The Demise of English Football

The Demise of English Football

The following paper tries to analyse the various reasons for the continuing dismal performance of the
English national team at world level

England have produced some of the best midfielders in football today who have accomplished
themselves as world-class footballers but at the international stage they just don’t seem to make an
impact

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Shekhar.Ibhrampurkar@gmail.com

The Big Four

The Top 4 clubs of England namely, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool & Manchester United have taken the
1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the premiership for the last 10 years, no other team has managed to break
their dominance

Exception: 2002/03 Newcastle United, 3rd

Runners-
Club Winner Winning Years
up

1907/08, 1910/11, 1951/52, 1955/56, 1956/57, 1964/65, 1966/67,
Manchester
18 14 1992/93, 1993/94, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01,
United
2002/03, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09

1900/01, 1905/06, 1921/22, 1922/23, 1946/47, 1963/64, 1965/66,
Liverpool 18 12 1972/73, 1975/76, 1976/77, 1978/79, 1979/80, 1981/82,
1982/83, 1983/84, 1985/86, 1987/88, 1989/90

1930/31, 1932/33, 1933/34, 1934/35, 1937/38, 1947/48, 1952/53,
Arsenal 13 8
1970/71, 1988/89, 1990/91, 1997/98, 2001/02, 2003/04

Chelsea 4 3 1954/55, 2004/05, 2005/06, 2009/10

Total 53 37

The Big 4 have also been substantial contributors to the England national team for the Fifa World Cup

Season No of players from the Premiership % No of players based in
Big 4 England
World Cup 1998 11 55% 22
World Cup 2002 10 46% 21
World Cup 2006 14 64% 20
World Cup 2010 9 41% 22

Season Arsenal Chelsea Liverpool Manchester United
World Cup 1998 3 1 3 4
World Cup 2002 4 0 2 4
World Cup 2006 3 4 8 3
World Cup 2010 0 4 3 2

Simply put The Big 4 can be considered as the Heart & Soul of English football
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Based on data collected on the Big 4 teams of the English premier league teams namely, Arsenal,
Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, for the past 10 years, I have come to the note the following
reasons for the demise of English football

 Lack of Quality Forwards and Goalkeepers
 Inadequate opportunities for English footballers
 The vast quality difference in the Premiership and the Championship

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Inadequate opportunities for English footballers

 Arsenal

Season No of English % of First team % Change % of First team
players in the squad from England squad from France
First team Squad
2010/11* 3 11.11111111 0.766284 25.92593
2009/10 3 10.34482759 -0.76628 24.13793
2008/09 3 11.11111111 -5.01792 22.22222
2007/08 5 16.12903226 1.843318 22.58065
2006/07 4 14.28571429 0 25
2005/06 4 14.28571429 3.571429 21.42857
2004/05 3 10.71428571 -18.6975 25
2003/04 10 29.41176471 -7.2549 17.64706
2002/03 11 36.66666667 -5.64103 20
2001/02 11 42.30769231 23.07692
10 Season Average 5.7 19.63679 22.70193

From the data above it seen clearly that the number of Englishman has been steadily declining from
the Arsenal squad

On the other hand the no of Frenchman in the Arsenal squad has been consistently above 20%,

Exception Season 2003/04: 18%

Simply put there have been more French players in the English football club Arsenal than English
players for the past 7 seasons

Season No of Englishman with more than 25 appearances
2010/11* -
2009/10 1
2008/09 1
2007/08 1
2006/07 2
2005/06 1
2004/05 1
2003/04 3
2002/03 6
2001/02 5
10 Season Average 2.333

The number of Englishman in the Arsenal squad making more than 25 appearances a season has
declined over the years
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 Chelsea

Season No of English players in % of First team squad from % Change
the First team Squad England
2010/11* 6 24 0.666667
2009/10 7 23.33333333 0.25641
2008/09 6 23.07692308 -2.849
2007/08 7 25.92592593 -7.40741
2006/07 9 33.33333333 -1.28205
2005/06 9 34.61538462 7.948718
2004/05 8 26.66666667 0.740741
2003/04 7 25.92592593 0.925926
2002/03 6 25 1.923077
2001/02 6 23.07692308
10 Season Average 7.1 26.49544

