• Home
• /
• Football

EPL clubs, FA must share blame

Harry Redknapp’s assertion that young English players would come to him while he was the Spurs boss and look to get out of England duty raises serious question marks about the national game back in Blighty. The now QPR manager has cast doubt on the career aspirations of promising pros with his controversial claims, which implied future stars saw representing their country as a burdensome chore and not a blessing.

It’s not unimaginable that impressionable teenagers and those in their early 20s, who are each worth fortunes, would prefer to enjoy the fruits of their labours rather than endure an intense night of heightened media scrutiny under the floodlights at Wembley. As ’Arry points out, if you’re an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Raheem Sterling or Jack Wilshere, there probably isn’t much incentive there as you’re invariably on a hiding to nothing.

You’re paid handsomely to play for a big club in the English Premier League, where you are worshipped by your club’s fans and hailed week in, week out. Regular Champions League football perhaps more than makes up for the gaps on the international front, which possibly isn’t as stern a test as the cream of the crop in European club competition represents anyway.

National ‘pride’ aside, why would they bother? Who really needs the hassle?

Nonetheless, EPL clubs and the FA are as much at fault as the players, if not more so. It’s naïve to think that the big four or five EPL clubs don’t dictate to those called up and the FA how long they can play for during each outing.

The FA, in turn, arrange raft after raft of meaningless friendlies for either commercial/monetary gain or David Beckham’s seemingly endless cap count. Is it little wonder the likes of Dawson, Huddlestone, King, Lennon, Livermore and/or Walker might have sat back and said: Goldenballs to it all!?

The saddest and most damning thing to be gleamed from Redknapp’s assessment though is that England should have walked Group D at this World Cup at a canter. The very fact that they didn’t and are instead flying home after Tuesday night’s final group game with Costa Rica should instigate a thorough post-mortem as to what went awry and what’s wrong in a far wider context.

But, with coach Roy Hodgson seemingly staying on until Euro ’2016 and captain Steven Gerrard contemplating prolonging his international career, we’re simply likely to see more of the same shortcomings.