Seeing as we are the best youth team in the world currently, (two world cups and a Toulon tournament victory), it is that next step up which seems to be the hardest.Interesting article. Chelsea are one of the worst with youth.
There is a big problem generally in England with developing young British players. This England team is the worst I can remember. 1 point at the world cup and the Iceland game!
A lot of it stems from the money. Firstly because any decent young player will get a big contract in their teens and this can destroy their motivation.
Secondly the obsession with transfers restricts first team opportunities for local players.
Thirdly, players like Wilshere, Barkley, Ince, Strurridge who have the chance to go abroad don't and would rather take the easy money.
I think having a lot of teams with very few local players contributes to the poor atmosphere at games too. Supporters dont have a connection with the teams anymore. Harder to support mercenaries than locals who actually have a connection with the club, not just there pay packet!
Agree, just thinking about Wilshere as an example from the other thread. Went backwards hugely since 2011 Barca game. Wasted potential, the story of most English players these days.Seeing as we are the best youth team in the world currently, (two world cups and a Toulon tournament victory), it is that next step up which seems to be the hardest.
It is down to the first team managers to give them game time, which a lot of them are simply not doing.
That is where the log jam is, and until that changes, then you will continue to see very talented young players stagnate unfortunately.
Wilshere is a terrible example of the problem though. He never struggled for opportunities or game time. His problem has always been his injuries and whether England or Germany he'd have the same problems. He's one of the few who have actually been given importance and lots of game time from a young age.Agree, just thinking about Wilshere as an example from the other thread. Went backwards hugely since 2011 Barca game. Wasted potential, the story of most English players these days.
Of Oliver Burke I just know that he did not have the tactical sense he needed for a first team spot at Leipzig. And the work rate. Especially the Leipzig attackers are asked to work a lot defensively and with pressing.I remember a similar article coming out when Oliver Burke who at the time was at Nottingham Forrest and was one of their best players moved to RB Leipzig.
At the time he was saying that he choose to go to Germany for playing time because he knew that if he stayed in England and went to a big club he wouldn't get played etc. Funnily enough he spent most of the time on the bench in Germany he started just five league games for Leipzig last season, making 20 sub appearance. He's back in England at West Brom now, haven't seen much from him this season but thought his story was quite interesting. I think he moved too quickly tbh, with young players they have to be really smart about the timing of their moves as it could be bad for their development.
There is relegation battles everywhere else as well.Just look at the PL table, super tight for top 4 race and the same from mid-table down to the relegation spots. Only a few teams can realistically afford to give chances to young & unproven players.
I do not think that it fails to mention it - in the interviews they mention what it takes to have success... Dale Jennings failed because he did not adapt, did not put in the necessary work and had injuries. I doubt that he speaks more than some German sentences, too. He did not fail because he did not get chances but because he apart from his talent does not live a professional life.Skim read the article but it fails to mention what happened with Dale Jennings(?) Who moved to Bayern academy from Tranmere, it doesn't always work out.
It looks he played last match vs Hannover as fullback, Vestergaard and Ginter were the centerbacks.@SCP
Oxford went back to Germany and played 90 minutes in the last two games. Supposedly they want to sign him permanently too.
Do scouts only watch profesional games or can they go see a kid playing in the beach or in the park and send they to a club anyway ?
I want to understand more about how the scouting thing works.
Thanks. Do PL scouts act more in Europe to sign these academy members or do they have contacts in places like South America, Japan and Africa who sends the teenagers to clubs if they're really good too ?Each team has various different levels of scouting. At the lowest level they'll have local scouts watching youth games from very young ages looking for people to join their academy. Considering how many teams have huge scouting operations it's unlikely they'd find a random kid in a park whos unknown to clubs already unless they're below probably the age of 10. Even then, if they're a big enough talent for an academy then they'd probably have been known in the area as they'd 99% have played for a team in a league.
Teams have feeder teams too in terms of scouting. The united scouts will have friends involved with local leagues who will refer players to them to initially.
Each team has various different levels of scouting. At the lowest level they'll have local scouts watching youth games from very young ages looking for people to join their academy. Considering how many teams have huge scouting operations it's unlikely they'd find a random kid in a park whos unknown to clubs already unless they're below probably the age of 10. Even then, if they're a big enough talent for an academy then they'd probably have been known in the area as they'd 99% have played for a team in a league.
Teams have feeder teams too in terms of scouting. The united scouts will have friends involved with local leagues who will refer players to them to initially.
And added to that, they have way more data about the players. Earlier, the bigger teams just bought the best players off the smaller teams.I don't see a problem. I think we are at the stage of the league where small clubs can afford to buy top foreign talent. What is going to happen is that clubs will find it too expensive to source depth in their squad from other teams. At the moment you cannot buy a player from a mid-table side under 40m if you are a member of the big 6. This means that these teams will have to get depth from the championship or from within their u23s. Look at Chelsea, i know they have had a spending ban, but the lack of spending forced upon them made them look from within for talent. The same principles have applied to Arsenal, Liverpool (TAA), Spurs and us. Overtime this will also occur at City. It's too expensive to buy players at the moment, even from foreign leagues. Pepe going for 72m, Fred for 50m etc. Teams will start looking for free transfers and players within their own youth system unless the player they are going after is worth it.
