Meet Joe Foreigner
Out of the rubble of an England tournament exit, the footballing public are quick to scapegoat the number of foreigner players present in the English Premier League. It is an argument that resurfaces at the beginning of each season as the numbers accelerate. The argument is popular, and the pros and cons have become nauseatingly bland. I do believe that there are two factors that have been overlooked, which I should like to advance here. 1. Everyone is a foreigner. Everyone is a foreigner to someone. The French players in the Premier League are foreigners to us, but not to the French, obviously. To say ‘the number of foreigners in our game has depleted the opportunities for English players to play’ is not wholly accurate. Rather, it should be said that ‘the number of foreigners in our game has depleted the opportunities for English players to play in England’ . The reason foreigners harm the English game is because, by and large...