Should the A-League reduce the number of foreign players?

this journeyman brazilian was man of the match in yesterdays game against CCM - the point being he might be a previously unknown brazilian but he's certainly helped raise the standard of the A League which is crucial for any young players to come in and flourish - as i've said previously above, unless the standard of the league keeps improving none of the young players are going to improve. Simple fact is that as things stand currently i believe the A League needs 5 foreign players to keep improving

The A-league needs marquee players to bring the crowds in. At the end of the day it's up to the individual clubs to find the balance with overseas players compared to locals. I'm happy with Perth bringing in Gallas. We have a player with a heap of experience coming into a side with young local talent such as Josh Risdon (21) and Daniel de Silva (17) who are the future of the club. Alistair Edwards is taking us in the right direction by bringing in the crowds and looking firmly to the future

Fair call. But having a great player like Del Piero in our league does draw a wider audience.

I'd argue England produce very few top quality players, but then their coaches are of a poor quality

Fuss- Berger's comments were a totally re-active action no doubt caused by the statements made in Englnd by 3 prominent officials or ex- players some weeks earlier & widely debated in these columns before Herger went public with his view..We do not have a problem like the one in the UK where, due to European agreements allowing players free movement inter country, it has reached epidemic proportions. I do think we can learn from what is going on there & ensure we "keep a lid" on the potential inherent in the problem, keeping a ladder available for our youth to improve,provided of course they are good enough to play in our highest level. That last requirement I would have thought would have been more important to our D of C who after all, is leaving us in 6 months?????? Your mate jb.

England still porduce alot of top quality players, Rooney, John Terry,Rio Ferdinand,Lampard, Ashley Cole, Aoran John Lennon lol.

Hindsight's, a powerful thing fuss your dead right here.

But England were rubbish (missed 74 and 78 WC) when the entire top division was English/British..... See also 1992 Euros and 94 WC. Quality coaching at grassroots produces players good enough to play at the top level, thus decreasing the need to "import"

When the Australian youth you have to choose from is Chianese and Malia, looking elsewhere for goals might be reasonable! I'm all for imports (4-5 in a squad) if they are much better than what we have.

I think it should be limited to 4 imports, as to be in line with AFC CL regulations. I think it's a farce that one import should be excluded from the CL cause HAL rules differ.

True CCM have shown the way to other A-League clubs in this respect,how much development happened prior to being on their books I cant say. However the Roar also have done well with bringing young players on Zullo,Oar,Sarota,Kruse,De Vere etc. I emphasise bring on, they were developed prior to the Roar. Zullo(Strikers) Oar(QAS) Sarota(Brisbane city/strikers Pine Rivers) Kruse(QAS/AIS) De Vere(QAS/AIS) as well of course as their junior clubs. Yet I wouldn't swap any of those players when they played for the Roar for Broich or Berisha as a lure to get me to Suncorp.

@ Towser I'm definitely not saying eliminate all foreign visa spots. I'd like more from Asia & Oceania & better quality control over foreign visa spots (although, to be fair, this is already occurring). CCM has been the most consistent team over the past 8 seasons. I can't think of too many imports that has created this on-field success. Rather it's success has been built on developing local talent & finding hidden gems amongst local leagues.

@Johnno You're kidding yourself if you think clubs are more powerful than Governing Bodies (FIFA, UEFA, etc.) If the clubs break away, then: 1. they could only play other teams outside FIFA 2. players in this breakaway league would most likely be banned from ever returning to the FIFA family, which mean s their career is limited to playing within the select breakaway group ... which is such a small group of potential employers, it would be career suicide for players to agree to play outside FIFA Of course 3. players in the breakaway group will never again represent their country So, by all means .. the rich clubs should try to breakaway & see how quickly the league collapses from lack of players; or it will be filled with ageing players at the end of their careers.

Fact is Fuss that if the NPL.FFA cup,NYL,NC do produce the goods player wise ,then there will be a natural evolution of the A-League that reduces imports,yet maintains & keeps improving the standard of the League as well as the Socceroos. In fact for me its crucial that these innovations work,because if they dont this discussion will still be around in 10 years time. I for one will not accept any reduction in the standard of the A-League(& neither will TV,Sponsors or other punters through the gate) & if that means a continuation of 5 imports so be it. What it also means in my book is that the above FFA innovations are not working,that is something we as football followers from whatever angle dont wish to contemplate.

The other dark side of all this is many football fans around the world don't care about there national football team, only care about club football. There "football reality" is there clubs, not there national football teams. Ask many Barcelona,Real Madrid,Chelsea,Barcelona,Man United,Man city, Bayern Munich,AC MIlan,Inter Milan,Ajax Amsterdam,PSV Eindhoven, who they care more about there club or there national football team, many will say there club. These clubs have gone global, and have fans bases all over the world far more than, a national team can do. I reckon Man United have more global fans than the Spanish national football team. In fact the only global national football team brand that i think is strong and has universal appeal is the Brazil national team, and you can thank Pele for that. So if the English FA try to bully the EPL, the EPL is it's own entity i think anyway seperate from the English FA. And the EPL is strong , and backed by pay-tv they don't need approval from FIFA if they went rebel and went it alone, without getting fifa's approval, or UEFA'S for that matter. And the constant threat of a euro super comp, from the the likes of the old G-14 group(Man Uniteds,Barcelona,Real Madrid) allaince that existed between the 14 most powerful clubs in Europe. Reality is these clubs don't need the English FA,UEFA, or FIFA, they are strong enough to stand alone,if not stronger than FIFA these big clubs and competitions. Id argue the EPL is stronger in real teams than UEFA or FIFA.

@Towser True. The underlying issue for the Eng FA is "the development opportunities (or lack thereof) for local kids". And, after reading Han Berger's comments that's the same motivation for his comments. We need to create the best structures for our young AUS footballers to develop into senior footballers.

I'm not saying "total ban" on foreign players, but need restrictions. Having said that, if the rules are the same for all clubs, I'd have no issue if A-League places a ban on all foreign players.

Bottom line is that the main reason that the English FA are discussing the subject, is not in reality to do with the EPL,its to do with the English national team. Too many foreigners in the EPL are just what they(FA ) consider to be part of the problem with England in International competitions. Personally I dont ,it may be one part of the problem,but it runs much deeper than that. However that's another story, in a country where history dictates a totally different set of football dynamics than Australia. As I mentioned in the article its a matter of balance in a growing league in Australia on two fronts & one of those fronts is the future performance of Socceroo teams.

Fuss what about Fred, do Melb Victory fans have to suck it up that they'll be seeing less of the likes of Fred in the A-league with foriegn import restrcitons if it happens.

Johnno If the rules are the same for all clubs, I've no doubt fans will accept restrictions. If fans complain ...too bad. The English FA is not answerable to ManU fans & must act in the best interests of all Football in England.