Quote ="Mr Dog"Of course it was....there were no ageing/average Aussies coming over and teams were packed with youngsters, weren't they?
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Actually, yes.
There was a rule change, forcing the clubs to have more "home grown" players in their squads and without the threat of relegation, there were more young British (and French) players getting more game time.
Of course there were still too many overseas players sloshing around in the system as well but, without doubt there were more youngsters getting some game time.
By the way, I'm not blaming the coaches for taking experience over youth, just pointing out that with survival being so important, EVERY side will try and strengthen and who do you think they are going to sign ??