Southall challenges FA's top-down approach

, 29 May, 0comments  |  Jump to most recent
Neville Southall says that the Football Association's proposals to boost the number of English players in the Premier League is fundamentally flawed without focusing first on the grassroots game.

FA chairman Greg Dyke revealed the recommendations of the England Commission this month which include the idea of creating a new Football League Three between the current League Two and the Conference made up partially of Premier League B teams.

The B sides would have a ceiling at the top of League One that would prevent them being promoted to the Championship but the suggestion has proved controversial.

Southall, whose route to the top started with his job as a binman, insists that any serious efforts to address the problems affecting the domestic game can't start from the top.

"You always start at the bottom and work your way up, you don't start at the top and work your way down," he told Press Association Sport.

"When they start building houses from the roof down, I'll agree with it but they never do."

"What we need are real facilities and ones that won't cost everyone a fortune to use.

"If we don't make football more accessible for the masses it won't matter how many B teams you've got because you won't have anybody to fill them."

The FA's aim through the proposals is to increase the number of English players in the top flight from 32% to 45% by the year 2022 and thereby strengthen the prospects of the England national team.

 



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