What do you think?

Hey all,

I was just considering the different registration rules for different competitions, and in Spain for example - you're only allowed to register 3 Non-Eu's for the league. Where as in England for example the rules are far more relaxed in that respect. Meaning in Spain theres much more of a need to develop and focus on home grown talent, and far less reliance can be placed on 'foreign' players. I was just giving this some thought and was wondering if,

(1)In Euro competitions i.e. Champions League this gives English teams and teams from countries with less stringent registration rules a bigger advantage, as they have a greater 'pool' of player s to select

(2)Is this why, maybe we've seen teams like Russia and Spain do so well in International competitions, because strict domestic league rules enforcing the use of home grown players mean greater benefits for their national team?

firstly the rules for the champions league arent the same as the leagues. for instance and someone correct me if im wrong but you have to have 4 players between 16 and 21 trained directly by the club. 8 then and the 4 before can be used have to have been trained in the nation your playing in (eg 4 homegrown by the club and 4 others who have been trained either by the club or another club in the same nation). and a maximum of 25 players can only be registered meaning that there is still 17 spaces for any nationed player.

secondly i believe that being the truth about if you have all the clubs in a naton training youngsters and having to play them eventually sucess will come. spain are a prime example and i really do believe homegrown players will bring success to the nation they are representing. again just my thoughts but the premier league has probably one of the most if not the most foreigners in a league. looking at other major nations. holland, germany, italy spain and portugal all seem to have much higher homegrown players playing.

at a glance of stats i think this seasons premier league has only 35% homegrown talent which is realitivity low and i expect thats a higher figure due to promoted clubs since as norwich, qpr and swansea in particular

In regards to point 1, no I don't think that is the case. Spain treats the countries who signed the Cotonou agreement, Russia and Turkey as EU as well. So that gives them 100+ countries to look at that won't count towards their non-EU allowance. If anything, with the work permit regulations in the UK, I think it is easier for the Spanish teams. So I wouldn't say Spain has strict regulations.

firstly the rules for the champions league arent the same as the leagues

Yes you are absoloutley right. Though I think that, for example a spanish team wouldnt have a 4th non-eu player just to register for the champions league and not play for the rest of the season, where as in England for example that 4th non eu player can play all league games and champions league. I hope that is clear =)

With regards to your second point I completley agree too. I beleive there is much value to be placed on promoting youth and home grown talent.

Do you think the FA and domestic authorites should take more responsibility in enforcing stricter rules to encourage more involvement of native players?

Er, this is not a topic for General Discussion of Football Manager!