LONDON, Sept 5 (AFP): The English game is being hurt by a lack of over-priced talent and a flood of cheaper foreigners, according to Blackburn chairman John Williams.
On the first weekend of the Premier League season, only 37 per cent of players that started Premier League matches were English.
That was 81 players, a drop from 184 fifteen years ago.
And Williams sees that as bad for the English game.
"There is a shortage of English talent and you have to pay premium prices for those out there," said Williams.
"I'm afraid that we have to shop where the market is right, where the players are right and where the price is right.
"We want to support the England national team but the price of English players can be very off-putting."
West Ham chairman Eggert Magnusson however insists it is understandable that domestic talent costs more - but claims it still makes sense to buy British.
"You buy players who may have had a lot of success in the Dutch league or French league for example but doesn't mean they are going to be successful in the Premier League. There is a bit of a gamble to take," he said.
"You have to pay a little bit more for players who have a proven track record in the Premiership and that's fully understandable - and that goes whether you are talking about foreign players who have proved themselves in the Premier League or English players."
Magnusson does think it is important for clubs to have a strong base of domestic talent however.
He added: "Sir Trevor (Brooking) can have no problem with West Ham because we want to have a strong England team and we believe it is important to support that and have English players at the club."
England lacking talent, say Premier chairmen
FE Team | Published: September 06, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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