England begin their World Cup qualifying campaign on Saturday against Andorra with the game at a crossroads in this country.

Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce told Manchester City's new Arab owners in Standard Sport yesterday that they have to protect the fabric of English football.

He fears that trillionaires intent on bringing instant success no matter what the cost for foreign stars like £32.5million Robinho will damage the chances of young English players like Joe Hart, Micah Richards and Michael Johnson.

England failed to qualify for Euro 2008 this summer. They cannot fail to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 or more damage will be done to our national game.

The situation is becoming so bad that one manager, Neil Warnock of Crystal Palace, said: "There should be a limit to the amount of foreign players in our league. There are too many in our game at the moment.

"People need to make the choice. Do we want a great Premier League or a great national team. If they want the former then just keep going as it is but if want a successful national side, we have to restrict the amount of foreigners in each team.

"I hardly ever watch the England team anymore, I don't enjoy watching the team play. It is just so poor."

Our research shows that the number of English players in the top flight has now dropped to alarming levels.

Of the 72 who were on duty [each team has 11 starters and seven substitutes] for the big four of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool in their last match, only 13 were from this country.

We asked five leading English figures from every facet of the game for their opinions. All are worried by the foreign invasion.

THE MANAGER - Steve Bruce, Wigan

Q1. Should there be a quota system to limit the number of foreign players in a team?

No. I don't think that idea would work. The Premier League is the best in the world because we have most of the best players over here and they have raised the standards incredibly.

Q2. How important is the presence of home-grown players in English teams?

It's important but we have 40-odd football academies up and down the country and they don't seem to be producing the players to get into first teams in the numbers that everyone would like. Maybe the systems which the kids are in are not quite set up right.

Q3. Are you worried about the future of the England national team?

I think we are all worried - the English managers for certain. We see our top players perform superbly every week for their clubs and we build them up to be some of the best in the world but we did not even manage to qualify for the Euro 2008 tournament.

THE PLAYER - Sean Davis, Portsmouth

1. It's a difficult one to answer because a lot of foreign players have come over here and improved our League. But there are also a lot of young English players not getting their chance. At the moment we have a number of players in the England squad who also play in the Champions League but if that number falls, then we have to do something about it.

2. It is good to have English boys around but at Portsmouth there is a mix of nationalities and we all get on really well. We need a healthy balance of English and foreign players.

3. I don't understand why it's going wrong because we have outstanding players. But if more young talent doesn't come through, maybe it will affect things further down the line.

THE CHAIRMAN - Barry Hearn, Leyton Orient

1. I don't think we can ever restrict it because of the European labour laws. We have to look to support our own national game. The Premier League should give more money to the lower leagues to help fund youth development. At the moment it is a fraction of what clubs spend on foreign players and they should be encouraged to help the grass roots.

2. It's vital. I can understand the attraction of the superstars but there are a lot of foreign players who wouldn't be here if we had enough of our own. The Premier League clubs are also signing too many from overseas for their academies.

3. It's a natural progression. If there are less players playing at the highest level, then it is inevitable the standard of the national team will decline. That worries me because when the national team are doing well it's a shot in the arm for all of us.

THE AGENT - Jon Smith, First Artist agency

1. It is a fantastic thing to have the biggest players in the world being involved in our game and I would fight against having a quota on overseas players.

2. I do believe there should be a reserve for English players in all Premier League clubs. Maybe three or four players would have to be English in each team.

3. I am worried. The problem is that the Premier League is an industry and a business. The England football team are a totally separate entity, yet they have to co-exist. What the answer to the problem is I don't know.

THE FANS - Jon Keen, the deputy chairman of Football Supporters' Federation

1. Yes, there should be a quota system - but a guarded yes. Six plus five has been mooted as the figure but I'm not sure that should be the case. Setting a definitive figure is very difficult.

2. From the Premier League's point of view in terms of global branding, it's important to have as many foreign players as possible playing in the League. But the more foreign players who come in, the more it takes clubs away from their traditional communities and supporter bases.

3. Yes, I am worried about the state of our national team. It's clear that the people who are running the English game must decide whether they want to have the most lucrative league in the world or the most successful national team in the world.