It seems that you can’t pick up a newspaper these days – if anyone still does such a thing that is, or perhaps even turn on your TV or computer without being bombarded with the message that English football is being killed by the sheer number of foreigners invading our Premier League soil like overseas mercenaries intent on nothing but swelling their own personal fortunes.
As I have previously stated, I believe that, though there may well be some kind of merit achieved from a reduction in the number of foreigners allowed (legal issues or concerns to be addressed to The FA, Wembley Stadium) that this is simply an excuse trotted out by all and sundry to mask the fact that the foreign players determination to succeed and not let the trappings of ‘fame’ go to their heads currently outweighs that of the majority of youngsters in English football. Now my view is very easily ignored or overlooked with the finger-pointing a much more palatable concept to most half-hearted observers.
Academy football for talented youngsters at clubs is the way we operate on these shores with education often going hand-in-hand with the football coaching on offer to hopefully produce more rounded individuals than may have previously been the case. With the vast amount of disappointed young footballers let go from professional clubs each year, academic options are an extra card up their sleeve should the ‘real world’ unfortunately end up calling them.
For those who get offered scholarships and eventually professional contracts, the hard work starts in earnest. The facilities at most of the Premier League clubs are now exceptional developments. Often built away from the ground itself, these facilities have numerous pitches of various shape and size, indoors and out with both grass or artificial surfaces. Coupled with the coaching on offer, the high-quality gym, the hydrotherapy pools, ice baths and oxygen tents these training grounds leave no stone unturned in their quest to produce the next Wayne Rooney or Paul Gascoigne (the footballer).
My belief is that once these young players have gone through the process of footballing filtration from the point they first joined in training sessions with a professional club – with some starting at ages as young as 6 or 7-years-old, they have been technically polished and hopefully remain well-grounded thanks to the education side of life at the club. It is at this next part of their footballing life that I believe we need to improve upon in order for the players to go on and have the same success as their foreign counterparts.
During their summer spending spree following the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a figure that would make your eyes water, Tottenham invested in a 21-year-old Danish playmaker by the name of Christian Eriksen from Ajax. He had already enjoyed three successful season’s in the Ajax first team with numerous awards coming his way to accompany the three Eredivisie titles to his name, whilst also collecting 40 international caps. He had also enjoyed European football in both the Champions and Europa League’s meaning that his football education was well down the path towards being counted on as a key player, as opposed to still being referred to as a youngster with huge potential.
During that spell from the age of 18-21, Eriksen was not only playing regular first team football, but he was also winning things and picking up valuable experiences, both good and bad, whilst learning how best to cope with them along the way. His proper footballing education had truly begun in earnest. It is not always the case for a young English player to be trusted and relied upon to perform week in and week out at Premier League level at a similar age, though there are obviously exceptions and we hope that there are to be many more in the coming years. Granted, the Premier League is a fierce league for trainee footballers to earn their stars and had Eriksen been thrust into the Tottenham team at age 18 as he was in Ajax, the outcome may well have been different, we will never know. What we do know is that we need to do more to nurture the talents in this age group to ensure that they don’t end up drifting down the footballing pyramid long before their time.
At 18, it is rare that Premier League managers will put too much faith in players beyond a few League Cup appearances and bench-births, which, coupled with only hollow ‘developmental squad football’ kind of stagnates their development. So what can be done to ensure that this talented group, who let us not forget have risen above their friends and peers throughout 10 years worth of cuts, trims and let-downs?
The money on offer in the Premier League means that, in general, teams are extremely reticent to put too much reliance on untried youngsters, especially if they are struggling towards the bottom of the league. To me, that is a perfectly understandable and reasonable view to take. With that in mind, the loan system seems the only way for these youngsters to gain the necessary experience. But is the current system sufficient?
The present loan system seems to be a bit of a who-you-know lucky-dip, with personal managerial relationships often being the deciding factor, or alternatively the team with the largest budget available to sweeten the deal may come to the fore. I’m also unsure of one-month loan deals. Even though a month is a long time in football, a longer minimum period would, in my view, be more beneficial to all parties. Another change that I would implement would be for loan fees to be done away with when it concerns a young player being loaned to a lower division.
I also believe that removing the aspect of managerial relationships ruling the loan roost by clubs being bound to submit to The FA a daily update of all players available for loan and the time period they are available for, along with the lowest division to which they are available. Other clubs would then be able to submit a claim to The FA on any of the players on the list and should there only be one qualifying request received by close of play that day, the player would move to the bidding club. In essence I would take the ability to dictate where their players are loaned to away from the clubs. Should there be multiple requests placed, The FA would take a discretionary decision on who to award the player to.
I believe that by taking the power away from the clubs that more players may end up moving away on loan rather than play age-group football at their parent clubs. I do however feel that the club should have the right to have the player train with them one day per week in order for them to maintain a close eye on their progress.
The progression from youth team football to playing in the first team of a Premier League club is a huge step up and must be closely managed in order to best nurture the talent whilst not over-burdening them with expectation and knee-jerk reactions from a hyper-critical audience. By placing some of that responsibility on the shoulders of The FA, hopefully the next crop of young English footballers have gained the necessary experience and aren’t overlooked in favour of sub-standard short-term foreign imports.
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