Football investigation: How Aston Villa, Wolves and Birmingham City will be affected by home-grown quota rules

Sep 18 2009 Investigation by Andy Walker

THE PREMIER League’s new home-grown rule may cause frenzy among some of the division’s foreign legion – but it appears that the top flight’s trio of West Midland clubs need not panic.

Last Sunday’s Second City derby wasn’t just a battle of Birmingham as both Blues and Villa were also flying the flag for Great Britain.

Just one quick scan down the match-day programme revealed an assortment of St George’s crosses, Welsh dragons, Scottish saltires and red hands of Ulster.

Yet while Blues and Villa are worthy of a ‘Made in Britain’ stamp, Wolves are simply overflowing with footballers from these isles.

The West Midlands isn’t just proud to possess three of the Premier League’s 15 British managers, the patriotic theme also filters down to the playing staff.

A Birmingham Mail study into the current first-team squads of all 20 Premier League teams, puts Mick McCarthy’s Wolves top of the pile when it comes to clubs with the biggest British contingent.

Of the 44 players listed in the first-team squad at Molineux, 29 are British although that statistic is lessened somewhat when you consider that at least eight of those are Academy hopefuls who are highly unlikely to get a whiff of senior action any time soon.

Names such as Sam Winnall, Scott Malone and James Spray aren’t likely to be known by even the most hardened Wolves fan.

Villa come in joint third, alongside Hull, with 19 Brits among their squad. That high ranking will come as no real surprise when you consider that boss Martin O’Neill has drafted in a vast quantity of English players since being in charge at Villa Park and recently a Welshman in James Collins.

O’Neill’s transfer policy has been more by coincidence than design, but he has admitted that the heavy home-grown quota has turned Villa into an attractive proposition for Three Lions hopefuls.

The Northern Irishman recently said: “We don’t always buy English – Carlos Cuellar is as Spanish as they come but, seriously, I think the England factor attracts players and it is something that young (Fabian) Delph sees. He would like to feel there is a chance he could break into the England side if he could be spotted.”