EPL: Jose's right, the lack of exposure is stifling

I have to say I find it quite funny that Jose Mourinho dislikes the number of foreign coaches there are in England.

He is a Portuguese manager holding one of the biggest jobs in England at Chelsea, and he is commenting on foreign managers in the country.

He’s box-office stuff, isn’t he?

Jokes aside, I have to agree with Mourinho (right) as there’s no reason to suggest that British managers are behind their counterparts on the continent.

Given the number of foreign players who ply their trade in the Premier League today — some of whom are among the best in the world — I feel that British managers are perfectly capable of working elsewhere.

The main problem, however, is that English football sold its soul to the devil — the Premier League — years ago.

There is so much money in the English game today that there isn’t any incentive for players and managers to move abroad to broaden their horizons.

Why would you venture overseas when you’re picking up a hundred or two hundred grand a week in the Premier League?

Foreign ownership has also played its part in hindering the English game by creating a result-oriented culture.

RESULTS

These owners will want to see results in return for their massive investments, and you can’t fault them for that.

However, that means you can’t expect them to care for the state of the game in England. This scenario is very different in Germany.

There, you have German owners who care about German football, unlike foreign owners in England who have no interest is developing English footballers.

You only need to look at the academies of English clubs and compare them to academies elsewhere in Europe.

It would make an interesting study to compare the percentage of local kids in club academies, but owners in England couldn’t care less if their youngsters were homegrown or if they came from Timbuktu as long as they produce results.

While Mourinho advocates for British managers to try their hand at jobs overseas, the lack of demand for them outside of England is worrying for me.

If an Englishman like Sam Allardyce were sacked tomorrow, you won’t find a queue of foreign clubs lining up for his services.

I fear that coaches and players from England have a stigma that they’re only about playing the long ball.

As for players, other than the likes of Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard, which English footballer can compete with Neymar or Lionel Messi?

And, like the English managers, they earn too much at home to want to risk it anywhere else. Can things change?

The only way I see forward is when English sides start showing more faith in local talent, both in management and in their selection of players.

Otherwise, all these factors will continue to perpetuate a vicious cycle that can only be to the detriment of English football

Get The New Paper for more stories.