Barry the bird bogglerayjaydee Stats on the BBC website show that only 35 players under 21 were given game time in the Prem last season. No real surprise but not a huge pool to pick from. Also only 30% of all players are qualified for England (50%+ in germany) Got to have a bit of sympathy for England managers at both 21 and senior levels.
One of the benefits of having the supposed best league in the world
It's a bit misleading though isn't it? Especially as the stats up there aren't quite what the article on the BBC says. The 30% is actually 43% of players eligible for England, which is adimittedly still lower than Italy (46%), Germany (55%) and Spain (62%).
There are a similar number of minutes played in England and Italy by U21s qualified for their respective nahtions but it doesn't stop Italy putting together a much more cohesive team than we did.
As for only 35 players getting Premier League experience, that obviously doesn't cater for the fact that many good players like Zaha, McEachran, Chabolah, Ince and Butland all played a lot in the Championship last year which is a better standard than a lot of their opposition played at.
There is an issue with the number of players we're producing but I think the much bigger problem is the way those players were used. Pearce, as he did last time around, didn't know he best team and made all sorts of changes between games and the side just didn't look anywhere near as organised or familiar with each other as Italy or Norway, let alone the Dutch, Spanish or Germans.
ZacNaloen They beat Norway twice without conceeding in the qualifiers.
TWICE. Once on a 3G pitch.
But they couldn't cope in the tournament?
There's something more wrong than just their technical ability.
Spot on. The players are decent enough but the way they've been thrown together by Pearce obviously hasn't worked.
Would it have been different if Pearce had the likes of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sterling, Jones, Rodwell, Walker and even Wilshire? Of course it would. They're all better than the players that played but half of them are injured and some went away with the Senior side.
If they'd played would they then be burnt out by next summers World Cup? Would we yet again be castigated the clubs and the FA for putting too many demands on young players? Of course we would. I think the trip to Brazil and some extra rest will probably benefit the likes of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Phil Jones more than another tournament.