Too much, too soon for England starlets?

By David Lee Wheatley

There was once a time when a player had to achieve success and hold down a regular place at club level before being elevated to the senior England national team, but now it seems a handful of impressive performances domestically is a sure-fire route to a first cap. Is it all too much, too soon for the young crop of stars currently trying to make their way in the game?

Ross Barkley and Andros Townsend are the latest beneficiaries of the fast-track mentality prevailing within the English game following a promising start to the season from both. Predecessors in recent times include Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Chris Smalling, Tom Cleverley, Jack Wilshire and Danny Welbeck - all of whom were simply required to display a short stint of good form to ensure a place in the England squad.

This suggests a dearth of established talent in between the older and younger generations; there's very little competition at national level to force the up-and-coming footballers into producing high quality performances over a longer period of time domestically to earn their selection.

Further evidence of that is the fact that a large majority of fans and media immediately crowned Jack Wilshere as the 'savour of English football' when making his international bow in August 2010, just 21 months after signing his very first pro contract with Arsenal. Since that debut, he's featured on ten occasions for England and come up against severe pressure for a position in the Arsenal starting eleven this campaign thanks to the much vaunted transfer-record signing of German superstar Mesut Ozil.

Now, that moves me on handily to the next issue with plunging inexperienced players into the England side. With so many foreign talents in the Premier League, what happens if the potential of those aforementioned players ends up laying dormant while they warm the bench at club level? Will they be dumped by England never to be seen again? Should they be considered for international duty even if they can't get a look in for their Premier League club?

All those problems will likely come to face England boss Roy Hodgson head-on in the run-up to the World Cup, should the Group H leaders negotiate their way safely through to the tournament proper in Brazil next year.

The ability of Barkley, Townsend and others mentioned isn't in doubt, but would it equip them better for the rigours of a qualification campaign and subsequent high-pressure competitions if they had to become absolutely solid picks over a number of seasons for their clubs before advancing to play for the Three Lions?

Or, is it the case that Hodgson has no choice but to throw the largely untried young men into action earlier than he'd ideally wish and therefore it's just the way it has to be?

Much of the situation behind that conundrum comes down to the plethora of non-English footballers in the top-flight blocking the progress of players as they get a little older. The best English starlets will always burst through the red tape, but holding down a spot in the starting line-up is the tricky bit. They should be expected to do that before getting a full cap and it would give them extra motivation to prove themselves and make it completely unnecessary for their club manager to introduce any new blood from abroad in their favoured position. If they're going to be handed the keys to the kingdom after a few weeks of first-team football, then where is the incentive to become the best they can be?

That goes hand-in-hand with the fact that those kids who begin to make a name for themselves often get a massive wage rise after creating an impact. Once they've got the £50,000+ per week pay packet and an England cap before the age of 21 or 22, what more do they have to do to make it big? Precisely nothing - that's what. They've already made it in their minds and there's no prize of an England career at the end of a long road. Too much, too soon indeed.

Twitter: @davewh1980