This weekend will be almost 10 years to the day that a Premier League side last fielded a starting XI consisting of only English players.
On 27th February 1999, 14 Englishmen appeared for the Aston Villa in their local derby with Coventry City, and Opta can exclusively reveal that this is a feat not matched in The Premier League by any side since this date.
With the proposed 6+5 Fifa rule being ruled legal by the EU courts, we might have to see a return to more homegrown talent being fielded.
| Aston Villa Team v Coventry City (27/02/1999) |
| Michael Oakes |
| Alan Wright |
| Gareth Southgate |
| Steve Watson |
| Ricardo Scimeca |
| Ian Taylor |
| Paul Merson |
| Simon Grayson |
| Lee Hendrie |
| Dion Dublin |
| Julian Joachim |
| Subs |
| Gareth Barry (sub) |
| Stan Collymore (sub) |
| Mark Draper (sub) |
| Opta Index |
The 14 players listed above appeared for Aston Villa on that day – but unfortunately for John Gregory and his side, Coventry City ended the match as 4-1 victors.
No Premier League team has managed to field an all English starting XI since this day – despite 3801 matches being played in the top-flight from the date of the achievement set by Gregory.
| Team Name |
Players Used in PL 2008/09 |
% Players English |
| Aston Villa |
19 |
74% |
| Middlesbrough |
26 |
54% |
| Stoke City |
29 |
52% |
| West Ham United |
26 |
50% |
| Hull City |
29 |
48% |
| Portsmouth |
26 |
46% |
| Everton |
24 |
42% |
| Newcastle United |
29 |
41% |
| Bolton Wanderers |
23 |
39% |
| Tottenham Hotspur |
29 |
38% |
| Manchester City |
31 |
35% |
| Manchester United |
29 |
34% |
| Sunderland |
29 |
34% |
| Wigan Athletic |
24 |
33% |
| Fulham |
24 |
29% |
| West Bromwich Albion |
26 |
27% |
| Chelsea |
28 |
25% |
| Blackburn Rovers |
27 |
22% |
| Arsenal |
24 |
17% |
| Liverpool |
23 |
13% |
| Opta Index |
In May 2006, Middlesbrough played Fulham in what was Steve McClaren’s final game in charge of the club. McClaren named a 16-man squad, with 15 of those having come through the academy, however, one of the players; James Morrison, has since been capped for Scotland.
The influx of foreign players into The Premier League has hindered the number of English players making their mark in the Premier League, but somewhat fittingly, Aston Villa are one side that are bucking the trend.
Of the 19 players that they have used in the top-flight this season, 14 (74%) have been English. No Premier League side has managed to play a higher proportion of English players this season, and only Stoke (15) have handed more English players a top-flight league appearance so far this term.
Liverpool are the worst culprits; using just three English players in their Premier League campaign so far – Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Jermaine Pennant.