Comment by Lou Macari

STOKE City’s pursuit of David James is another sorry reminder of the lack of serious talent in this country.

The fact that Tony Pulis has to chase a 39-year-old goalkeeper – one who hasn’t played since early December – is a sad sign of the times. I’m afraid.

I’m sure Tony would have preferred to monitor the form and fitness of a much younger keeper, then made his move if he fancied him.

But such keepers are simply not there – just like in every other position – so Tony has little option except to gamble on someone like James because of their reputation.

I can’t remember the last time I tuned into Match Of The Day on a Saturday night to grab a glimpse of a good, young player that was going to excite me.

Just like the conveyor belt from Scotland and the Republic of Ireland dried up some time ago, that same production line is now churning out little genuine talent in England.

The irony is that this dearth of talent comes at a time when football has never had so much money from TV.

It’s just as well that money is pouring in because of the way clubs have spent, or rather misspent, over the years to leave the likes of Portsmouth staring down the barrel.

There’s far too many non-football people spending that money and I’ve long said that the game will live to regret that fact.

With so much money and so little talent, what we’re left with are distinctly ordinary players like Marcus Bent making fortunes for themselves and their agent by changing clubs every five minutes.

Players are chopping and changing clubs not because they’ve been a rip-roaring success and are genuinely bettering themselves, but because their manager wants them out of the club.

Either because they’re no good on the field or no good off it – or very often both.

And the lack of talent is such that someone like Amr Zaki, who disgraced himself by going AWOL at Wigan last season, reckons he can persuade some mug to take him back into the Premier League for another extortionate pay day.

And he reckoned right, thanks to Hull City.

But don’t get me going on the foreign market.

For every half-decent foreign signing a club might make, I reckon there’s another three or four bad ones.

That’s because managers are not doing their homework and are taking advice off the wrong people, or because potentially decent players simply cannot settle into a foreign country and an alien climate.

Going back to Portsmouth, they have provided one example that clubs like Stoke would be happy to follow.

It’s less than two years since Pompey lifted the FA Cup in what must have been their finest hour. And someone could do something similar this season after seeing the draw open up with the third-round exits of Manchester United and Liverpool.

Stoke will surely field their strongest side in Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round tie against Arsenal because victory will open up that draw even more by dispatching another of the so-called big four.

I don’t see any genuine shocks at the weekend, not unless a Fulham, Man City or Wigan take liberties with their line-ups at lower-league opposition.

The one surprise I do fancy is at Bolton, because I reckon there’s suddenly a bit of pressure on them after Owen Coyle’s arrival and Sheffield United could be just the team to take advantage.