LONDON — England has the wealthiest soccer league in the world, with matches screened across the globe and business tycoons from the United States, Russia and Asia lining up to own the clubs.
So why can’t England put 11 Englishmen on the field to succeed on the international level? Steve McClaren became the latest coach to pay the price Thursday, getting fired after England’s 3-2 loss Wednesday at home to Croatia meant the team failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championship.
While the likes of World Cup champion Italy, Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands and Portugal will be out to try to take the title away from Greece, England’s stars — including David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen — will have to watch the games on TV.
The Football Association now has plenty of time to search for a coach who can lift the nation credited with establishing the modern game to the same level.
Just one World Cup triumph on home soil back in 1966 isn’t much of a return for one of the high-profile soccer nations. Coaches such as Bobby Robson, Kevin Keegan, Glenn Hoddle and Sven-Goran Eriksson couldn’t even get the team to a championship final.
McClaren fared far worse: It’s the first time England has failed to qualify for a major championship since the 1994 World Cup, and first failure to reach the Euros since 1984.
So just what is eating at English soccer? Perhaps the fact that foreigners outnumber English players 2-1 in Premier League starting lineups.
Arsenal regularly fields lineups without a single Englishman.
The Gunners have finished in the top four every season for over a decade, and lead the league this season.
Manchester United, a nine- time Premier League winner in the past 15 seasons, sometimes has up to five Englishmen in the lineup but often has only two.
Chelsea and Liverpool rarely have more than three Englishmen. These four clubs are the only ones which regularly win titles or reach finals.
Thanks to enormous TV contracts, Premier League clubs can pay big salaries. That has helped attract stars from Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Portugal and France.
