Hard Brexit: It's Been Exactly 19 Years Since a Premier League Team Named an All-English Starting XI

You'd think that a division based in England would be filled with English players - well, you'd think that if you're only just becoming a fan of the wonderful

You'd think that a division based in England would be filled with English players - well, you'd think that if you're only just becoming a fan of the wonderful entity that is the Premier League.

If not, then you're fully aware that Premier League teams aren't very English and there are actually rules that make it so there's a certain number of homegrown players in each squad.

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In fact, if it weren't for such regulations, you'd probably struggle to find a single Brit in a top-flight set-up (might be pushing it slightly here).

Foreign imports have made the Premier League what it is today, and surely no one's knocking that. Yet Englishmen love to see their own in number every once in a while, but this seems to becoming an ever less frequent occurrence. In fact, it's actually been 19 years since a full-English squad started a Premier League game.

As pointed out by OptaJoe, the last manager to name an XI was John Gregory, who started a team of 11 Englishmen for Aston Villa in a match against Coventry on February 27, 1999.

11 - 19 years ago today (February 27 1999) was the last time a Premier League team named a starting XI of 11 Englishmen, when John Gregory did so for Aston Villa against Coventry - Villa lost 4-1. Foreign. pic.twitter.com/xLCpI9UyZO

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 27, 2018

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A lineup of consisting of Oakes, Watson, Southgate, Scimeca, Wright; Merson, Taylor, Grayson, Hendrie, Dublin, and Joachim started that day. And it's no wonder no one has ever dared name an all-English squad since then, as Villa embarrassingly lost the game 4-1.

It's also very unlikely we'll be seeing such a starting lineup anytime soon, given the way things are shaping up in the Premier League.

But long live John Gregory, as he may just go on to be the very last to name a fully English team in a match that wasn't an international one. Ironically, though, he's now coaching in the Indian Super League, where it may be more difficult to name a full English XI.