Ferguson Follows the Trend By Fielding Non-english Xi in Manchester Derby
Sir Alex Ferguson's starting line-up at the weekend featured 11 nationalities, none of them English
On Sunday the club that gave the world the Busby Babes and Fergie's Fledglings took the international path first trodden by Chelsea 10 years ago. The Manchester United starting line-up selected by Sir Alex Ferguson against Manchester City was the first in the club's history to feature no Englishmen.
It was Boxing Day 1999 when Gianluca Vialli became the first manager of an English club to select a side devoid of Englishmen and in February 2005 Arsène Wenger went one better, naming an entirely international match day squad for Arsenal's defeat of Crystal Palace. United fielding 11 different nationalities (none English) at Old Trafford on Sunday leaves Liverpool as the only Big Four club to have employed at least one English player at the start of every game.
Sir Trevor Brooking, the Football Association's director of football development, says the high standards demanded at the biggest clubs may prevent home-grown talent from coming through in the future. "I certainly don't think Manchester United are any different from Arsenal, Chelsea or Liverpool – they need to produce players who can challenge at the very top level and I'd like to think they are going to be English players but I don't see that being a certainty," he said. "It's something they are going to have to work very hard towards and I'm sure those in the Manchester United academy know that better than anyone."
In leaving English first-team players such as Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick on the bench Ferguson was able to demonstrate the cosmopolitan flavor of his squad. The Chelsea side that defeated Southampton 2–1 at the Dell in 1999 thanks to goals from Tore Andre Flo was made up of nine different nationalities. The 16 players in Arsenal's match-day squad for their 5–1 defeat of Palace four years ago were drawn from just eight countries, including six players from France and three from Spain.
Fifa's president, Sepp Blatter, has made his feelings known on the number of foreign professionals plying their trade in the Premier League and has been campaigning for the introduction of a 6+5 rule that would require all European clubs to field six native players in every game. Brooking is of the opinion that the rule, which contravenes European Union labor laws, would mask the dearth of world-class English players rather than provide a supply of them: "People talk about quotas, but I think young English players should try and get their positions on merit."
The Premier League, too, is opposed to the 6+5 rule, but Uefa's general secretary, David Taylor, said today that something must be done to provide more indigenous footballers with the opportunity to play in their own countries. "I'm not surprised [at United fielding a team with no English players], given the array of stars they've got at the club," he said.
"It's one of the trends we've seen, particularly in English football, but not only in English football – we see it in Italian football and we see it in Spain. I think football fans have a very short-term view of the world and are looking for success now, today, tomorrow. I think those involved in the development of the sport look at these things rather differently."
It was Boxing Day 1999 when Gianluca Vialli became the first manager of an English club to select a side devoid of Englishmen and in February 2005 Arsène Wenger went one better, naming an entirely international match day squad for Arsenal's defeat of Crystal Palace. United fielding 11 different nationalities (none English) at Old Trafford on Sunday leaves Liverpool as the only Big Four club to have employed at least one English player at the start of every game.
Sir Trevor Brooking, the Football Association's director of football development, says the high standards demanded at the biggest clubs may prevent home-grown talent from coming through in the future. "I certainly don't think Manchester United are any different from Arsenal, Chelsea or Liverpool – they need to produce players who can challenge at the very top level and I'd like to think they are going to be English players but I don't see that being a certainty," he said. "It's something they are going to have to work very hard towards and I'm sure those in the Manchester United academy know that better than anyone."
In leaving English first-team players such as Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick on the bench Ferguson was able to demonstrate the cosmopolitan flavor of his squad. The Chelsea side that defeated Southampton 2–1 at the Dell in 1999 thanks to goals from Tore Andre Flo was made up of nine different nationalities. The 16 players in Arsenal's match-day squad for their 5–1 defeat of Palace four years ago were drawn from just eight countries, including six players from France and three from Spain.
Fifa's president, Sepp Blatter, has made his feelings known on the number of foreign professionals plying their trade in the Premier League and has been campaigning for the introduction of a 6+5 rule that would require all European clubs to field six native players in every game. Brooking is of the opinion that the rule, which contravenes European Union labor laws, would mask the dearth of world-class English players rather than provide a supply of them: "People talk about quotas, but I think young English players should try and get their positions on merit."
The Premier League, too, is opposed to the 6+5 rule, but Uefa's general secretary, David Taylor, said today that something must be done to provide more indigenous footballers with the opportunity to play in their own countries. "I'm not surprised [at United fielding a team with no English players], given the array of stars they've got at the club," he said.
"It's one of the trends we've seen, particularly in English football, but not only in English football – we see it in Italian football and we see it in Spain. I think football fans have a very short-term view of the world and are looking for success now, today, tomorrow. I think those involved in the development of the sport look at these things rather differently."
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