Blatter wants limit on foreign players

[BobanFan]

Sepp Blatter wants to reduce the amount of foreign players a team can play in the league to a maximum of 5. I doubt it'll happen though.

[FNU]

Yea, he's been talking about this for some time and I'm ALL FOR IT. The best players in Italy come from Napoli. ;)

[Andy Bennett]

Good news if it happens.

[BBBulldog]

Good, I'd like that. 5 or less.

[SportBoy333]

Not a surprise that Wenger is opposed to it.

[st mirren till i die]

bloody foreigners, coming over here and stealing our jobs as professional footballers :mad:

[Klask]

The Frenchman said: "I am against it. Sport is competitive and competition is based on merit.

"It does not matter where you are born, it matters who you are.

Wenger, you got it right. All this talk about limits is a really nice pipe dream, but that's all it is. Just Blatter with the usual nonsense since nobody heard his name in the media for some time.

[Prawn Sandwich]

Fans and managers of the big, rich clubs will be against it. Fans and managers of the smaller clubs will be for it. The rich clubs dont wanna lose any advantage they might have. Those teams sign a lot of high priced foreigners.

That's a pretty large brush you're painting with there - I'm all for a restriction being implemented

[Klask]

Things just don't work this way in the real world, you don't hire people based on their nationality you hire them on their qualifications. Football is no different, if you want the best you should get the best and not take their nationality into consideration. Football is business nowadays.

[Andy Bennett]

Wenger, you got it right. All this talk about limits is a really nice pipe dream, but that's all it is. Just Blatter with the usual nonsense since nobody heard his name in the media for some time.
The Frenchman said: "I am against it. Sport is competitive and competition is based on merit.
Is it fkcv!!! Sport is a business and is based on making money.

If people like Wenger had their way they'd be dragging in boatloads of bodies from the arsehole of nowhere on the basis that out of 1000 of them a few might be good. The plain truth is that if an English, Italian, German or Spanish lad is any good in their respective countries the price for him goes through the roof. It's much cheaper to bring a load of hopefuls from some backwater and train them up. Frankly who wants to watch a load of foreigners kick a football about. Once in a while in the WC, EC or CL it's fun but every week?

Wenger has let some good British lads go over the years who are now doing a decent job for other sides. Bentley and Pennant spring to mind but there are others.

Anyway, I don't see how having 5 home grown players is that much of a hardship if you have ANY pretensions about being a club that wants to develop talent.

Also nobody can tell me that exporting your best talent abroad all the time doesn't hurt your own football. At one time French clubs like Monaco and Marseille, Portugese ones like Benfica and Porto and Dutch ones like Ajax and PSV were in the running for top european club. Now they're more or less there to make up the numbers and it's it not right. Those countries have a great footballing tradition and they deserve to be respected.

Anyway, as some have said on here, sod-all will come of it, but still...

[bosterosoy]

I'm in favor
seriously, do Italian Inter Fans actually enjoy watching a team full of South Americans??

I certainly wouldn't enjoy watching my team (Boca Juniors) play a game without one Argentinian in the lineup

[FNU]

I hope Inter disappears for GOOD!

[Andy Bennett]

I'm in favor
seriously, do Italian Inter Fans actually enjoy watching a team full of South Americans??

The thing is nobody can argue that foreign players haven't brought a benefit to the Italian, British and Spanish game. The point is do we want to watch ALL foreign players? Really?

I certainly wouldn't enjoy watching my team (Boca Juniors) play a game without one Argentinian in the lineup
The strange thing is that people who support Wenger and his ilk think they like the idea until it's their team we're talking about. There are many Americans on these boards, (obviously as it's a US based board), and many think they like the idea because they interpret it as yanks going abroad and doing well in Europe. I have only one question for them... if it was such a brilliant idea how come they weren't so keen when it was a load of foreigners playing in front of them with the old NASL? Obviously, there were many other factors in the NASL's failure but there's no question that that was one and a bloody big one as well.

[rizzuto123]

finally Blatter is thinking of something good.

Inter Milan sickens me, damn foreigners get the heck out.

[johan neeskens]

A charming idea by Blatter. Hilarious though that he thinks FIFA are more powerful than the EU.

It would be good for football but it'll never happen as it'd be against EU law. I.e. another pointless attempt to attract media attention by Blatter.

