Why the strength of the Premier League doesn't translate into that of the Three Lions
The English Premier League is unquestionably the most selling football brand. This is reflected in the number of countries the Premier League is watched and the increasing level of interest it generates every passing season. It has attracted global attention so much so that it has shifted from just being a source of entertainment, but a livelihood for many. In sub-Saharan Africa for example, the Premier League is televised live by DStv, a pay-TV company owned by Multichoice. According to Wikipedia, DStv has over 11.9 million subscribers in the region.
Most of those subscribers have established businesses by selling Premier League games to enthusiastic fans in bars and show halls. This has served to increase the popularity of the league every passing season. Such popularity has precipitated huge sponsorship deals, with the astonishing £5.14bn TV rights(per BBC.com) deal signed recently the standout.
As a consequence, Premier League clubs have been able to buy some of the best players and managers around.
From Eric Cantona through to Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit, Thierry Henry, Jaap Stan, Gianfranco Zola, David Ginola, Robert Pires, Ricardo Carvalho, Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Cristiano Rinaldo, Sergio Aguero, etc, to Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Louis van Gaal, Guus Hiddink, Antonio Conte, Pep Guardiola', the Premier League has had some of world football's finest talents adding glamour and splendor to it.
Despite the glamorous league England boats of though, their national team, The Three Lions, has remained in the shadows of other nations whose leagues do not have the same appeal. England last won a major football competition way back in 1966 when they hosted and won the World Cup. Since then, they have flattered to deceive. Their so-called golden generation of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Michael Owen and others came and went without leaving a mark on world football. In this year's World Cup in Russia, they finished 4th after losing to Belgium in the third-place playoff. That was their finest performance on a global stage for 28 years. Even then, they failed to beat the elite nations they played against. Croatia and Belgium had better players and claimed the English scalp in Russia. But why? Why is the country with the most competitive league not delivering at international level?
First of all, we need to examine the level of talent of the English players. Compared to the nations that have achieved big internationally, England produces the lowest number of elite footballers. In the Premier League, the biggest clubs field very few English players with the majority of their players being foreigners. Last season's champions Man City have 4 senior players in their ranks. Kyle Walker, John Stones, Raheem Stirling and Fabian Delph. The rest of their first team players are foreign.
When we compare that with the Germany squad that won the World Cup in 2014, their leading club side Bayern Munich had as many as 7 players. Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Philipp Lahm, Mario Goetze, Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thomas Mueller all came from the German club champions that year. Other leading clubs in Germany have so many Germany internationals in their ranks, unlike in England. Therefore, the English need to be strict on the number of English rather than 'homegrown' players clubs must have in their squads and starting XIs.
Before the coming of Eric Cantona, Arsene Wenger and then Jose Mourinho to England, English coaches focused on grit rather than finesse in the upbringing of young footballers in academies. Determination and commitment were always synonymous with English players. There were so many elements of the game that were ignored. Vision, creativity and skill on the ball were paid little attention to. Little attention was given to tactics like controlling the game in midfield by retaining possession and making the opposing team chase. There was a lot of focus on route one football that would result in a lot more tackles with players jostling for 50-50 balls. This resulted in more fatal injuries compared to the rest of the leagues. Because of those crunching tackles which has continued up to now, the Premier League has had so many cases of broken legs and other contact related injuries.
Eduardo da Silva, Aaron Ramsey, Djibril Cisse, Alan Smith, Petr Cech, David Busst, James McCarthy, Hatem Ben Arfa, Kieron Dyer, Seamus Coleman and many others have had a fair share of the horror of Premier League tackles
With the coming of Eric Cantona, the No.10 role came to be appreciated more. This is why foreign players with similar qualities to Cantona's became more commonplace in England. Dennis Bergkamp, Gianfranco Zola, Christian Eriksen, Cesc Fabregas, Kevin De Bruyne, Mesut Ozil are many of the players with a creative spark to their game. Despite such players and managers who on their side have brought a more European approach to games, the tactical approach of the Italians, the technique of the Germans, etc, England has up to today failed to produce players of similar nature, which points toward player education. England have, as a consequence, been found wanting when they have faced teams with high-level technique. Belgium is a typical example of such teams. They defeated the Three Lions twice in Russia this year. England lacked those midfield players with the craft to control the tempo of the game and create openings in the Belgian and Croatian defenses and that's where they were found wanting.
The fact that the quality of most of the English players is not good enough, most of them play either for the less fashionable teams in the Premier League or the lower leagues in England. For instance, the recent global showpiece in Russia, Tottenham Hotspur contributed the highest number of players for the national team. Spurs are undeniably a decent side, but let's face it, they are not winners. That's why Tony Adams questioned their winning mentality and predicted that they could come short at crucial moments in Russia. Well did he predict.
English players are rarely bought by clubs beyond their shores. Brazil, the record winners of the world are one of the biggest exporters of football talent. Their players, combine their natural talent with the tactical approaches of the football cultures in the countries they play club football. This makes them accomplished outfits and their dominance of international football is not accidental. Italy are not known for exporting their players, but they are a nation with a long history of producing exceptional players. Their league is the most tactically sound in Europe, a combination of which has seen them hugely successful.
Like Italy, Germany have most of their players playing their club football in the Bundesliga. But unlike England, Germany have over the years produced some of the finest footballers. That is evident as they were the reigning world champions going into Russia 2018 where they surprisingly underperformed and they had been on three previous occasions before 2014. Spain are also blessed with players of exceptional quality with great technique. That explains why they won the Euros in 2008 and the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa playing breathtaking football.
Newly crowned world champions France have super footballing talents in great abundance. They won the tournament in Russia in convincing fashion with the luxury of leaving the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Anthony Martial, Adrien Rabiot and many other excellent players at home for the World Cup. Those nations have had a national programme to educate players to play the right way and the results are there for everyone to see. England have also embarked on such a programme, sending coaches to Holland and other places to learn how young players are educated and there's hope that with time England will adopt a more continental modal. This could help establish themselves an international football powerhouse.
England may have the most competitive league in Europe, but as a nation, they have got an awful lot to do to emerge from the shadow of their more glamorous counterparts and make their mark as one of the giants of international football.