The no of Englishman in the Chelsea First team squad has been around 25% and doesn’t show any
trend

2010/11* -
2009/10 4
2008/09 3
2007/08 5
2006/07 5
2005/06 4
2004/05 5
2003/04 5
2002/03 4
2001/02 3

On average only 4 Englishman have managed to play more than 25 games for Chelsea for the past 10
years

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 Liverpool

Season No of English players in the % of First team squad from % Change
First team Squad England
2010/11* 11 37.93103448 13.7931
2009/10 7 24.13793103 4.137931
2008/09 7 20 -10.5556
2007/08 11 30.55555556 -5.55556
2006/07 13 36.11111111 8.111111
2005/06 7 28 0.727273
2004/05 9 27.27272727 -6.06061
2003/04 10 33.33333333 2.083333
2002/03 10 31.25 -2.08333
2001/02 12 33.33333333
10 Season 9.7
Average 30.1925

The no of Englishman in the Liverpool first team squad has been fluctuating between 25% and 35%,
with the lowest of 20% and the highest of 38%

2010/11* -
2009/10 2
2008/09 2
2007/08 4
2006/07 4
2005/06 3
2004/05 2
2003/04 5
2002/03 5
2001/02 5

The no of English players making more than 25 appearances has declined over the years

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 Manchester United

Season No of English players in the % of First team squad from % Change
First team Squad England
2010/11* 20 43.47826087 -4.34783
2009/10 22 47.82608696 1.992754
2008/09 22 45.83333333 -4.16667
2007/08 20 50 4.83871
2006/07 14 45.16129032 8.797654
2005/06 12 36.36363636 1.069519
2004/05 12 35.29411765 -6.64137
2003/04 13 41.93548387 -6.45161
2002/03 15 48.38709677 2.932551
2001/02 15 45.45454545
10 Season 16.5
Average 43.9733

Manchester United have been the only club among the Big 4 to have more than 40% of their First team
squad from England

2010/11* -
2009/10 6
2008/09 5
2007/08 6
2006/07 6
2005/06 7
2004/05 7
2003/04 6
2002/03 7
2001/02 6

Every season atleast 6 English players manage to make more than 25 appearances for the club

Summary

This data clearly indicated the lack of opportunities for English players to play at the highest level, with
the Big 4 heavily relying on foreign player

With inadequate opportunities at the Big 4, English players depend on other smaller teams for First
team football who don’t compete in the European champions league and Europe cup, competitions
where the best in Europe compete, this becomes a large barrier for the development of English football
and is possibly one reason why the English team performs poorly at the world stage
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Lack of Quality Goalkeepers

 Arsenal

Season 1st Choice Goalkeeper Nationality
2010/11* Łukasz Fabiański Non English
2009/10 Manuel Almunia Non English
2006/07 Jens Lehmann Non English
2002/03 David Seaman English
2001/02 David Seaman English

 Chelsea

2010/11* Petr Čech Non English
2009/10 Petr Čech Non English
2003/04 Carlo Cudicini Non English

 Liverpool

2010/11* José Manuel Reina Non English
2009/10 José Manuel Reina Non English
2004/05 Jerzy Dudek Non English
2001/02 Jerzy Dudek Non English 8
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 Manchester United

2010/11* Edwin van der Sar Non English
2009/10 Edwin van der Sar Non English
2004/05 Roy Carroll Non English
2003/04 Tim Howard Non English
2002/03 Fabien Barthez Non English
2001/02 Fabien Barthez Non English

One of England’s biggest problems is the lack of a quality Goalkeeper

No English goalkeeper has been the 1st choice goalkeeper for the Big 4 clubs playing at the highest
level,

Exception, David Seaman, Arsenal, 2001/02-2002/03

Season Goalkeeper Club Appearances Goals Conceded
Fifa WC 1998 David Seaman Arsenal 4 4
Fifa WC 2002 David Seaman Arsenal 5 3
Fifa WC 2006 Paul Robinson Tottenham Hotspurs 4 2
Fifa WC 2010 Robert Green West Ham United 1 1
David James Portsmouth 3 4

Summary

These statistics clearly indicate why England lacks a world-class goalkeeper and seem unlikely to have
one in the near future given the fact that none of the English goalkeepers play for the Big 4 at the
highest level of competitive football

