Blame Gordon Brown for England’s defeat

Tax breaks for foreign players are at the root of English football’s problems, says richard brooks

Have you noticed how we only ever win the World Cup under a Labour Government?" quipped Harold Wilson in 1966 when England last saw footballing glory, three months after Wilson's re-election on a wave of national optimism.

Now, with England dumped out of the 2008 European championship in the same week that Government incompetence has reached unprecedented levels, we know the link between footballing and political fortunes works the other way too.

But whereas Wilson didn't seriously expect credit for winning the World Cup, the present Prime Minister can be directly blamed for yesterday's calamity at Wembley.

Much will be written about the demise of the national side of a country that boasts the world's richest league. Most pundits will rightly blame the numbers of foreign players in the Premiership, denying English

In opposition Brown promised to eliminate this tax break, but for 10 years as Chancellor he refused to do so

youngsters the chance to become the next Hurst or Banks. The most recent week's team sheets showed that just 74 of the 220 players starting Premiership games were English.

So why do overseas players now dominate? As the supposedly economically competent Gordon Brown would understand, it's because they enjoy a huge and unfair competitive advantage over British players. Tax rules allow foreign players to claim 'non-domicile' status and, with the help of clever lawyers, pay 40 per cent less tax than their British rivals on much of their income. Savvy clubs and agents aren't slow to exploit the gap: Treasury figures reveal 300 such 'non-dom' players.

In opposition Brown promised to eliminate this tax break (which coincidentally benefits many major Labour donors), but for 10 years as Chancellor he refused to do so in the face of fierce lobbying from its wealthy beneficiaries. In the process English football was denuded of home-grown talent.

Brown is now leading the bid to have England host the 2018 World Cup. But he's done his best to wreck any chance of winning it.