The BBC has released research figures which show that the number of English players starting in matches in the 2007-8 Premier League season has reached a new low. Only 170 of the 498 players who started matches in the top flight were English. This represents only 34.1% of the total. Sports betting fans might look back to our poor showing in the qualifying for Euro 2008 and wonder if a broader choice of players might not have yielded a better result.

Admittedly, the quality of the players is high but there can be no doubt that the grass roots level of the game must be energised so that no football talent is overlooked. The academies do a good job but perhaps they could do better. Sepp Blatter, President of Fifa, believes that restricting the number of foreign player starters to five in each premiership match would resolve the problem. Undoubtedly, the more pressure placed on the clubs to rear home talent the more likely they are to do so, but, unfortunately for Sepp, his idea breaches EU employment law. He remains adamant that he press on with his six-plus-five plan. Good luck to him, I say.

If he succeeds, his plan will present a considerable challenge to some of our top clubs and may even level the playing field somewhat. Arsenal averaged 0.34 English starting players last season while Manchester United had 4.48. The top four finishers in the Premiership League table managed an average of just 2.64 per game. Cynics might think Sepp’s move is a ploy by the jealous Europeans to shrink the dominance of the Premiership but fair-minded fans of international football betting will have to admit to a sneaking feeling that something needs to be done.