Perhaps it’s because I’m rapidly heading for the wrinklies’ club, but I simply can’t understand the furore over FIFA’s move to limit the number of non-British players Premier League teams field.

When I started watching football half a century ago, virtually every player was British, at least half the players were locally born - and to most supporters the ultimate ‘foreigner’ was an Irishman. The proudest possession of any fan was the number of local-born players in the team he supported; it  gave him immense pride that the team truly represented his own locality.

It was a team representative of your home town…not a conglomeration of hugely talented strangers with unpronounceable names and foreign accents. As someone who felt he really belonged in those days, I have to ask: Is winning ALL that matters now?

'So there's no question that Arsenal NEED to field an entire team of non-Brits. It’s just that Arsene Wenger has discovered a veritable beehive of talent in the most bizarre of places and managed to strike gold by importing it and blending it all together'


You could count the number of foreign players in the Football League on one hand. And black players were an even rarer breed - in fact, the only ones I can remember were Lindy Delaphena at Middlesbrough and Leeds United’s Albert Johanneson.

In most ways the game has changed for the better since then. But its one big loss is that few teams - particularly the big ones - now truly represent the town or city in which their stadium stands. They have become international companies whose owners and players often have little or no real connection with this country, let alone the locality.

Arsenal are the biggest offenders. They boast of being British owned  - yet rarely field a starting lineup with even ONE British player. Results apart, I’d like to know if Gunners fans whose memories go back as far as mine actually feel more a part of the club than they did in their youth? Is it not somewhat unreal to be cheering on a team whose only local connection is that they play in the London area (albeit in a stadium with a foreign name) and occasionally field a token English player?

The Arsenal team when I was a kid included true locals like Jimmy Bloomfield (born in Kensington), Len Wills (Hackney) and Danny Clapton and Vic Groves (both from Stepney). The ‘foreign' contingent included the likes of Welsh-born Jack Kelsey and Derek Tapscott, and Scotsman David Herd. Most Arsenal fans in those days couldn’t even NAME a French player, let alone drool over half a dozen of them every Saturday!

It wasn’t until 1990 that the first REAL foreigner - Swedish international Anders Limpar - came to Highbury. And the floodgates didn’t open until the mid-1990s with the arrival of Dennis Bergkamp, Nicolas Anelka and Patrick Vieira.

Now I am all for having foreign players in the English game - particularly world-class stars. It has elevated our league to the best on the planet…but at what cost? The superstars may be wonderful role models for our own young players, but if the kids can’t get in the team because of them, how are they ever going to make it to the very top themselves?

I would much prefer to see clubs follow the Manchester United example and blend the best of British with the cream of overseas talent. Sir Alex Ferguson certainly has his faults, but right through the glory years I cannot remember a United team taking the field with at least four or five British players - virtually all produced by the Old Trafford youth scheme.

So there’s no question that Arsenal need to field an entire team of non-Brits. It’s just that Arsene Wenger has discovered a veritable beehive of talent in the most bizarre of places and managed to strike gold by importing it and blending it all together. You can’t argue with that as a policy for success - but is it right for the English game? My opinion is no…and the only way it can be halted, or at least curtailed a little, is by introducing legislation.

There is absolutely nothing racist about what I am saying. As much as I believe that the Premier League should have a recognisable English presence, I believe that the French league should be dominated by French players, the Spanish league by Spaniards and Serie A by Italians. It's common sense, that's all.

At one point Chelsea under Jose Mourinho went virtually to the same lengths as Arsenal in dumping British players in favour of overseas superstars. Now they can boast at least half a team of Brits with John Terry, Frank Lampard, Wayne Bridge, Shaun Wright-Phillips and the two Coles. And all but Bridge were born in the London area!

So what’s the problem with a little nudge from the authorities to ensure that clubs don’t go too far, as Arsenal have done. And who knows, that nudge might just bring some new talent through that could make the England international team a real international force, rather than perpetual also-rans.