The only club at the top end of the Premier League moving forwards on the back of English talent are Tottenham Hotspur.
We should therefore not be surprised that it is Spurs players currently providing the only light in another period of darkness for the national team.
This is not a Little Englander's view of the Premier League. It is a brilliant, magnetic environment in which to play and watch football. We should be careful before we complain about it.
However, at clubs like Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool, English players are not fundamental, they are decorative.