There Is No English Player Bubble

Steam is building behind the idea that a bubble in player valuations, specifically those of the English variety, now exists and is growing.  The cause?  Owners with too much money and too little sense.  The evidence? The recent transfers of young Englishmen Andy Carroll (£35m), Phil Jones (19.3m) and Jordan Henderson (18m) as well as others.  But the recent English love in is not the result of managers backed by reckless billionaire playboys, it is just a reflection of the new, more expensive English transfer market.

A bubble exists when prices in a market are significantly out of touch with the value of the goods or services being traded.   Continue reading “There Is No English Player Bubble”

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There Is No English Player Bubble

25 Man Squads and Homegrown Players

English international players have been on the move this summer.  The high priced transfers of Jordan Henderson and Phil Jones have caught all the attention but proven internationals Ashley Young and Stewart Downing have also commanded high fees near the end of their contracts.  All this has contributed to talk of a English player ‘bubble’ fed by chairmen with too much money and too little sense.

In actuality what is likely driving the premium for English players are the Premier League’s rules governing squad composition.  The 2010-2011 season was the first year in which the League introduced a squad cap of 25 players and a quota for home-grown players.  Continue reading “25 Man Squads and Homegrown Players”

25 Man Squads and Homegrown Players