England may never be great again - Charlton

England great Bobby Charlton has admitted he fears his country will never again be a dominant force in international football.Charlton was a key member of the England team that triumphed at the 1966 World Cup on home soil and remains his country's all-time leading scorer with 49 goals.However, England have reached the semi-finals of the World Cup just once since 1966, and Charlton is worried their best days may be behind them."People wonder whether we will ever win it again. I worry about that as well," Charlton said at the annual Soccerex conference in Manchester."When I am asked to give my opinion, I always say yes, but it is a fool's errand."You need good players. But if all the spaces at English clubs are taken by foreign players, you have no chance."It is hard to think we could win a World Cup when you see the quality of the other teams."Spain would have to be my favourites for Brazil (in 2014), plus Germany, because they have some good players emerging. I want to see some English players emerge."England can at least call on Wayne Rooney, who has taken on Charlton's goal-scoring mantle at Manchester United.The 27-year-old is currently 14 goals behind Charlton in the all-time England scoring chart and while the former United midfielder would be loath to lose his record, he feels Rooney would be a fitting player to take it."I am really proud of my record and if someone takes it I would be sick," he said. "But I would be happy if it was Wayne."

Source: AFP