This country is probably the hardest to get the international team to its peak because of the Premier League. “The biggest problem for England is the Premier League — it’s bigger than the international stage,” says Sam Allardyce, who warns the Football Association about the shadow when interviewed for the England job in 2006. And of course the greater it grows the more it diminishes the player availability for England level. Allardyce is a far deeper thinker than his slightly Mike Bassett public billing suggests“How many has Roy Hodgson got in total? “The Premier League’s almighty, and growing even greater.

Source: The Times July 21, 2016 23:03 UTC