13 Jul 2010Sunderland boss laments lack of domestic talent

Football Leagues/ Association and Governance | Football Referees, Players, Managers and Media

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce believes English Premier League football clubs are failing to produce sufficient quantities of domestic talent and has laid the blame squarely at the feet of the country's top flight.

Although Bruce's side features young Englishmen such as Lee Cattermole and Jordan Henderson, the former Manchester United defender praised the strength of the division, but questioned whether the pressure for success had distracted teams from bringing talent through.

"We have created a monster with this [English Premier League]," he said. "It's a fantastic league, a very good league, but to actually bring people through, it has been difficult. We are a victim of our own success."

Bruce pointed out that there are more than 40 academies in England and suggested this makes the paucity of native youngsters breaking into the English Premier League even more baffling.

The standard of the nation's youth development has come under intense media scrutiny since the national side bowed out of the FIFA World Cup last month.

Written by Terry Mitchell

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