Foreigners for England

[Barry the bird boggler]

So what's your take on this then? Should England not make full use of the qualification rules that allow "naturalised foreigners" to play for them. It hasn't done Germany any harm. Or should we stick to the tried and trusted success of English born and bred only?

And then who would qualify if the managment were to make full use of the rules; while we wouldn't opt for Almunia, Arteta could be a useful addition - if he wanted to of course.

[Hoop Blah]

English born and bred only?

Not sure that's alwasys been the case, but generally I'd much rather see the England team made up of 'genuine' Englishmen than assimilated foreigners whose only connection is that a club over here has employed them for long enough to be eligible.

[TBM]

tbh i think we should be picking the best players who qualify to play for England - if the rule is there then exploit it

[Kitson12]

Arteta anyone?

[Big Foot]

tbh i think we should be picking the best players who qualify to play for England - if the rule is there then exploit it

Agreed

Arteta in central midfield just behind Rooney would be awesome

[Row Z Royal]

tbh i think we should be picking the best players who qualify to play for England - if the rule is there then exploit it

Agreed

Arteta in central midfield just behind Rooney would be awesome

100% with this. If these players are over here, good enough and "at home" then sign 'em up. I'd say that a fluent English-speaking and honourary Liverpudlian Arteta qualifies more for England than James Harper does for Ghana.

[Royal Lady]

Whatever happened to Cudicini being eligible to play for England?

[Wax Jacket]

a succession of managers kept dropping him

[TBM]

Whatever happened to Cudicini being eligible to play for England?

Hart >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Cudicini

[papereyes]

So what's your take on this then? Should England not make full use of the qualification rules that allow "naturalised foreigners" to play for them. It hasn't done Germany any harm. Or should we stick to the tried and trusted success of English born and bred only?

And then who would qualify if the managment were to make full use of the rules; while we wouldn't opt for Almunia, Arteta could be a useful addition - if he wanted to of course.

I thought a great deal of Germany's 'naturalised foreigners' were actually born in Germany (like Ozil, Aogo, Gomez, Boateng) ...

[Y21_Royal]

So what's your take on this then? Should England not make full use of the qualification rules that allow "naturalised foreigners" to play for them. It hasn't done Germany any harm. Or should we stick to the tried and trusted success of English born and bred only?

And then who would qualify if the managment were to make full use of the rules; while we wouldn't opt for Almunia, Arteta could be a useful addition - if he wanted to of course.

I thought a great deal of Germany's 'naturalised foreigners' were actually born in Germany (like Ozil, Aogo, Gomez, Boateng) ...

They all are but Podolski, Klose, Trochowski and Cacau who played at the World Cup were all born in other countries.

Other countries have done it with mixed results but generally its between countries with a shared background and culture eg Deco playing Portugal, Senna for Spain & Vieira for France.

I think it's probably down to the individual though. Would Arteta even want to play for England?

Regardless, it would be a slightly sad state of affairs when we need to turn to naturalized foreigners that aren't good enough to play for their own countries to fill in.

[Wax Jacket]

we don't need to though, the option's there and they're thinking about it. Arteta would complicate the midfield argument further in any case.

[papereyes]

Podolski, Klose and Trochowski are a very different kettle to Cacau.

My hunch was that all three came from families that were German before the 1930s/1940s.
They were certainly not naturalised relatively late in their careers.

I think one of the big things with Germany was that a great deal of different populations/ethnicities that have a strong football culture live in Germany and have done so for some time. These people were either born in Germany or born to ethnic Germans.

[TBM]

that aren't good enough to play for their own countries to fill in.

Not always the case - the Spanish midfield is so strong not even Fabregas can get in.....it all depends if the player just wants international football or to play for their country they were born in. A lot of the Ireland team aren't Irish but qualify via a family member.....same instance, surely?!

[Wax Jacket]

I think one of the big things with Germany was that a great deal of different populations/ethnicities that have a strong football culture live in Germany and have done so for some time. These people were either born in Germany or born to ethnic Germans.

(devil's advocate) which makes them as German as Deco is Portuguese

[papereyes]

Depends how far back Deco's family go, dunnit?

[Y21_Royal]

that aren't good enough to play for their own countries to fill in.

Not always the case - the Spanish midfield is so strong not even Fabregas can get in.....it all depends if the player just wants international football or to play for their country they were born in. A lot of the Ireland team aren't Irish but qualify via a family member.....same instance, surely?!

Regardless, Arteta isn't good enough for the Spain squad (according to a succession of coaches) so by definition we'd be taking their rejects.

I agree with your second point. I had no problem with Owen Hargreaves playing for England because he gave everything for the cause and was proud to wear the shirt. If Arteta, or anyone else, felt the same then I'd have no problem with it. The problem would come if they wanted to play just to experience a major championships.

[Y21_Royal]

Depends how far back Deco's family go, dunnit?

If we go down that road then I think we could all make a case for representing Sudan

[papereyes]

Depends how far back Deco's family go, dunnit?

If we go down that road then I think we could all make a case for representing Sudan

Well, no.
The point was we're explicitly not going down that road.

[brendywendy]

personally i think id take arteta in a heartbeat- just make him change his name to micheal arthurton or summat