Gerrard joins homegrown call
Steven Gerrard will captain England against Austria and Croatia
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Wednesday, 14, Nov 2007 05:28
Steven Gerrard has added his voice to the growing clamour for a limitation on the number of foreign players in Premier League teams.
The Liverpool skipper spoke out after Fifa president's Sepp Blatter demand for a quota of homebased players in each European matchday squad received backing from a number of high-profile figures.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is among those to have said he agreed with a change in the rules, while Arsene Wenger, the manager of an Arsenal squad containing only two Englishmen, has dismissed it.
Speaking ahead of a week of international fixtures which could see England fail to qualify for Euro 2008, Gerrard said a change is necessary to boost the national team's fortunes.
"If something isn't done, there will be more and more foreigners and they will take over and that is worrying," Gerrard told BBC Radio Five Live.
"I think there's a concern that talent will eventually stop coming through if foreigners do take over our league.
"We are proud to say that we have one of the best leagues in the world but the most important thing is that have one of best national teams as well."
His comments echo those previously made by Reading manager Steve Coppell.
Coppell spoke of his concerns ahead of his English-dominated Reading side's home clash with Arsenal – a team often used to illustrate the dominance of foreign-born players in the division.
The Gunners have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season on all fronts but have been criticised for using only one English player – Theo Walcott – in the Premier League this campaign.
Wenger has defended his approach, which has rested on bringing the best of Europe's young talent and turning them into seasoned players.
"If you are in a better class you improve quicker and you shouldn't put the criteria just down to producing local players," the Frenchman said.
"You have to put them up to the level of Thierry Henry and take [the amount of foreign players in the league] as a chance to produce better English players."
Gerrard will captain England in the absence of John Terry in Friday's friendly with Austria and the potentially crucial tie with Croatia next week at Wembley.
If Russia beat Israel on Saturday, however, England will be effectively be out of contention for a qualification spot before Wednesday's final group E clash.