By Andrew Warshaw
May 9- Radical proposals to halt the decline of English football at national level have been met with a mixed reaction but must be implemented to prevent a bleak future, according to English FA chairman Greg Dyke.
On Thursday proposals were unveiled to change the lower-division structure to enhance opportunities for England-registered players, reduce the number of foreign imports and boost the chances of national team success.
At the heart of the four-point plan is the creation of a new division at the bottom of the Football League pyramid to comprise 10 top-flight B teams – as they have in countries like Spain — together with 10 teams from the Conference, the highest tier of non-league football, in a new so-called League Three.
Of the B team squads, 19 of the 25 should be under the age of 21 and 20 of the 25 should be home grown. In terms of the Premier League itself, it is recommended that by 2021, 13 players in each squad should be home-grown.
Most sensible of all, perhaps, is a ban on non-European Union players outside the Premier League to get more England-qualified players involved.
According to a review set up by a Dyke-appointed commission, only 32 percent of starters qualified to play for England in the 2012-13 Premier League season, compared to 69 percent 20 years ago. But the commission’s proposals for developing more home-grown players have provoked considerable criticism with some suggesting the whole fabric of the English system will be irrevocably damaged at lower-league level.
England is for ever being reminded that it has not won a major senior tournament since the 1966 World Cup and Dyke told the BBC: “It’s not enough to say we will do nothing. If we don’t arrest the decline, you feel quite bleak about the future of English football. You’ll have very a good league, but it’s not about English football.”
“This decline is a problem in countries right across Europe but is a significantly bigger problem in England than anywhere else – and if the trend continues we fear for the future of the English team. If this cannot be reversed, a future England manager will have fewer and fewer top level English players from which to choose.”