Hmm, yes they would like us to think that it was about coaching. That neatly switches attention away from the club over country ethos that has held back our national side for years. It has meant £millions being pumped into the youth game and an endless stream of talent stepping onto the conveyor belt of... the lower leagues and the subs bench. Another obvious problem.

However, players like the ones you cite have forced their way passed expensive overseas ready-mades into first team premiership games... only to be played out of position or when unfit when selected for the national side in order to satisfy the dictates of a few elite clubs and powerful sponsors.

The question is not about coaching, although that always needs addressing. It is about the corruptive control by a handful of vested interests that somehow do not dominate other leagues. How on earth have the Spanish managed to have the best league on the planet without sacrificing their national team? We have the second best league with an abundance of talent which, if properly channelled, should achieve a success ratio equivalent to the Germans. That we constantly fail in that department is not so much about grass roots nurturing but what we do with what comes out at the other end of the sausage machine.

I agree with most of what you say, silvertop, but payment to the players is not a factor.
The players set up their own charity about 10 years ago, whereby their match fees go to good causes.
As far as I know it is still ongoing.

Is this a five minute argument, or the full half hour? [Link]

Shearer should be in charge of designing the shirts. That should at least distract from the awful football England play.