Football legend Jack Charlton hit out at the lack of superstars in the England team as he paid a visit to the Black Country.
The 1966 World Cup hero has blamed a huge influx of foreign players, for blocking homegrown talent from rising through the ranks to the national side.
Charlton, a member of England’s 1966 World Cup winning team who went on to manage the Republic of Ireland, dropped in for a Q&A at The Cross Sports Bar in Oldswinford, Stourbridge.
He said: “You have got Premier League sides who could produce a whole foreign team, which is not a good sign for people getting into the game in England and coming through.
“I don’t think kids get football at school in the way we did. There are very few under 18 teams in England these days.
“The academies that I have seen teach kids but there’s no real competition there.
“The one thing that we were brought up on, me and our Bobby, was that you wanted to play and you practised to play.
“But it’s not up to me. You hear people complaining that schools have sold all the grass. That’s a very bad sign.
“Kids should have places to play and people to look after them and to organise them.
“We don’t have any of that any more. It’s all about TV and watching other people play.”
Charlton has also been less than impressed with the Euro 2008 tournament.
He said: “I’ve watched some of the games, but I’m not particularly interested in it.
“I would have been much more keen if England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland had all qualified. It would have been much more interesting.”
He added that the England squad did not have “anything like international stars” in its current form.
He explained: “I think we have had them over the past few years. We have got a few decent players but there is nobody who you could say is one of the best in Europe and you need a few of them on your team.”
Charlton is just one of a host of top sports names appearing at the bar over the next few days. Tonight sees former British heavyweight champion Henry Cooper appearing at the pub for a Q&A.
On Thursday, former Manchester United stars Gordon McQueen, Viv Anderson and Norman Whiteside are in the hotseat.
Next Monday, Busby Babes Albert Scanlon and Kenny Morgan will be there, followed the next night by Jimmy Greaves.
Tickets are available on 01384 378862.
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