CHERRIES assistant boss Jason Tindall believes a reduction in the number of non-European Union players could harm not help the English game.

Tindall was speaking after the Football Association had this week sent out to all clubs its first draft of proposals to halve the number by up to 50 per cent.

Up until the end of last season, 122 non-EU players had entered English football since 2009 with the Cherries squad including two – South African Tokelo Rantie and Liechtenstein’s Benji Buchel.

FA chairman Greg Dyke, who has been reviewing the state of the game at club and national level, is convinced the reform would increase opportunities for English players.

Proposed rule changes have been sent to the Premier League, the Football League and the players’ and managers’ unions and the FA hopes a new system can be in place for next season.

But Tindall told the Daily Echo: “I’m not sure I agree. That is my personal opinion and it is not something we have discussed yet as a club.

“I don’t think you can single out non-EU players because I don’t see why that would make a difference. It doesn’t seem fair to me.

“If they want to try to bring more English players through to Premier League and Championship clubs then maybe they should think about capping the number of foreign players allowed in a team or squad.

“We have had some fantastic players in the national team over the past few years and players like Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard have been four of the best in the world.

“But we still haven’t won any tournaments and people have continued to criticise our performances and our style of play. Should we really be blaming non-EU players for that, I don’t think so.

“I don’t think it is so much of an issue in the Championship because we don’t come up against as many foreign players as clubs in the Premier League do. But I think changing the rules would diminish the quality of the Premier League.

“Clubs are able to bring in players from all over the world, some of whom are top-class players and they bring quality to what is essentially an entertainment business. People want to be entertained when they watch football and these are the guys who are helping to bring that to our game with their superior technical ability.

“I understand why people feel they need to act, but I think something like this could have an adverse effect because you would lose that quality.

“Owners and investors may reconsider as well. If somebody wants to pump millions and billions into our game then why should they be told who they can and can’t sign?”