[caption id="attachment_531" align="aligncenter" width="216" caption="Rare Exports: Hughes and Lineker were part of a generation of British players that did make it abroad"]
[/caption]If we were to go back to the 20th century, having British players playing abroad was a common sight. Mark Hughes and Gary Lineker at Barcelona, Kevin Keegan at Hamburg, John Charles at Juventus, Chris Waddle at Marseille, many great British players had spells abroad. However returning to the 21st century and seeing a British or, more to the point, English player abroad is a rare occurence.
The most notable players who have left the country include;
| Player | Club | Season(s) | Appearences | Goals |
| Steve McManaman | Real Madrid | 1999 - 2003 | 94 | 8 |
| Stan Collymore | Real Oviedo | 2001 | 3 | 0 |
| Jay Bothroyd | Perugia | 2003 - 04 | 28 | 5 |
| David Beckham | Real Madrid | 2003 - 07 | 116 | 13 |
| Michael Owen | Real Madrid | 2004-05 | 36 | 13 |
| David Beckham | LA Galaxy | 2007 - present | 48 | 9 |
| David Beckham | AC Milan | 2009 - 10 | 29 | 2 |
| Jermaine Pennant | Real Zaragoza | 2009 - 10 | 25 | 0 |
| Darius Vassell | Ankaragucu | 2009 - 10 | 22 | 4 |
| Matt Derbyshire | Olympiakos | 2009 - present | 19 | 6 |
Eight English players, who have played some part in the national squad or U21 squad, not a fantastic figure to display how much foreign clubs are attracted to English talent.
One thing you have to take into consideration with this argument is, how strong is your native league to other leagues in the world? The Premier League obviously ranks highly, along with La Liga, the Bundesliga and Serie A. It is also worth noting that the Spanish, German and Italian national squads also feature a vast majority of players playing in the native league but this statistic is completely redundant when you compare the success of those teams to the recent success, or lack thereof, of the English squad.
[caption id="attachment_530" align="aligncenter" width="310" caption="Extortionate: Andy Carroll's £35m move proved how expensive young English talent can be to foreign clubs"]
[/caption]The most likely reason that foreign teams do not buy English players is their ridiculously inflated price tags. The latest player to enter this world of mad figures is Andy Carroll with his recent £35m move from Newcastle to Liverpool. The transfer market is a buyers market with Liverpool needing a replacement for Fernando Torres and Newcastle negotiated fantastically to get that figure. However, comparing this deal to other players that have been bought around the continent, the pricing was obscenely high. However, is it purely because we want to keep English players in England? And will pay top dollar to do so?
What Salako suggested in the aforementioned podcast, to improve the quality and talent of our young players, is to get them playing abroad - to experience different styles of play, different tactics and probably more game time too. I whole-heartedly agree with his sentiments, but another aspect (which was also briefly mentioned in the same podcast) was the introduction of more competitive reserve leagues.
Referring back to two of the other, more successful, countries who dominantly have their national team playing in their native country; Germany and Spain. Both the third level and second level of the league pyramid, respectively, have reserve teams playing within the league, with obvious restrictions. In Germany, reserve teams can go no further than the third tier and Spanish reserve teams can not be in the same league as their first team counterparts (not too sure what would happen if, for example Barcelona get relegated to the Segunda and Barcelona B are competing in the Segunda, Germany's implementation is certainly more sensible).
If the English league were to incorporate a similar system it certainly would be interesting, and how they would integrate into the already huge league pyramid was also be a bit tricky. On the other hand, why not just use affiliated teams more to their potential? If a reserve team was to compete in a competitive first team league, they're oppositions would be the same if not worse to players being loaned out to Football League teams. In theory, this argument makes is totally feasible but how do we explain the way that the Spanish and German giants of Barcelona and Bayern Munich use the system so well to develop their youth talent?
[caption id="attachment_528" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Feeder: Royal Antwerp have made the most of their links to Manchester United in the past"]
[/caption]One system, combining the the aspects of gaining experience abroad and an affiliate system is simple - foreign feeder teams. Manchester United have exploited this excellently with Royal Antwerp. Players such as Jonny Evans, John O'Shea and Frazier Campbell all joined Antwerp at some period throughout their career. However not many other teams spring to mind instantly who take advantage of such schemes within the English leagues.
And lastly, but probably most importantly, is the lack of quality coaching in England. Foreign experience may widen a players scope on the game but nothing can replace being taught at a high level. The severe lack of coaches was outlined last year when figures shown that England have 10% or less of the number of UEFA B, A or Pro coaches in comparison to their European neighbours Germany, Italy or Spain.
These figures have caused the FA to take action in the youth development department, with Gareth Southgate being recently appointed as the "Head of Elite Development" and will work alongside Sir Trevor Brooking. What will come of his appointment is yet to be seen, but after an unsuccessful World Cup bid and "falling out" with the current FIFA regime putting another bid in doubt for the foreseeable future, the FA will surely have to have this issue as their key development in years to come.
[caption id="attachment_529" align="aligncenter" width="310" caption="Hope: Jack Wilshere has proven there is hope for England's youth system (Source: Action Images)"]
[/caption]To end on a lighter note, it's not all doom and gloom for England's youngsters. The recent "generation" of players coming through the ranks such as Jack Wilshere, Andy Carroll, Kyle Walker, Jordan Henderson and Chris Smalling are all receiving call ups to the first team squad sooner than expected in their careers. Plus, the newest batch of players within the U21 squad; Josh McEachran, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Connor Wickham are all showing bags of potential.
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