woof woof ! » Tue May 08, 2012 9:06 am wrote:Basil » Tue May 08, 2012 9:00 am wrote:
Liverpool were always criticised during the Houllier and Benitez years for not having enough British players so we tried to change it and sign a core of British talent. We had to pay premium prices and perhaps it hasn't worked as well as we'd hoped but I'm sure we've realised that and we will now try to sign the best players we can, whatever their nationality.
Believe me, I'm no little Englander, I'm not even English and I would like a successful Liverpool team whatever the nationality of the players but I will support this club through good times and bad times and I don't think it's helpful to criticise everything and everybody at this club if things don't go as well as we hope.
Our recent recruitment of predominately English players may have more to do with the home grown ruling than any supposed criticism received during the Rafa or Houllier era.
If I remember correctly we're allowed to register a 25 man squad of players over the age of 21, 8 of whom must be "home grown".
The 8 home grown players can be any nationality but before the age of 21 they must have spent three years at a club affiliated to the English or Welsh FA.
This may explain in part why we bought players like Carrol, Henderson and Downing.
I don't think the numbers in terms of just those three players adds up given that we could have retained Cole, Ayala and and Insua last summer in order to meet those regulations.