Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has gone on the attack against the Football Association, and has expressed frustration that the league is being blamed for England’s failures at European Championships and World Cup tournaments.
According to The Guardian newspaper, Scudamore said:
“It frustrates me enormously because it is so palpably not true. We are putting on a competition that the best players in the world want to come here and play in.
“It is not my fault the country is only 60 million. There are 212 countries playing this game. We are blessed to have 20 of the world’s largest 50 clubs. Within that 20, between three and five of the biggest 10. There are only 10 football clubs vying for this top talent.
“The idea an England team is going to be put together that will somehow beat the world is logically and mathematically implausible. We can put out a good team, just like Andy Murray can win Wimbledon and Justin Rose can win the US Open. Good things do happen but they are not an automatic right.
“The whole thing seems to me that if England don’t win something it is someone else’s fault. I have never, in my 15 years with the Premier League, never said the Premier League’s success, or lack of, is someone else’s fault. You have to make it yourself.
“Let’s run the reverse argument. Where does that leave the people at the FA in terms of their accountability? It can’t be our fault. It is bigger than us. It is not the Premier League who ripped up the playing fields. It is not the Premier League that didn’t put the education into schools that the government should have done. That is not the Premier League’s fault.
“Clearly, we have a job to do. We have not won the World Cup since 1966. We didn’t start until 1992. What happened between 1966 and 1992? Whose fault was that? The whole thing is immensely frustrating. It cannot be our fault on any level.”
Here are tonight’s world soccer news headlines:
International soccer
- Scudamore: Premier League is not to blame for England’s failures — The Guardian
- Jurgen Klinsmann fears Stuart Holden knee injury could be “very serious” — Pro Soccer Talk
- Germany win women’s European Chapionships for sixth consecutive time after beating Norway — Telegraph
- Landon Donovan named 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup Most Valuable Player — Pro Soccer Talk
- USA not approached to host 2014 or 2022 World Cup says Sunil Gulait — FOX Soccer
Premier League
- Solving the mystery of the first goal in league football — BBC Sport
- David Luiz wanted by Bayern Munich in £40m raid — The Sun
- Matija Nastasic set to be ruled out of Premier League opener with ankle injury — The Telegraph
- Premier League summer tournament may extend to Africa and United States — The Guardian
- Gareth Bale camp hardens stance in fight to force Madrid move — The Independent
- £95m move for Gareth Bale would leave Spurs miles off the Premier League pace — The Mirror
- Southampton in bid for Ever Banega — Soccerlens
- Cardiff City linked to free transfer deal for former Lyon defender Anthony Réveillère — Wales Online
- West Brom transfer news: Argentina and Napoli defender Federico Fernandez is loan target — The Mirror
- Roma close on Arsenal’s Gervinho — Football Italia
- Cardiff transfer news: Malky Mackay wants to bring Joe Ledley home from Celtic — The Mirror
- Roberto Soldado: Tottenham try to agree deal with Valencia for striker — BBC Sport
- Fulham boss Martin Jol targets striker to help Dimitar Berbatov — Sky Sports
- Carlton Cole in talks with St Etienne — The Mail
- Cardiff City set to sign Brentford goalkeeper Simon Moore — Sky Sports
Bundesliga
- 2013/14 Bundesliga team’s shirts for next season — Football Shirts
The Nightly Soccer Report is tomorrow’s news today. It’s often tomorrow morning’s worldwide newspaper headlines that are published the night before. We do all the work for you, combing the Internet and aggregating the news for you. Read The Nightly Soccer Report on World Soccer Talk every night before bed, so you can stay on top of all the news that matters.
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