Foreign Players Debate

By: David Peasgood
Date: 19/09/2000

The Foreign Players Debate

David Peasgood this week finds Fred and Bert have been have been watching the premiership with interest.
Hear their views and YOU decide in our latest 'fishy' poll.

The Foreign Players Debate

FRED:
Did you see match of the day last night?

BERT:
You know I did.

FRED:
How do I?

BERT:
We live together. You was sat next to me.

FRED:
Oh yeah. Anyway this Liverpool team. It's all foreigners near enough. I couldn't believe it. I mean what happened to all the good scousers and British lads. Chelsea maybe but good old Liverpool.

BERT:
But it's the same everywhere. Some of these teams are like Norwegian or Icelandic national sides when you hear the names.

FRED:
Yeah but we need our British lads playing if they are gonna get up to world class for the Euro and World cups.

BERT:
I think everyone sees that but the clubs need good players to compete at premiership level and can't afford the British transfer fees. Norwegians and the like come cheap. Even the Mariners are trialling a Spaniard and a German.

FRED:
Well that's just daft. If British fees are too high then no-one pays them so they should come down. Market forces and all that.

BERT:
Should but don't. Look at Hartson for instance touted at 7 or 8 million and even average youngsters who are automatically 2 or 3 million. We can't complain cos we got over a million each for Oster and Croft and they've hardly starred.

FRED:
A million for a premiership reserve player is about par for the course. What are we going to do about it?

BERT:
Probably nothing. Maybe the Bosman 2 deal knocking out transfer fees will sort it, but I think we should limit foreigners to say a maximum of three playing in any side.

FRED:
Do Scotland and Wales count as foreign?

BERT:
Well maybe not. Dunno. There'd need to be some fine tuning on the rules and so on. But for the future of British Soccer we need something like that or Keegan will be watching div 1 or premiership reserve games to finds his team soon.

FRED:
I think he does already...and it shows in the performances... Of course As soon as we put limits on teams some euro court will rule that we're restricting trade.

BERT:
Yeah it never stops does it. How we miss the old days eh. Bestall and Glover.

FRED:
George Tweedy an all eh. In those days of course the ball was real leather and when it was wet it weighed ten pounds.. If you headed it then you had lace marks on your forehead for a fortnight afterwards....

BERT:
ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......

Now for the vote...

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