Former England manager Terry Venables believes new national team boss Fabio Capello's job will be made harder by the fact some players cannot get games for their clubs.
Venables, who was also assistant to previous incumbent Steve McClaren, claims there is not as much competition for places as many squad members do not get enough pitch time because of the number of foreigners in the game.
And, conversely, others are playing so much it is difficult for them to be at their peak for England.
"While I love the Premier League and we have great players from all over the world producing entertaining matches, it is a fact the net result is that some of the England players cannot get into their club sides," Venables told The Sun.
"That is a big problem for the England manager whoever he is because Capello cannot make them play.
"We had players joining up with us on the back of 20 minutes action for their clubs. That's not enough.
"On the other side of the coin the very best English players are involved in absolutely every minute of Premier League and Champions League action so it's not surprising that when it comes to England games they are sometimes injured or worn out."
Venables also felt the Football Association should have considered more fully the qualities of the Englishmen currently managing in the Barclays Premier League.
"I'm still disappointed they did not go for an Englishman because I believe we do have managers good enough to do the job," he added.
"But you cannot argue that, in Capello, they have found a top-quality, experienced manager with a first-class track record.
"So much pressure has built up around England because we missed out on Euro 2008 that the FA probably felt it better and safer to go abroad for a man whose credentials could not be questioned.
"That's why it is hard for the likes of Alan Curbishley and Sam Allardyce, because the top four clubs chasing the trophies won't risk letting any of our talented Englishmen into that exclusive club."