Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand claims England national teams lacks an identity Ferdinand, who is also the only commission member from an ethnic minority background, said: "People talk about the identity of the English national team, well I'd like to know what it is. If you say "we've got an identity," then what is it? Break it down, tell me what it is. If I said to you "what's Germany's identity as a national team?" Resilience? Discipline? They've still got a bit of that, along with the new stuff - movement, retention of the ball, and so on. "We were closer to doing something under Glenn Hoddle," Ferdinand said. You started to see something was happening. I think if you spoke to a lot of the players, a lot of them really enjoyed playing under him and saw a progression and saw an idea, and saw an identity was being built around his ideas and philosophy of football. Since then, whether England managers haven't been good enough or had enough time, or whatever you can put it down to, I don't think anyone else has been close to doing that. Hopefully this manager [Roy Hodgson] will be able to do that, but I think the bigger picture is from below, so it's got to be a generation, say of under-11s or under-13s or 14s that you start with and you grow them through, and then see the rewards that come through in eight, nine or 10 years" time." Ferdinand has being putting his ideas forward and he also believes new rules have to be implemented to restrict the number of foreign players in academies, although it is not the only issue that needs addressing. "I've met with them and we've had dialogue through emails and stuff, so things are starting to take shape," he said, at the launch of EA Sports' FIFA 14 on Xbox One. It's just a matter of time, going through different processes before there's an end document. There will be a lot of research that goes into some of the arguments that we put forward as individuals, and then we'll get it all together. The quota of foreign players is a big thing I think. It kind of stifles the young talent we've got in this country if there are players in the way, just blocking any of the good young, home-grown talent coming through that need that next challenge to develop. There are obviously rules in place that have to be challenged and we have to see if they can be changed. There's not one single thing in this whole process that's going to be the defining factor that says "that's why." It's just an accumulation of everything. As for the summer, Ferdinand has all but closed the door on an international return for himself even if Hodgson wants him to come back for the World Cup in Brazil next year. The United defender revealed it would be a "fairy-tale ending" for him, but he does not want to take the place of a younger player as it would not be the right thing for England "going forward." Rio Ferdinand appears in EA SPORTS FIFA 14 on Xbox, out now. Build your Ultimate Team with 42 legends exclusive to Xbox. Order your special edition Xbox One and FIFA 14 at www.amazon.co.uk