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I would like to welcome fans and people from within the game to the internet version of Meltdown, the Professional Footballers' Association Report on the nationality of Premier League players and the future of English football.

* NOTE: To view the report click on the link opposite Meltdown Report.  As you will see, this version not only presents the Report released to the media but many statistics that have never been in the public domain. We believe our Report and the additional information provided here are the most thorough analysis to date of the effect overseas players have had on the English game. We pay tribute to our overseas friends and notably to the contribution made by the highly-skilled players who have come to play in Britain since the start of the Premier League. However, as our Report says, nothing comes without a price and we have broadened the picture to include the effect that the presence of a large number of overseas players has had on the development of home-grown players and upon the England team. Many comments have been made on these issues, particularly since England failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championship Finals, but we feel that Meltdown makes a unique contribution to the debate. For the first time, we have analysed the nationality of every player who has started a Premier League game from the opening day of the Premier League in 1992-93 to the last day of the 2006-07 season. It has been generally known for some time that the number of Premier League players from England and the other home nations is in severe decline, but this is the first time an authoritative study has been made of the figures. We believe our research shows the decline to be even greater than has been generally realised.

* NOTE: To view the report click on the link opposite Meltdown Report.  But in addition, we have analysed the numerous factors that lie behind the statistics and we have moved the debate into the area of the solution. We have highlighted some of the innumerable initiatives being undertaken at the coalface of the game to produce high-quality players and we have urged everybody in the game, including fans and media, to return to the positive stance taken by The Charter for Quality, the seminal Football Association report from 1997 (following the PFA report of 1994 'A Kick in the Right Direction' when no British team qualified for the World Cup), that laid out an English route to player development and by extension, to our being successful at both club and country level. The excellent Introduction by Gianluca Vialli makes many interesting points about potential ways forward and does not shrink from saying that Italian football, for all its success on the national and club level, has its problems, too. We feel that all these elements – the difinitive situation as described by the statistics, our analysis of the numerous and inter-connected issues that lie beyond the statistics, Gianluca's fascinating insight into the situation in our two countries and our glimpse into the solutions – provide a comprehensive overview of the crisis we face as a result of England not qualifying for the 2008 European Championship finals. Further PFA Reports will examine specific aspects of the crisis and suggest solutions. In the meantime, whether you are a player or a fan, somebody from within the football industry or a member of the media, I hope you enjoy our contribution to this vital debate about our game's future.

Gordon Taylor Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers' Association and Honorary president of FIFPro