight into the first team without doing their apprenticeship in the Under 21, 19, 18 teams. Let's now look at the real problem.
The England coaches are to blame. If you can't motivate a bunch of 18 yr old footballers to play for their country then your in the wrong job. Some of these players get paid a silly amount form their club and they think it should be expected to win a competition based on how they walk around and talk. But ultimately they get nervous and show their age when they are asked to play for England at any level, how are the coaches getting it so wrong? If a player is good enough to progress into the first team at 18 and this is the excuse for the Stuart Pearce to use when England had been embarrassed in Israel in the U21 Championships by not winning a single game, he is obviously not doing his part. The Under 21 tournament is the fairest tournament there is as all the teams have come into the tournament with young players leaving the side to go into the first team. England coaches moaned the players they had to use had little or no first team experience with their club side, this is applicable to all the teams involved in the tournament so how come nobody else was moaning this point?
The first manager Roy Hodgson has criticized the lack of experience his team has and that's why they struggle in tournaments, that is totally rubbish. Let us remember Euro 2004 and who won it, that's right it was Greece, let's have a look at the squad they had and who was playing Champions League football and who was in the reserves or a lesser league. Giorgos Karagounis was playing for Inter Milan but couldn't hold down a regular spot, Takis Fyssas was at Benfica and struggled to hold down a first team place, Stelios was at Bolton and possibly the only player who was playing regularly, Angelos Charisteas couldn't get into the Werder Bremen side, Angelos Basinas was playing for Panathinaikos, Antonios Nikopolidis was at Panathinaikos, Nikos Dabizas was at Leicester City, Traianos Dellas couldn't hold down a regular place in the Roma team, Theodoros Zagorakis was the captain of the Greece team and won player of the tournament he was playing for AEK Athens and had just been released and left on a free transfer. Now given all this information how is it possible to still moan on how the England team can't come together like Greece did and play for the pride of wearing the white with Three Lions on?
England can't have anymore excuses in tournaments at any level as if a non native manager can win the European Championships with a team of players which were either reserve or squad players and for most of them, playing in a lesser league, England should be winning every tournaments possible with the team which they have available.