All change at the bottom
It has been here many times before in the course of 44 years of hurt, of course, but England’s truly dismal showing at this summer’s World Cup has intensified the search for answers to the age-old lament: where did it all go wrong?
The new Premier League rules, whereby registered squads must include at least eight homegrown players, is designed both to limit the stockpiling of foreign imports and thereby, so the theory holds, improve the chances of quality native talent breaking through to boost the flagging morale of the national side. Of course, homegrown doesn’t strictly mean English, but rather refers to players who have been affiliated to clubs in the jurisdiction for at least three seasons before their 21st birthday. So, to pick one stellar example, Cesc Fabregas, who joined Arsenal at 16, seven years ago, qualifies by that definition, a fact which is obviously of purely academic interest to Fabio Capello and, perhaps before very much longer, of only historical interest to Arsene Wenger.
But for another leading figure at Arsenal, the whole idea of quotas appears to miss a basic point, which is that quality not quantity should be top of the national agenda. As head of youth development and academy director at Arsenal, Liam Brady suggests that the answer lies in a much more radical solution, arguing, in effect, for a bottom up rather than top down approach.
It might be an old refrain but that someone of Brady’s experience feels the need to voice it anew, is surely worthy of attention.
Speaking this week, Brady said: “I think the FA want English players playing much more in the Premier League. But I don’t see how they can force that. If players haven’t got the ability I don’t think Ferguson, Hodgson, Wenger or Mancini are going to pick them. The thing that the powers that be need to do is develop better players and they should go about it at young ages. They should get coaches to play in a different manner than they do in England.”
Brady reckons the models to emulate already exist on continental Europe.
“I think Germany and Spain, obviously, and Holland,” he said, “although Holland in this World Cup were unlike any Holland team we have ever seen. But if you go to Holland – all the Dutch teams will be playing in a measured way; a technical game, passing the ball out from the back. If you watch that game in Ireland or England, fellows would be screaming at them to kick the ball down the field and get stuck in.
“The Dutch can do it with 10 or 12 million people and be three-time finalists at the World Cup since England won it. I think they are missing a trick in England, I really do, and this movement to restrict the amount of foreign players in a squad or you have to have homegrown players – I don’t think it’s the answer.”
Of course, for English read Scottish, Welsh and Irish as well, since we all draw from the same well.
“I told this to (FAI boss) John Delaney too,” Brady revealed. “He needs to be going around, or people need to be going around, to all the young clubs in Ireland and saying – let’s teach the kids in a different way. Don’t put the emphasis on size or winning and kicking the ball long so the other team makes a mistake or the centre-forward’s big and he’s going to knock them over. Let’s play in a different way. You can’t obligate people but you can persuade them and I think that’s needed.”
To the FAI’s credit, they haven’t been idle in this respect in recent years, setting up an Emerging Talent Programme with a view to streamlining the country’s elite young players and appointing former Dutch international Wim Koevermans as high performance director to oversee a structural overhaul of the underage game.
However, such change tends to be more in the way of evolution rather than revolution, so that even the ageless Trap might not be around to benefit from the fruits of its labours. In the meantime, the English national team could once again find itself looking to a familiar source for at least a short term solution to its current ills. The club which gave the world Busby’s Babes and Fergie’s Fledglings, and which proved that you can indeed win something – hell, everything – with kids, looks equipped to provide a nugget or two for the next golden generation.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was also in town this week, the former Manchester United legend turned reserve team coach making light of the new squad restrictions.
“Alex Ferguson is known for giving young players a chance so these new rules don’t affect us at all,” he said. “Talent, that’s no problem. You get signed by Man Utd because you have talent. But when you get there, that’s when your character and personality shines through. Can you stand up for the big games? Everyone plays well when they’re winning three or four nil. If you’re losing or it’s 0-0, that’s when the character shines through.”
And of all the bright young things currently hovering on the fringes of the big time at Old Trafford, Solskjaer has no hesitation in naming the one to watch out for above all others over the coming months and years – highly rated English U21 midfielder Tom Cleverley.
“He’s done his rounds on loan, at Watford, at Leicester, and for me he’s top class,” said Solskjaer. “Great character, attitude is fantastic and he’s got all the skills, he’s different class. I think the manager is going to keep him this year because he thinks he can make an impact in the first team.
“A replacement for Scholes? Tom’s not the same type of player as Paul. Tom can play, left back, right back, left mid, right mid, centre mid, upfront – he can play anywhere.”
And, until English football starts paying attention to what Liam Brady and others are saying, he may have to.
- liammackey@hotmail.com
