I'm scared about the future of English football. The World XI line-up should be a wake-up call to Premier League footballers.
Eleven players based in Spain, none in England, Germany or Italy. That’s an 11-0 hiding.
I love our league. For its drama and
excitement. You won't see better games this weekend anywhere in Europe
than Arsenal versus Manchester City and Manchester United against
Liverpool.
I'm convinced we still have the best league, but it seems we don't have the best players.
Down and out: And England's future doesn't look any brighter
NOW HAVE YOUR SAY
Who is the best young talent at your club? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Where is the next Wayne Rooney?
Normally, we are aware of the next explosive talent coming through, but
increasingly, English football seems to be turning to foreign players to
provide the next level.
Raheem Sterling at Liverpool and
Everton's Ross Barkley are two players with rich potential, but where is
the English Mata, Silva or Cazorla?
I do fear young players focus too much on the ‘trimmings’ of the game. They are being paid too much, too quickly.
They are driving their first Range Rover by the age of 18. And what does that do to your ambition and your hunger?
Elite: Only Sterling and Barkley show enough promise to become truly quality England players
Santi Cazorla has been wonderful at
Arsenal this season, but Spain seem to have two or three of his kind in
every top team: they have a conveyor belt of talent. Where are the
English technicians?
History tells us this will be cyclical.
The Milan team of Gullit, Van Basten and Baresi looked invincible and
they were saying the same about Cruyff’s Ajax when they won a hat-trick
of European Cups in the 1970s.
Liverpool too dominated in the 80s, but
it doesn’t last and the challenge to the powerhouse clubs is to match
the quality of the Spanish League. Although with Chelsea and Manchester
City out of the Champions League after the group stage, English football
appears some way behind achieving that.
I watch a lot of junior football and
there is nobody getting me off my seat. Money is drawing the players
here still, but are we getting the second tier?
Talent: Ruud Gullit
Celebrated: Franco Baresi
Class: Marco van Basten
When Chelsea were smashed in the Super
Cup by Atletico Madrid, people thought they didn’t care because it was a
meaningless match. I didn’t agree; I believed it to be a footballing
lesson. And we are getting too many of them.
Last season, when Luka Modric was
playing for Spurs, he was arguably the best midfielder in the country
and coveted by Chelsea and Manchester United. Now he can’t get into the
Madrid team and has been voted the worst signing of the season.
In the meantime, the best English
players such as John Terry, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are edging
towards the end of their careers.
Unless the FA can see something I can’t
with their coaching centre at Saint George’s Park and a new Technical
Director in Dan Ashworth from West Bromwich Albion, I can only see this
getting worse, before it gets better.
I hope I’m wrong and next year’s XI has more of a Premier League flavour, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Declining: Terry
Ageing: Gerrard
Unwanted: Lampard
Jamie's best of the Premier League
Hart
(Man City), Johnson (Liverpool), Kompany (Man City), Vidic (Man United),
Cole (Chelsea); Sandro (Tottenham), Mata (Chelsea), Silva (Man City);
Suarez (Liverpool), RVP (Man United), Bale (Tottenham).
The biggest surprise when I look at this
team (above) is the lack of Manchester United players. They must have a
special manager to be so good, when only two of their players make the
all-star team.
Looking at the teams picked by some of
the readers, I can’t believe anyone left out either Robin van Persie, or
Luis Suarez. Along with Gareth Bale, that was the easy part of the
team.
The World XI forward line isn’t bad
(Messi, Ronaldo, Falcao is pretty formidable), but I fancy my three too.
There would be goals in a game played between the two.
Prolific: Both Suarez and Van Persie are capable of providing regular goals
I might be a bit light in midfield and
Yaya Toure’s absence is one for this team to overcome. I’ve gone for
Sandro in the holding role and I’m hoping Mata and Silva keep the ball
away from their fellow countrymen, because if our opponents don’t have
the ball, they can’t hurt us (I hope).
I’m always going to pick Joe Hart, even if this is his most challenging season yet, but it is the back four that is the hardest.
Ashley Cole just edges out Leighton
Baines, there’s not a great deal to choose from at right back, although
Glen Johnson is enjoying a good season.
Uncertain: Vidic's selection highlights the paucity of top-quality Premier League centre-backs
At centre back, Vincent Kompany is an
obvious pick, but less so Nemanja Vidic. It used to be one of the
strongest positions in the Premier League, but there aren’t too many top
centre backs around at the moment.
But at least there wouldn’t be THAT much to worry about in the opposition
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