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 Lack of a quality Strike force

English Premier League Top Scorers

Season 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Dimitar Andrew
2010/11* Berbatov Carlos Tévez Carroll Tim Cahill Kevin Nolan
Wayne Frank
2009/10 Didier Drogba Rooney Darren Bent Carlos Tévez Lampard
Cristiano Steven Fernando
2008/08 Nicolas Anelka Ronaldo Gerrard Torres Robinho
Cristiano Emmanuel Fernando Roque Santa
2007/08 Ronaldo Adebayor Torres Cruz Robbie Keane
Benedict Cristiano
2006/07 Didier Drogba McCarthy Ronaldo Mark Viduka Darren Bent
Ruud van Frank
2005/06 Thierry Henry Nistelrooy Darren Bent Robbie Keane Lampard
Andrew Jermain Frank
2004/05 Thierry Henry Johnson Robert Pires Defoe Lampard
Ruud van
2003/04 Thierry Henry Alan Shearer Nistelrooy Louis Saha Mikael Forssell
Ruud van James
2002/03 Nistelrooy Thierry Henry Beattie Mark Viduka Michael Owen
Ruud van Jimmy Floyd
2001/02 Thierry Henry Nistelrooy Hasselbaink Alan Shearer Michael Owen

Summary

Another of England’s major problem is the absence of a quality strike force, this is clearly visible from
the fact that in the last 10 seasons no English footballer has been the top scorer in the English premier
league

In recent years All the Big 4 clubs have depended on foreign Forwards except Manchester united where
Wayne Rooney leads the attack

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The Difference between the English Premier League & the Championship

English Npower Championship Winners/ Teams promoted to the English Premier League

Season 1st 2nd 3rd
2010/11* - - -
2009/10 Newcastle United West Bromwich Albion Blackpool
Wolverhampton Birmingham City Burnley
2008/09 Wanderers
2007/08 West Bromwich Albion Stoke City Hull City
2006/07 Sunderland Birmingham City Derby County
2005/06 Reading Sheffield United Watford
2004/05 Sunderland Wigan Athletic West Ham United
2003/04 Norwich City West Bromwich Albion Sunderland
2002/03 Portsmouth Leicester City Sheffield United
Manchester City West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton
2001/02 Wanderers

Teams Relegated from the English Premier League

Season 1st 2nd 3rd
2010/11* - - -
2009/10 Burnley Hull City Portsmouth
2008/09 Newcastle United Middlesbrough West Bromwich Albion
2007/08 Reading Birmingham City Derby County
2006/07 Sheffield United Charlton Athletic Watford
2005/06 Birmingham City West Bromwich Albion Sunderland
2004/05 Crystal Palace Norwich City Southampton
Leicester City Leeds United Wolverhampton
2003/04 Wanderers
West Ham United West Bromwich Sunderland
2002/03 Albion
2001/02 Ipswich Town Derby County Leicester City

Summary

The highlighted teams are the ones promoted from the Npower Championships to the English Premier
League a season earlier

Every season atleast one of the team that has been promoted is relegated back to the Championships

2001/02 was the only season when none of the newly promoted teams were relegated, the teams that
were promoted were Fulham, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers

There is a vast gap between the Premiership and the championships, why this becomes an important
parameter in my analysis is the fact that the championships are dominated by English players
especially youth players and the premiership is increasingly being dominated by Foreign players
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Conclusive Summary

Since the inception of the English Premier League in 1992, the Big 4 have dominated the league,
Except for Manchester united none of the Big 4 have provided substantial opportunities for English
footballers, with the number of English footballers playing at the highest level declining over the years

None of the Big 4 clubs have had an English goalkeeper as their 1st choice, except arsenal in 2001/02
and 2002/03, it’s no wonder then that the English football team lacks a quality goalkeeper

Also no English footballer has been the top scorer in the English premier league for the last 10 seasons
which can be linked to another of England’s problem i.e. the lack of a quality strike force

Given the current scenario it seems unlikely that the English football team will be a dominant player in
world football, there needs to be some serious policy changes and the new Fifa rule requiring
preference to domestic players in the playing 11 and the squad would just be the much needed first
step

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References

www.soccernet.com

www.wikipedia.org

Football Manager 2011

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The Demise of English Football

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