I think it’s because in the south, everything is quite close together compared to up north, it means a lot of young talented players from areas just outside London can be more easily snapped up by the big London clubs.
I grew up in Essex and a lot of good footballers from there end up at West ham over Colchester, Ipswich or Southend
There are exceptions, Southampton, Brighton and Bournemouth have all had good runs recently (in a macro sense) and Portsmouth had a good run in the mid and late 2000’s.
I think it’s because in the south, everything is quite close together compared to up north, it means a lot of young talented players from areas just outside London can be more easily snapped up by the big London clubs.
I grew up in Essex and a lot of good footballers from there end up at West ham over Colchester, Ipswich or Southend
There are exceptions, Southampton, Brighton and Bournemouth have all had good runs recently (in a macro sense) and Portsmouth had a good run in the mid and late 2000’s.