Doesn't look like it, we did!
Bundesliga transfers can be weird sometimes. Transfer fees are almost never stupidly inflated, players move on frees a lot, etc. Completely different market (that we should be dipping into more!).
It's a really really simple premise, but the fact we have a German as a manager is a massive massive benefit, as he has a natural inclination and in depth knowledge towards quality players.
If Rafa hadn't been Spanish - no matter what his tactical expertise was - we may not have bought the likes of Garcia and Alonso in 2004, and therefore never have won the Champions League. Likewise, for all Wenger's forward thinking strategies in 1996, it would be hard to imagine him having the success if he weren't French and had a deep knowledge of the great talent that he brought to Arsenal from France.
Jürgen being a German is a real blessing - something which the likes of Rodgers didn't have, whose natural inclination was towards British players as that was where his knowledge lay - like most British managers. As we all know the state of the national game, there lacks any real top talent within this country, and that really hinders managers depth of knowledge towards players in my opinion.
The lack of any real coaching experience abroad for many British managers hinders the ability to open their eyes to top talent. Such is the 'island mentality' of many of them, it secludes exposure to finer, more sophisticated footballing nations. Praise to Rodgers who sought out coaching ideas abroad (the sort of which must be implemented at youth levels to make our home grown players much more technically sophisticated), but a residing bias towards British players may have resulted in an incompatibility with worthy coaching credentials with players unworthy of playing at the ultimate top top level under such ideals. For a British coach, perhaps both facets of management (coaching and player market knowledge) have to have maximum exposure to the different ideas and cultures from abroad to maximise ability.
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