ACADEMY SYSTEM IS BREEDING AWFUL
Clubs may miss the next John Terry and Ledley King
LEDLEY KING and John Terry go head-to-head today as captains of Spurs and Chelsea.
Two players at the top of their profession but sadly these two stalwarts are a dying breed - and they haven't even turned 30.
Both have emerged from a traditional production line that has, to all intents and purposes, been forgotten by the English game: Sunday morning boys' football.
When they were 11, Terry and King were team-mates. Not as young "scholars" of a hugely funded Premier League Academy but as hungry kids in an east London Sunday morning youth team called Senrab which, over the years, has produced dozens of stars.
Diamonds
There are hundred of similar clubs up and down the country but they are no longer the places where scouts unearth rough diamonds.
Because, by the ridiculously young age of eight, the Academies of the big clubs have taken the best kids away from that previously productive breeding ground.
So are we seeing a new golden generation of kids emerging from those academies as result? The answer's no. Instead too many kids are being chewed up and spat out by the system, with the big clubs eventually going abroad to find new talent.
Just take Chelsea who have fallen foul of FIFA over their overseas poaching policy. They have spent more than £60 million on players in their Academy but still haven't produced a regular first team home-grown player since, er ... Terry.
Empire
Ditto Tottenham with King.
Look at Liverpool. Who has come through since Steven Gerrard or Jamie Carragher? No-one of note.
Or Manchester United where Alex Ferguson's empire was built on the Giggs generation. John O'Shea and Darren Fletcher are about it since. Arsenal have high hopes for Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshire, but Ashley Cole apart, the star of their Academy over the past decade has been Spain international Cesc Fabregas.
That Fabregas counts as "home-grown" under new FIFA rules means the popular trend of poaching from abroad, where the raw talent tends to be hungrier, will just get worse.
Exception
Foreign players only need to spend three years here under the age of 21 to qualify.
Academies at clubs like West Ham and Middlesbrough are bringing through good young English players but they seem to be the exception rather than the rule.
Part of the problem is that too many Academies end up over-coaching kids. And if the kids don't conform they are rejected and lost to the game.
Former Spurs and England star Chris Waddle is hugely critical of a system he believes is just creating robots. He wonders if players like Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi might have been lost in our system.
Schemer
Would King and Terry both have come through now? You would like to think so. But I am not certain. When they were both 11, King was already a big, tough centre-half, but young Terry was just a slim midfield schemer.
Might Terry, now the England captain, have been bombed out as a Chelsea Academy player way before his body had developed, and it became obvious he was better suited to being a stopper? Back then - and it is only a decade or so ago - Terry had time, and a team, to help him find his feet in a Sunday school of hard knocks, before eventually making the big time.
The academy system has cut adrift that safety net. And the English game is poorer for it.
This article has 7 comments
The academy and centre of excellance systems allow good younger boy`s to gain lot`s of experience in not only football but also disipline, learning from others, getting to know and learn more by playing the game and not listening to irate parents who do nothing but slate referees. however it has massive flaw`s also. a boy u/12 must live within an hour of the club and yet may travel up to 3hrs on sunday morning to play games, that could mean up to 6hrs on the rd and a very early start. And as we all know not everyone`s body develops at the same time which means lots of very good players get released much to early, one of the reasons this occurs is due to the fact there is no age restriction in games, boys aged 13 often play against boys aged 15 and that is because there are no leagues, so results don`t matter, so at times it realy is men against boys and shows some unlucky youngters they are not strong enough (wot a joke ) no matter how good they are. So just how much talent has this system discarded ? to much !
By Bertie. Posted October 25 2009 at 11:20 AM.
acedemy clubs is an old way of brreding players,the place were u can find the best young talent are in local areas playing in the fields in the park that were u find talent
By odilon bah. Posted September 22 2009 at 10:10 AM.
I coach an Under 12 team and started at Under 9, I am fed up of so called better teams trying to poach my players, representatives coming down and making ridiculous promises and then telling the lads that they cant play with their mates. no player should sign for a professional club before they are 13, the clubs should offer assistance to the volunteers at grassroots level, courses that are affordable to volunteers should be made available, so that the volunteers can develop their skills as the kids are improving. Players should be allowed to enjoy their football and develop naturally.
By Wayne Holiday. Posted September 21 2009 at 9:46 AM.
Shep,
Academies were established to enhance the prospects for the national team (but as it now turns out, thats the Spanish; French and Italian national teams....).
For all those banging on about how good they are, could they answer this question. How come that, after having these centres of excellence for 17 years, the English game is full of African imports like Essien and Adebayor?
No offence, but I do not believe that the African academies have had the millions and millions spent on them that our clubs have ploughed in since the "blueprint" of 1992.
And who have they turned out? Divers like Owen; Gerard; Cole J; Rooney etc.
The trouble with becoming associated with the pro game so early is that kids never seem to learn that it is a sporting endeavour. All managers and coaches must be made to answer for the behaviour of their players.
Perhaps we should study and adopt the African system in future?
By Damien. Posted September 20 2009 at 10:11 AM.
There are also some good kids coming through at Tottenham. They have sent a few out on loan and they are progressing well. If you look at the under 21s in both England and Wales(my country) then i think there has been an improvement. Ramsey, (who is actually Welsh, John) and other players like Bale and Hennesey, are giving real hope to us in Wales!
By Dai. Posted September 20 2009 at 9:22 AM.
i can agree that the academy system doesn't always allow time to develop at many clubs. And at 11 many kids feel too old to make it which is a shame. But lets not look back at 'the old days' and say how great it was because it wasn't. That was failing as well.
Our youth system, and our sunday league system need a culture change. They need to be learning rather than winning. They need to play in different positions, on small tight pitches, where control and intelligence beat strength and pace.
Over the last 20 years we've been left behind the rest of the world in our youth setup, and some things are happening to bring us back.
Personally i'd like to see more 5 a side tournements at a young age and less season long leagues.
I was brought up on an 11 a side pitch as a centre back and told to smash the ball high long and wide. I wasn't allowed to play anywhere else, because i played for a poor team and we'd concede if i wasn't at centre back.
Those old days had horrible traps too. Plus the school system is dreadful and county football is a joke.
By cheese. Posted September 20 2009 at 7:58 AM.
Arsenal had 9 Englishmen last year in the Fa youth cup final
Relax plenty of english techincally gifted footballers coming through at arsenal.
Wilshere, gibbs, walcott, ramsey, Henri lansbury- Hes as good as wilshere, Jay thomas, Luke Ayling-One of the best 17 centre backs, Kyle Bartley, Sanchez watt been on the bench for the champions league
Wenger will bring these english players through slowly
By john. Posted September 20 2009 at 12:59 AM.