DigitalTron
16 Feb 2008, 12:05 PM
[Note to moderators: Please do not change the title of this thread, but if you insist on using your power to change the title, please do not make it something offensive.]
Sepp Blatter has been backing his so-called "six plus five" rule, where it would require 6 players on the starting lineup to be eligible for the national team in the league where they play.
Now, he's trying to shoehorn this rule through. In this article (http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3152609,00.html), he says as much. The most salient part of the article states:
"And after warning the Football Association it risks losing the bid for the 2018 World Cup if the Premier League went ahead with the global proposal, English football's governing body could be under pressure to vote in favour of Blatter's 'six plus five' rule"
In theory I like this rule because it gives a more nationalistic feel to the leagues. Everyone wants to see a handful of their own players at their hometown club, it's only natural and I think it's good for the game.
But in practice this rule is jingoistic and not very good. First of all it's illegal, and I've made that point many times in the past. EU law prevents discrimination based upon nationality--which is exactly what this rule would do. It's arguable that there are enough spots available both in the non-nationalist starting lineup and among the non-starters to get past that law, but I highly doubt the EU is dumb enough to create a precedent for breaking one of it's most central unifying laws.
Additionally, we'd see more and more mercenaries skipping out on their national teams simply to qualify for a better league. For instance, Miroslav Klose and Lukasz Podolski both qualified to represent Poland based on the fact that their heritage was predominantly Polish ... but they of course opted to represent Germany, where their careers would be bettered. Then you have the Brazilians who change nationalities to get shots at other country's national teams. A rule such as Blatters "six plus five" rule would only exacerbate this situation, and instead of having 6 people currently viewed as Englishmen starting, you'd have more internationals changing their national allegiences to qualify.
It would certainly benefit a club like Spurs where we have been growing English talent, and a club like Manchester United who can buy that talent from other clubs, but IMHO, it would put a severe restriction on the Blackburns, Boltons, and Birminham City's of the world who couldn't compete financially with those players and would be forced to play substantially lesser quality local players.
The only really good thing I can see is that it would be great for development, as more local players would be pushed to first team duty, and a few would likely blossom.
Your thoughts?
-Digtital
Sepp Blatter has been backing his so-called "six plus five" rule, where it would require 6 players on the starting lineup to be eligible for the national team in the league where they play.
Now, he's trying to shoehorn this rule through. In this article (http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3152609,00.html), he says as much. The most salient part of the article states:
"And after warning the Football Association it risks losing the bid for the 2018 World Cup if the Premier League went ahead with the global proposal, English football's governing body could be under pressure to vote in favour of Blatter's 'six plus five' rule"
In theory I like this rule because it gives a more nationalistic feel to the leagues. Everyone wants to see a handful of their own players at their hometown club, it's only natural and I think it's good for the game.
But in practice this rule is jingoistic and not very good. First of all it's illegal, and I've made that point many times in the past. EU law prevents discrimination based upon nationality--which is exactly what this rule would do. It's arguable that there are enough spots available both in the non-nationalist starting lineup and among the non-starters to get past that law, but I highly doubt the EU is dumb enough to create a precedent for breaking one of it's most central unifying laws.
Additionally, we'd see more and more mercenaries skipping out on their national teams simply to qualify for a better league. For instance, Miroslav Klose and Lukasz Podolski both qualified to represent Poland based on the fact that their heritage was predominantly Polish ... but they of course opted to represent Germany, where their careers would be bettered. Then you have the Brazilians who change nationalities to get shots at other country's national teams. A rule such as Blatters "six plus five" rule would only exacerbate this situation, and instead of having 6 people currently viewed as Englishmen starting, you'd have more internationals changing their national allegiences to qualify.
It would certainly benefit a club like Spurs where we have been growing English talent, and a club like Manchester United who can buy that talent from other clubs, but IMHO, it would put a severe restriction on the Blackburns, Boltons, and Birminham City's of the world who couldn't compete financially with those players and would be forced to play substantially lesser quality local players.
The only really good thing I can see is that it would be great for development, as more local players would be pushed to first team duty, and a few would likely blossom.
Your thoughts?
-Digtital