Newcastle announced the signing of another French player yesterday, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa from Montpellier. They have also been linked with the signing of three other French players during the transfer window.
Over their last three games Newcastle started just two English players, Mike Williamson and James Perch. This conflicts greatly with some opinions that Alan Pardew expressed in 2006 when manager of West Ham.
Quoted on ESPN FC:
I saw a headline saying Arsenal are flying the flag for Britain in the Champions League, but I had to wonder where that British involvement was when I saw the team,' said Pardew.
There was a big commotion when that first happened and it shouldn't be washed under the mat again.
Every English club should carry at least three British players in the first team. The foreign players have added massively to our game, but the soul of the club is the homegrown players and they should be integrated into that team.
It is important we don't lose sight that this is the English Premier League and English players should be involved. I know it is difficult to buy British players because the market is expensive.
These new signings are likely to also push Williamson and Perch out of the starting line-up.
It seems that Pardew came to realisation that buying British players was too difficult and the value was elsewhere.
