Go back to the year 2000, and many Australian football fans would point to the number of up and coming Socceroo stars playing in the English Premier League.

Harry Kewell was in his early 20s and performing sensationally for Leeds United, while Mark Schwarzer was the first choice custodian at Middlesbrough. Mark Viduka joined Kewell at Elland Road in the 2000/1 season and proceeded to score more than 50 goals for the club, at a rate of approximately one in two.

Mark Bosnich was still at Manchester United, and even the likes of Hayden Foxe were getting game time in the English top flight.

Current Socceroos’ captain Lucas Neill and attacking star Tim Cahill were regulars for Millwall, before both going on to become Premier League stalwarts for the rest of the decade.

And now?

Cahill and Schwarzer are still impressing for their respective clubs, while Vince Grella (Blackburn) and Brad Jones (Liverpool) are lucky to get off the bench.

Four players – that’s about the grand total of Australian participation in the Premier League. Or it would be, if it wasn’t for a breakthrough season from Aston Villa’s Chris Herd.

The versatile 21-year-old made his first team debut last season, earning his first start in an FA Cup clash against Manchester City. Several months later and Herd, who is equally adept at right back or in the midfield, has already made eight appearances for the Villans.

The ECU Joondalup youth product has drawn rave reviews from a number of commentators, and his good form was rewarded with a call-up to the national team. While Herd had to withdraw from the squad due to injury, the achievement marks an incredible year for the Perth-born youngster.

Herd was awarded man of the match for his efforts against Wolverhampton Wanders at the beginning of the season, and received considerable praise from manager Alex McLeish in the aftermath.

“I thought his athleticism was fantastic, I thought some of his deliveries from wide areas were tremendous. Everything today for Herdy went right, and now it’s about him putting it in consistently for a number of games.

“He’s a player who went out on loan last year, and played a couple of games for the first team. And today he showed his desire. Can he take that on another step and deliver consistent quality?

While luck may have played its part in securing Herd a hotly contested Villa starting spot, and he’ll have to work very hard to prevent his position coming under threat, the Australian isn’t worried about the competition for places.

“I think it’s a positive, because I’m fighting for a spot in the team. Whoever is playing well is going to get the spot.”

Herd still has a long way to go, but if he can deliver the reliability that McLeish has asked for, the midfielder/defender will go a small way towards alleviating the lack of Australians currently in the first tier of English football.

But even if Herd’s Villa teammate Shane Lowry, currently on loan at Milwall, can find himself a position in McLeish’s regular squad, the situation still doesn’t compare favourably to that at the beginning of the new millennium.

While the Premier League is obviously not the be-all and end-all of football competitions, and it is encouraging to see young Australians excelling in the Dutch and German first divisions, their absence in England is conspicuous.

Not all is doom and gloom though, and a number of talented young stars are currently biding their time at clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool, waiting for a chance to impress.

The likes of Liam Jacob (United), Tom King (Liverpool), Brad Smith (Liverpool), Jamie Maclaren (Blackburn), Corey Gameiro (Fulham), Massimo Luongo (Tottenham) and Bradden Inman (Newcastle) are all turning out for the U18 or reserve teams at their respective sides.

While that’s a long way off being a regular Premier League player, it is a start at least. And as Herd’s rapid rise has shown, the ascent can happen almost overnight.

If the new crop of youngsters can cement themselves in England’s top flight over the next few years, the future of Australian football will be bright indeed. But if the drought of Australian players in the league continues, serious questions may have to be asked about the talent coming from Down Under.