The percentage of English players in starting line-ups fell below one third on the opening weekend of the Barclays Premier League campaign, fuelling the FA’s concerns about a lack of opportunities for home-grown youngsters.
Of the 220 players who started for top-flight clubs at the weekend, only 73 were eligible to play for England. That constitutes a figure of 33.2 per cent, a marked decrease from last season’s figure of 35 per cent and a dramatic fall from 69 per cent in 1992-93, when the Premier League was launched.
The division already had by far the lowest proportion of home-grown players among the leading leagues in Europe. Last season’s corresponding figures in the top divisions in Spain, France, Germany and Italy were 58, 56, 48