Quote Originally Posted by ItsMe View Post
What about France then, they've been awful for a while....and Morrocco.

The players we sign aren't even internationals sometimes so I don't see what the England international team has to do with signing English players to be honest.

Ian Wright struggled internationally yet he was a great player.
you're right that international set ups aren't reflective of the players abilities in their respective leagues, portugal were another example in the last decade and spain for donkeys years.

when we talk about foreign players ability to adapt to the prem, it mostly means the spine of the team, so cb, dm, st. there is something to be said about homegrown players having that natural instinct to play a certain way, whether it's england, spain, italy. the right mix usually tends to be half and half, as we look at utd, chelsea and now city - our success contained more home nation players.

that said i think the bottom line is about the players suitability. petit and vieira were made for the prem, toure is a decent defender vidic is fantastic, makelele invented a role for the english game! if wenger could sign players that were ready made without having to integrate them from youth then that would be the perfect world but he hasn't and doesn't look like he will.