SIR ELTON JOHN has added his voice to the current debate over the number of foreign players in the Premiership and the increasing impact on the dwindling number of players available to play for England.

Elton makes his views known in the latest Watford programme for their Championship match against Ipswich Town this Saturday. He writes: "While I understand that these are market forces at work and that the rewards for success are very high there is a very important downside and that is the impact on the game at a national level.

"There does seem to be more foreign players at our top clubs than ever before and this effectively reduces the pool of players available to the England manager at any time, which of course, reduces our chances of success in the big-stage tournaments like the World Cup or the Euro Championships. It does seem unbelievable that it was 41 years ago that we won the World Cup! I am almost too young to remember it!"

Elton, Life President of Watford Football Club, added: "I must say that I have my personal concerns about the increasing gap between the top clubs and those at the bottom of the Premiership and outside the Premier league. Without doubt we will see the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs challenging for honours but what does that mean for smaller clubs like the Middlesbroughs, the Fulhams or the Blackburns of this world.

"It does seem that the enormous amounts of foreign money being pumped into the game is paying off in terms of success. Look at the amount of money spent by Sir Alex Ferguson and even Sven at Manchester City this season - he appears to have bought an entire team!"