Quote Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman View Post
That might have been relevant in the past, but the current England squad undoubtedly contains some of the very best talent in the top flight regardless of their nationality.

Your first post on the subject started: "Years ago to be picked for England it meant that you were the best player, or one of them, in your club side."

I don't think the situation is any different now.
It was relevant in the past, that’s why I started with the words ‘Years ago’. Yes, they’ve got some talented players but there aren’t many who are their club’s star turn. 7 out of 22 wasn’t an impressive total in the Chelsea/Man City final. I s’pose I’m posing the age old question, has the Premier League’s riches and ability to lure the world’s top talent been detrimental to the English National side? Has the pool of talent become shallower? Or, perhaps some would argue, it’s improved it, as the few who play regular for the top teams must be exceptional to live with such company. England are yet to show evidence of any continued improvement though, relatively easy passage to the World Cup semis apart, where a hard working Croatian side did for them.