British football of past decades produced far more leaders than today owing to players possessing heart and hunger for success and not experiencing issues with language barriers, according to former Chelsea man Ray Wilkins. Wilkins, 57, who played for a number of British sides through the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s including Chelsea, Manchester United, Rangers and QPR, explained how the majority of players in his era were British, proud to play for their side, and very vocal with one another.
He said communication was far more efficient and all players wanted the same thing, which was to win games and trophies for their club. Wilkins told FootballDirectNews.com: “There were a lot more leaders in my time. Mainly because the majority of the players on the pitch were British, we were all very vocal and we all wanted the same thing. “We were very vocal on the pitch, as well as in the dressing room. ”Wilkins, who was Chelsea’s youngest ever captain, taking the armband at the age of 18, said with the British game having changed considerably in recent years with a far more multi-cultural influence, players who come in from abroad bring their talent and ability but often stay quiet owing to lack of understanding of the British game and language. “Many of our foreign players today are quiet on the pitch, a lot of that is down to the fact they are coming into the British game which is very different to the football they’ve played before.  “Sometimes the problem is the language barrier.   For those reasons they don’t often tend to be natural leaders. ”

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