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Okay we may not yet quite compare to Chelsea and Arsenal in terms of the number of "foreigners" in our team,and Ling won't exactly need to do a Paul Whitehouse and speak in several different languages as he gives the team a post match rollicking;but has anyone noticed how international our squad now is with the following countries represented:Austria,Scotland,Republic of Ireland,Northern Ireland,Kenya and of course England.
I think this is about as diverse a team as we've had; though of course we've had French and players from other countries such as St. Vincent's Islands over the years.There's a few under 21 international' caps been won by our current squad too.

When I saw the title.. I thought it wouldn't be about this

But still, as long as they all speak the same language surely it is fine? In fact maybe better from the club as they show they aren't just looking around England for players, especially the younger youth team players

I totally agree. It shows that Torquay are now trying to search over a much larger area for talent and I believe that this will pay off. Other teams in our league are unlikely to do this as much and this could give us a big advantage over other teams in the coming seasons.

[What is the required number of English players needed in an English club or does this rule not apply to us? Or has it not been enforced yet? (obviously it's not going to effect us unless Ling decides decides to buy a lot more players from over-seas but just out of interest)]

Just been reading the Youth team thread-add Nigeria to the list!

and Cyprian to it!

Rainbow Gulls - Big Ron would be proud !

Sure da paddies love notin more than a plate of PO Tatoes !

tufcfans wrote:What is the required number of English players needed in an English club or does this rule not apply to us? Or has it not been enforced yet? (obviously it's not going to effect us unless Ling decides decides to buy a lot more players from over-seas but just out of interest)

I believe it is 10 in the squad, which isn't really much for our level. You also do not need to register under 21's, but can if needed to boost the English figures.

We've had a few from distant pastures over the years - Gregory Goodridge from Barbados and Rodney Jack from St Vincent perhaps the most exotic. Surely if they're good enough get them in regardless of where they're from.

We had plenty from France around the turn of the century (Mendy, Simb, Sissoko, Chalqi), picked up a few from Ireland more recently, and now with Ling's contacts in Scotland we're getting some from up there (one of whom happens to be Austrian).

I think if it adds a bit more variety to the team's style and maybe some extra diversity in the dressing room then it's good. My only worry would be if the players weren't familiar with or weren't up to the demands or style of the English game, but I think they all have experience in this country so no problem there. I guess there could also be communication problems, but hopefully on the pitch they'll all be speaking the same language

I was expecting a gay pride thread then....

It does seem that most of the foreign players have already played English football before coming to Torquay, I cannot think of any players who we have bought in from lands a far, they all have previously been in English football. If the club need an International Football Scout and I don't mind doing some travelling to look for foreign players.