It seems as though the newly appointed Chairman of the English Football Association has already got a huge thumbs up from the Premier League.
The English national team and the Premier Leagueโs elite will now be pulling in the same direction.
New FA Chairman Greg Dyke has struck a deal with the Premier League clubs to work together to develop the best young talent in England. The FA have set up a commission which will try to boost the number of England players playing regularly in the Premier League.
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Premier League Chairman Anthony Fry was adamant that more should be done to bring through young talent and is delighted to work alongside the FA to achieve this.
โIt is evident from discussions with the clubs that there is a strong desire to see greater numbers of England-qualified players coming through their Academy systems that are capable of performing at both Premier League and international standard.โ
Previously both parties had been heading in different directions but now they seem to be working together as last week Dyke revealed his masterplan to get the PL and FA working together to boast the Three Lionsโ chances of success. And coincidentally Dyke was one of the leading figures who helped set up the Premier League in the early 1990s, with many believing thatโs exactly why he was given the role of FA Chairman to help liaise between the Governing Body and the league.
And following a very positive meeting with the chairman of all 20 PL clubs on Thursday, Dyke revealed his delight that the FA commission he set up will now work in tandem with the Premier League to try and develop more English talent for Roy Hodgson and future England managers to choose from.
I am very keen that the commission work with everyone in football and particularly the Premier League, both as an organization and its individual member clubs. Clearly they have a lot to contribute to the process. I am pleased that the Premier League clubs, board and executive all want to contribute to the commission I am setting up. There is a great deal of knowledge there and I am sure we will be able to find some very concrete ways of improving the pool of talent available to England managers.
There is no quick-fix to this lack of English talent in the Premier League. But Dyke seems to be making this topic his number one priority as the FA seeks to increase the levels of English players competing regularly in Englandโs top division. However quite how he will solve this issue remains to be seen as many of his predecessors tried and failed miserably to get PL clubs to put their own agendas to one side, in a bid to produce more young players for the English national team.
This commission between the FA and Premier League is only the start, albeit a promising one, in the long process to helping more young players fulfill their dream of playing in Englandโs top-flight. Many compromises will have to be made by the FA, Dyke, the Premier League and the individual club chairman if this relationship will bear any fruit.
Regardless, itโs a good thing for the English national team that these discussions are finally happening. But as we all know only too well, actions speak louder than words.
