Originally Posted by Emmet Malone
As it grows richer and more rapacious the English Premier League seems to cast a darker shadow than ever over the club competitions of neighbouring countries, but it no longer benefits their national teams in anything like the same way. In Ireland’s case the season just ended suggests the problem is becoming more and more acute.
Barely 20 players who are, or have been, available to play for the Republic featured in the English top flight since last summer. None played for a top six club over the past nine months, only a handful prospered at any of the rest and a couple of the international team’s stalwarts had seasons to forget.