Here comes the Premier League–but where are the Aussies?

If the fortunes of the Socceroos are in any way tied to the quality and quantity of Aussie players in the English top flight, then the portents are not good for the national coach, Holger Osieck, ahead of Brazil 2014.

The English Premier League season starts this weekend and just one Australian–Mile Jedinak–will feel optimistic about the prospects of regular first-team action.

Across London the indefatigable Mark Schwarzer will be pushing hard for a starting berth at Chelsea but if, as expected, returning manager José Mourinho plumps for Petr Cech–a virtual ever-present at Stamford Bridge for many years–the hopes for the Socceroos No1 is likely to come down to a mixture of fate and luck.

The as-yet uncapped Chris Herd will enter the campaign as a squad member at Aston Villa for the third season on the trot, while Brad Jones will don the No1 jersey at Liverpool, though that is likely to be in name only. Elsewhere a smattering of young players, including Newcastle’s Young Socceroo defender Curtis Good and West Ham striker Dylan Tombides will harbour hopes, albeit relatively modest ones, of first-team action.

If, however, the season plays out as expected then the Australian presence is likely to be the lowest since 1994-95. On that occasion five players, three of whom were goalkeepers–Mark Bosnich, John Filan and Jason Kearton–made a total of 55 appearances in the Premier League.

Last season five players featured in a total of exactly 100 matches. Two of whom have since departed; Adam Federici with relegated Reading, and Brett Holman who elected to take an increasingly worn route to the Unit wholesale soccer jersey ed Arab Emirates.

It is a far cry from the high watermark of 2005-06 when 13 Aussies plied their trade to varying degrees of success in the Premier League, totalling an all-time high of 256 appearances.

Tim Cahill, Brett Emerton, Harry Kewell, Lucas Neill and Schwarzer were all first team regulars throughout that season, marking the peak of a bell curve that continues to slide at a notable rate.

The reasons for the decrease are no doubt numerous. The depth among Australia’s top bracket of players has been much discussed in recent years, while the options available to Australian footballers has changed markedly over the course of the past two decades. The quantity of players heading to Asia, notably China and South Korea, has increased dramatically in just the past few years, and at last count Aussie players featured in leagues across 38 different nations; a number matched by very few of the football world’s great exporting nations.

Whether this new direction is in any way significant for Australia’s ambitions at next year’s World Cup is a matter of conjecture. What is not debatable is that Australia’s prominence in the EPL roughly aligns with what was the national team’s great epoch, capped by those thrilling few weeks in Germany seven years ago.

Australia’s intermingling with the EPL gathered significant momentum in the mid-90s. That, however, was an era that pre-dated the television money-fuelled gravitational pull of foreign players to England. When Robbie Slater became the first Australian to win the Premier League title in 1994-95 (as opposed to Craig Johnston’s multiple First Division tri wholesale Mexico Soccer Jersey umphs with Liverpool a decade earlier), his Western Sydney via Lens accent was about as exotic as it got in the Ewood Park dressing room.

Now fewer than 40% of players in the Premier League are English.

Mark Milligan is one player that may yet boost the numbers of Aussies in England this term. The Crystal Palace manager, Ian Holloway, who has previously stated his admiration for the mentality of Aussie footballers, has been linked with a move for the Melbourne Victory midfielder described by his A-League coach Ange Postecoglou as the “best player in the competition”. Intriguingly Jedinak, who is Palace skipper, has been forced out of the Socceroos line-up in recent months by the form of Milligan.

For now though Aussie hopes sit with a handful of players whose respective seasons could play out in any number of ways.

Mark Schwarzer (Chelsea)

A hunger to remain in the Premier League and a final opportunity to link with one of England’s biggest clubs fuelled Schwarzer’s decision to sign on the dotted line at Chelsea. However, it is a move fraught with danger for a player who has made more English Premier League appearances than anyone born outside the United Kingdom. Petr Cech has been a regular between the sticks at Stamford Bridge for the majority of his 10 seasons at the club, and Mourinho has indicated the status quo will remain. Regardless of what the coming season brings Australia’s undisputed first-choice goalkeeper seems assured of the No1 jersey next year in Brazil, and with it, the title of the World Cup’s oldest ever goalkeeper.

Chris Herd (Aston Villa)

One of the lesser known Australians p replica Brazil Soccer Jerseys laying in Europe, the versatile Herd remains something of an enigma to many Socceroo fans. He has twice been called up for national team duty only for injury to prevent an Australia debut. That Scotland have expressed an interest in the Perth-born 24-year-old has merely heightened speculation of both his national team intentions, and status in the eyes of Osieck. Adept as a fullback, Herd has primarily been used at Villa in midfield and played 20 matches in all competitions two seasons ago, only for injury to cruel his chances of building on that momentum last term.

Brad Jones (Liverpool)

The signing of Simon Mignolet and the subsequent departure of Pepe Reina on loan to Napoli indicates that Jones can expect another long season warming the Anfield bench. It is a familiar role for the 31-year-old who has played little more than 100 matches in the 10 years since his senior debut for Middlesbrough. Despite just one league appearance over two seasons, Jones signed a new deal at Anfield in December, and was rewarded with increased game time last season.

Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace)

Club captain Jedinak further enhanced his standing with some inspirational showings in the heart of midfield as the south London club earned promotion to the top flight via the play-offs, with the Sydneysider duly named player of the year. A single-minded approach and ferocious tackling will be suitable assets at a club likely to be mired in a relegation fight throughout the season. He could yet be joined in the heart of the Palace midfield by Milligan, in what would arguably be a boost to both players’ hopes of a starting place in Brazil.