Season › 2013-14 › News Elstone backs Premier League firepit Michael Kenrick , 11 October, 0comments | Jump to most recent Robert Elstone has been stirred to write a passionate defence of the Premier League as being the best possible environment for the development of English youth players, with the number and quality of top foreign players creating the highest standards, insinuating that the real problems regarding 'England FC' lie elsewhere... I write as a committed ‘Premier Leagueist' but I'm certain those in the game know which organisation has transformed the fortunes of English football, has put our game back on the map, has put respectability back into our game. The world's most admired, envied and respected League is ours. And it's not just about the money. The Premier League has created the most demanding and competitive league in the world where only the best survive. The Premier League has created the perfect environment to develop world class players, a research and development laboratory with maximum stress testing and the potential for true Darwinian outcomes. It is the political capital leveraged by the revelation that ‘only' 30% of total minutes played in the Premier League is English that has moved me to write. It's hardly revelatory, it's something we've known for a while, and, it is claimed to reveal the root of the problem, our League is full of foreigners. But maybe we should consider whether ‘full' is a problem. How many great players do we actually need to win a World Cup? The Belgians might do it with fifteen? 30% is actually quite a big number when you consider they're playing in the most demanding League in the world. Read his full blog at the link below... Quotes or other material sourced from EvertonFC.com About these ads © ToffeeWeb