English football is breeding quality cubs

File: England players warm up during a training session in Stockholm, Sweden, on November 13, 2012 on the eve of the friendly match vs Sweden. (Getty Images)

There are many youngsters spanning the English footballing world, some of them ply their trade in the top flight while others prefer the more silent yet emerging lower tiers. The future of the national team is bright, but with the dominance of teams such as Spain, Germany and Brazil, England haven’t been the bookie’s bet. Some would blame that on the current crop of players, others on the manager and honestly, it isn’t either of them. Spain dominate the game because of their fluidic movement, Germans enjoy sweating it out and the Brazilians bring in a sense of panache to the game.

England, albeit all the talent they possess, try to incorporate bits and parts of all the aforementioned qualities. This is not because the coaching system is bad, but because the players are in a league that doesn’t allow time and space for monopoly. Germany has always been dominated by Bayern Munich’s, Spain by either Real Madrid or Barcelona‘s, Italy by Juventus or Inter Milan and Netherlands is Ajax’s. England, on the other hand, have Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool.

You may argue saying all the leagues have 3-4 teams that are strong and that would be true, but look at a fixture like Napoli vs. Milan and compare that to, say, Arsenal vs. Manchester United, which would people choose? The truth is, the English game has good players throughout the league and is thus ‘the best league in the world’.

As great as that sounds, it harms the national team. There are few clubs in England that are preventing this from happening, and the two most successful ones would be Manchester United and Arsenal.

The English talents that span these two teams alone make English football a future success. United have quality players in the likes of Tom Cleverley, Phil Jones, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young, Chris Smalling and Danny Welbeck. Arsenal have Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieren Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson and Jack Wilshere.

Liverpool provide a few more and so do Chelsea, Everton and City. The youngsters are spread across the table and, indeed, it makes them better players but it also diverges a common footballing style for the national team. Barcelona and Real Madrid are basically the Spanish team. Bayern Munich and Dortmund, Juventus and Milan; you get the trend.

The two of the best managers England has ever seen, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, indirectly, acknowledge this trend and are basing their teams around a core of English talent. This benefits both parties in establishing a team for the future.

Getting to the team, in defence, England has a great future. They have Smalling, Gary Cahill, Michael Dawson and Steven Caulker at the back. Smalling has been struggling but when he’s fit, he’s one of the rising stars in English football. Cahill and Dawson are proving themselves at the moment and it looks like they will nail down their spots if they carry on playing like they are. Joe Hart in goal is pretty much going be No.1 for quite a while, considering his performances. However, Stoke City’s Jack Butland is improving at an alarming rate.

England have full-backs aplenty. On the left: Leighton Baines, Gibbs and Kyle Naughton (who can play on the opposite flank) and on the right, Kyle Walker, Jenkinson and Glen Johnson; all the six are comparatively young and they can play on for the country for a while to come. They’ve proven themselves in the league and are leading their respective roles for their clubs.

The midfield is the best part of the team, Wilshere, Cleverley, Jones, AOC, Walcott, James Milner, Ross Barkley, Raheem Sterling, Young and Josh McEachran among others. They are all young, established and have shown great early promise. And with Steven Gerrard leading the current side, they can learn from experienced players like him.

Up front, they have the proven Rooney along with Andy Carroll, Daniel Sturridge and Welbeck. They all have extremely different styles of play and bring various dimensions into the attack.

Put all these players together and you get a very formidable side capable of winning matches. Of course, they need a good coach and Roy Hodgson is one, but when he decides to give way for someone, England need to appoint a new-age manager, someone like an Andre Villas-Boas or Brendan Rodgers. Someone young and energetic, who brings in a new approach towards the game.

England did have a great side a while back and then they chocked. But given time, it shouldn’t be long again before the Three Lions start winning trophies again.