[Kebbie Gazauzkas]

A very good idea, hope the plan is implemented, though unfortunately teams will try to pressure the authorities to issue passports to foreign players, the clubs would definitely attempt to find loopholes. Youth player development is very important, it's not normal for a squad to have more than 50% foreign footballers.
My biggest concern is that the practice of considering foreign players has spread to national teams, naturalization procedures are being abused. Regional and national identities do not seem to matter as much in the contemporary world.

[GriffinGunner]

:rolleyes: If Arsenal were struggling people could care less how Wenger spent his money or if the side was made up entirely of gay Koreans. But since they're winning at the moment I guess it's fair game to be xenophobic.

Last I checked the nature of the sport is to a) win and b) make money. These aren't collegiate sides or charities, they're business operations trying to stay afloat or tender a profit. (Unless you're Leeds or Chelski, but that's another matter!:p) I don't see any Board policy prohibiting Arsenal or any side from fielding an all-English side, and they certainly have built some of their current success with the help of several England internationals (Adams, Cole, Seaman...). It just happens that their practice at achieving the 2 main objectives of the business have come at a time where it's shrewder to buy unknown commodities for less. And, oh by the way, other teams are free to do this as well. Does everyone here truly think Wenger would turn down an Englishman if he thought the player would help the team and that he could get him at less than outlandish costs?! Maybe...

The strange thing is that people who support Wenger and his ilk think they like the idea until it's their team we're talking about. :confused: I'm a Yank and an Arsenal supporter and would love to see Arsenal have more Brits on the team... Except when their presence is forced! Arsenal could've had any number of average to above average players on the side over the past few years, but instead chose not to overspend on the likes of Wright-Phillips, Bent, or Carrick. Ask the folks at ManU, who're strapped with debt and raising ticket prices quite steeply, if they wish they could field a comparable side for less money. Better yet, ask some of the middling clubs if they wish they had/ found the likes of Cesc and Adebayor for the amounts Arsenal paid for them over and above several English candidates.

I'd love to see Arsenal field a team comprised of mostly men who grew up admiring the club from within London, attending games as youth and knowledgeable of the clubs history. But only if their presence will help on the field and not break the bank. Thus, why should the club be punished for doing their jobs well?

I have only one question for them... if it was such a brilliant idea how come they weren't so keen when it was a load of foreigners playing in front of them with the old NASL? Obviously, there were many other factors in the NASL's failure but there's no question that that was one and a bloody big one as well.NASL's demise had little to do with the concept of foreigners on the pitch and everything to do with a) a small less-than-knowledgeable-about-soccer fanbase, b) poor media and outreach compared to this day and age, and c) a host of factors that made the league a money loser. Their TV money wasn't enough to stay afloat, their gate receipts were low, often having high rental fees, etc. If the league had been 100% American it still would've died because the fanbase wasn't there for pro soccer.

Is it fkcv!!! Sport is a business and is based on making money.

If people like Wenger had their way they'd be dragging in boatloads of bodies from the arsehole of nowhere on the basis that out of 1000 of them a few might be good. The plain truth is that if an English, Italian, German or Spanish lad is any good in their respective countries the price for him goes through the roof. It's much cheaper to bring a load of hopefuls from some backwater and train them up. Frankly who wants to watch a load of foreigners kick a football about. Once in a while in the WC, EC or CL it's fun but every week?

Wenger has let some good British lads go over the years who are now doing a decent job for other sides. Bentley and Pennant spring to mind but there are others.Bentley and Pennant are hardly shining beacons of star crossed talent, and anyone thinking they would even make the starting 11 at Ashburton Grove is delirious. Even Keown, who I liked, probably wouldn't add much right now. Let's face it, there's a reason the club let these players go and thus far the results speak for themselves.

Anyway, I don't see how having 5 home grown players is that much of a hardship if you have ANY pretensions about being a club that wants to develop talent.That's hardly a problem. It's the proposed limit on foreigners at 5 MAXIMUM that I'm concerned with. It would only serve to inflate the price of local talent because all of a sudden their value as roster fodder is worth more than their abilities on the pitch.

Here's what Mr. Blatter seemingly can't comprehend: If having local players is so important to a club, for financial reasons or fan appeal, then by god I hope that club is smart enough to pursue that direction. In the meantime I'll trust the club to do what's best for itself in trying to win and trying to earn money. Plans such as his will only serve to weaken many clubs and leagues across Europe by limiting the amount of African and Latin American talent brought in, and in time I bet that might also cost these leagues some of their international appeal. At the very least, make it a minimum of local talent and not such an extreme maximum on outside talent.

