English players

[Charlie Sweet]

It's a bit mad that mentioning the number of English players in our team is considered "Reform-y".

Is it Reform-y to talk about all the English players in the Arsenal squad - like Eze, Madueke, Saka, Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri and Nelson?

First roundabouts and lamp posts and now threads on here. World has gone crazy.

 

[Marcus Kendall]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but our starting XI on Sunday had an unusually high number of English players for a top flight game.

Pickford, Garner, Tarkowski, Keane, Iroegbunam, Dewsbury-Hall, and Grealish. Throw in O'Brien from Ireland and its almost like the 80s.

I don't care where our players come from, as long as they give their all, but I can't help liking the proliferation of relatively local players in our set-up. Kind of reminds me of the days before Sky invented football.

It's important to me as I like the English/Irish/British identity thing as I wasn't a fan of the axeing of the foreign player restriction rule. I would prefer more scousers in the team saying that but when you see our lovable neighbours not field 1 English player on the opening day I'm proud that we represent England

 

[Charles Hawtrey]

Alt Thread:

Non-English Players:

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but our starting XI on Sunday had an unusually LOW number of NON-English WHITE players for a top flight game.

Gana, Barry, N'Diaye . Throw in IROEGBUNAM from BIRMINGHAM and its almost like WEST BROM IN the 80s.

I don't care where our players come from, as long as they give their all, but I can't help NOTICING the proliferation of relatively NON WHITE players in our set-up. Kind of reminds me of the days before RACISM WAS OUTLAWED IN football.

 

[MikeyMike]

Alt Thread:

Non-English Players:

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but our starting XI on Sunday had an unusually LOW number of NON-English WHITE players for a top flight game.

Gana, Barry, N'Diaye . Throw in IROEGBUNAM from BIRMINGHAM and its almost like WEST BROM IN the 80s.

I don't care where our players come from, as long as they give their all, but I can't help NOTICING the proliferation of relatively NON WHITE players in our set-up. Kind of reminds me of the days before RACISM WAS OUTLAWED IN football.

That’s a bit weird mate

 

[Charles Hawtrey]

That’s a bit weird mate

I thought the original post was veiled racism and wanted to pull back the veil. Admittedly it does seem wierd on reading it back.

 

[MikeyMike]

Veiled racism? Read the rest of my comments, particularly about Arsenal players, then give your head a thorough wobble.

Unless you think black players born in England aren’t English of course.

 

[Yarrgh]

I'm going to paint the Everton crest on the local roundabout.

Seriously though, I would love to see a substantial number of the squad having come up through the academy and be dyed in the wool blues. But there's plenty of non local players who will always be welcome back and long may that continue.

 

[Ged G]

Two of those have Irish caps and Dewsbury Hall qualifies also.

And your point is?
If DNA tests were done every player would qualify for numerous countries.

 

[Neiler]

And your point is?
If DNA tests were done every player would qualify for numerous countries.

They prob don’t give caps for DNA test mate.

 

[Ged G]

They prob don’t give caps for DNA test mate.

I was tongue in cheek mate...

 

[Bedfordblue]

 

[Dddddd]

This thread has a faint whiff of nationalism, so I've informed PREVENT about it. Expect a door knock from your local constabulary.

“Hello officer I’d like to make a complaint……my name? Jimmy flangemoth, f-l-a-n-g……officer????”

 

[Neiler]

But they were all born and raised in England. I mean, most of the England team qualifies to play for other nations, but it doesn't mean they're not English does it?

Just to make it clear, what I said was that seven of the starting XI players were English. I wasn't talking about their parents, or their grandparents, or their skin colour, or whether they stand up for the national anthem or boo it. I wasn't saying they couldn't choose to play for other countries if they were good enough, or that they knew the words to all the Beatles songs, or who they voted for.

Just that we had more English players than most Premier League teams in our starting line up.

I think nationality identity is a fluid concept mate, there are plenty of people born and raised in England who identify as Irish - someone like Jude Bellingham has an Irish passport. Oasis we can all accept were born in Manchester, England but consider themselves Irish.

Same way say someone like Owen Hargreeves was born in Canada but identifies himself as English, or Raheem Sterling born in Jamaica but identifies as English.

I think we have to be careful not to impose our sense of nationality onto someone’s identity, which is often flues or mixed, as I pointed out two of the lads you mentioned represented a different country, so there sense of nationality onto identity may be mixed.

 

[Ged G]

Veiled racism? Read the rest of my comments, particularly about Arsenal players, then give your head a thorough wobble.

Unless you think black players born in England aren’t English of course.

I understood you mate.
Ps. I'll probably be called racist now...

 

[tommye]

Alt Thread:

Non-English Players:

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but our starting XI on Sunday had an unusually LOW number of NON-English WHITE players for a top flight game.

Gana, Barry, N'Diaye . Throw in IROEGBUNAM from BIRMINGHAM and its almost like WEST BROM IN the 80s.

I don't care where our players come from, as long as they give their all, but I can't help NOTICING the proliferation of relatively NON WHITE players in our set-up. Kind of reminds me of the days before RACISM WAS OUTLAWED IN football.