Recently I enjoyed a lengthyconversation with a former high-ranking member of the Football Association.

Alan Turvey had just received a commendation from Buckingham Palace and was invited to go along and watch a match played on the grounds to celebrate the FA's 150th anniversary.

We got on to discussing the perennial failure of the national team to match the dizzying heights of 1966, but more specifically the divisive topic of nationality.

Falmouth Packet:

He was very much in the Jack Wilshere camp - that only players born and raised on these fair shores should represent England - proclaiming he was from a generation where the question of ‘Englishness’ was never raised - England players must be English by birth.

It's certainly a view shared by millions.

I would ask, simply, why?

The current chairman of the FA,  Greg Dyke has stated that the position of the Football Association should be to remain open to the idea of debating the issue in the near future, which is promising.

The irony of the whole situation is that the player to have raised the issue will almost certainly not represent England.

Adnan Januzaj scored a breathtaking brace to save the blushes of his manager,  David Moyes, and helping Man Utd overcome rock-bottom Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

He is yet to decide which nation he will go on to represent at international level in years to come - England is one of them.

But under current residency laws the teenage sensation will have to have lived in England for 5 years after his 18th birthday before he can grace the international stage wearing the three lions, by which time he'll be 23 years-old.

Falmouth Packet:

By then, if his current road to super-stardom is maintained he will probably be snapped up by Belgium, and the whole debate will be a non-issue for him.

But the intricacies of the issue should be debated at length: why is the football team any different to the rugby or cricket team?

Is Kevin Pietersen's love of the nation, or more specifically, love of representing the English cricket team, any less passionate than that of Wilshere's?

With so much talent nurtured in England why not take advantage of the rules and regulations surrounding nationality classification, after all we live in a vibrant multi-cultural society, surely our national team should reflect that?

The fact that it's never really been an issue before is because, quite frankly, the talent hasn't necessarily been available.

Manuel Almunia's declaration of love for the Three Lions didn't exactly set the pulses racing a few years ago when he told reporters he'd turn out between the sticks for England - but for the next generation of stars coming through the ranks at Premier League clubs, I think there should be a sustained effort to convince them it's an option we as England fans would welcome.

Anyone who thinks otherwise should be reminded of recent Ashes exploits, where players - many originally from South Africa - batted and bowled their way to glory, the Three Lions crest proudly emblazoned on their jerseys.It's time for the England football team to move into the 21st century and find, as Germany did with Mesut Ozil (Turkish by birth), a gem of outstanding quality to make this debate a thing of the past.