[Andy Bennett]

Plans such as his will only serve to weaken many clubs and leagues across Europe by limiting the amount of African and Latin American talent brought in, and in time I bet that might also cost these leagues some of their international appeal. At the very least, make it a minimum of local talent and not such an extreme maximum on outside talent.
I'll leave most of your comments aside because they essentially amount to 'screw you, we're alright!' but I will just point out that part of the reason the the initial enthusiasm wasn't sustained with the NASL was because people didn't identify with the players they watched.

Also it's worth saying that the idea of reducing the number of foreigners in club sides is that it doesn't just apply for England so the point you've made above is flat WRONG!!! It's precisely because their best players go abroad that club sides from Holland, France, Portugal, etc. have little chance of winning the major european competitions. Look what happened to Porto after 2004... they were stripped of all their best players like a carcass in the middle of a crowd of vultures. When I was younger many of the best sides came from those countries. Now they're usually just their to make the numbers up so your idea of this harming leagues and clubs across Europe is bullshit. It will do exactly the opposite.

[GriffinGunner]

I'll leave most of your comments aside because they essentially amount to 'screw you, we're alright!' but I will just point out that part of the reason the the initial enthusiasm wasn't sustained with the NASL was because people didn't identify with the players they watched.I'll concede I came off pretty strong but I promise that my intent was far from anything so off-putting. I'm sincere in my belief that the action will hurt many teams, not just my own favorites. I reacted the way I did because I hate how everyone attacks Arsenal for not being "English enough" when most every English player they consider ends up being bought by someone else for more than Arsenal wants to pay. It's as if people are upset Arsenal isn't going into debt so that can force Hargreaves onto the squad. Wishing you had more locals on the club, especially national team members, is one thing, but implying they should HAVE to do it even if it means costing them more money or fewer wins seems absurd to me. I honestly don't get it. To that end...

Also it's worth saying that the idea of reducing the number of foreigners in club sides is that it doesn't just apply for England so the point you've made above is flat WRONG!!! It's precisely because their best players go abroad that club sides from Holland, France, Portugal, etc. have little chance of winning the major european competitions. Look what happened to Porto after 2004... they were stripped of all their best players like a carcass in the middle of a crowd of vultures. When I was younger many of the best sides came from those countries. Now they're usually just their to make the numbers up so your idea of this harming leagues and clubs across Europe is bullshit. It will do exactly the opposite.

Maybe I'm not getting why this needs to be regulated. What is the big social ill we're trying to address? If it's to help national teams it seems a roundabout way of doing it. To say nothing of prohibiting some good players from possibly moving on to tougher competition that could in turn help the national team.

Is it to improve the level of club competition from smaller countries? If so I don't see how this particular measure will succeed in doing that in this new world market. Clubs in Portugal will always struggle, on average, to the powers from the bigger leagues because they cannot garner the broadcast and gate revenues as do the likes of ManU, Milan, Real, etc. Having a few more local stars among their ranks is unlikely to change this, while the bigger clubs will continue to max their international allotment of players to ensure they stay on top. Sure there'll be some short-term impacts or minor shuffling of the order, but I truly fail to see how this measure will do anything to significantly change the big picture in terms of quality of competition. Bigger/ambitious clubs will continue to lure quality players and coaches. For every good player not sold away from Bolton or Auxerre as a result of this rule, there's also one who ends up stuck in a middling club because their asking price is to high, even though he won't change the fortunes of that club.

I'm open to seeing what the positive objectives of this proposal are supposed to be, I just haven't found 'em other than forcing your/my favorite team to wear a decidedly local face. Which to hear some talk is nothing more than a veil for racism or some other cultural bias. :o

[Andy Bennett]

Just look at the position of clubs from the 'smaller' countries... there's the proof! This is all about multi-million dollar, (pound/euro/whatever), businesses making a profit - nothing else. They're the ones pushing for this in exactly the same way they want to keep a closed shop in the CL, G14 and elsewhere. The bodies that control football should do just that - control it. Not act like a trade union for vested interests that, quite frankly, don't give a toss about the game, the players, the fans or anyone else except their bottom line.

TBH I'm not blaming Arsenal or any other club for the position. As I've already said, they're just trying to survive in the market place. Don't forget it was my lot, Chelsea, that first put out 11 starting players who were all foreigners so this isn't a club v. club thing at all.

If it was suggested that there must be 11 home players on a team that would be going too far but I think having roughly 50% as a guide is not a bad starting point.