French lessons needed for English football
Chris O'KeefeBBC Sport Editor Mihir Bose highlighted in his latest column how different the systems of developing footballing world beaters are in both France and England. In speaking to former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier, Bose discovered that Steven Gerrard was, it appears, discovered by accident when then technical director Steve Heighway asked Houllier to look at a different player.
The French system according to Bose is not one to leave such a opportunity to chance. Players are nurtured from a very early age at places like Clarefontaine, the French centre of excellence. Houllier openly suggests that players at the age of 16 can only develop my 20% thereafter. Bose also highlights that prospective French starlets are training more than twice as long each week than their English counterparts.
It is also true that English clubs are taking notice. Delegates from Liverpool Football Club's academy, recently taken over by former Ajax Technical Director Piet Hamburg, were present at Clarefontaine before Bose's visit with Houllier to the complex. Clearly Liverpool felt that despite winning the FA Youth Cup two years running, the present academy system was not producing the calibre of prospects that could feasibly compete with regulars in the first team such as Carragher, Mascherano, Torres and the afore mentioned Gerrard.
There is of course some truth in that statement. It can be argued that the last year when so many younger players were blooded to any degree was the 2004/05 Carling Cup campaign. One may remember the volume of youngsters playing against Tottenham (winning on penalties). Zak Whitbread, Stephen Warnock, Danny Potter, David Raven et al have since left for pastures new and first team opportunites. Furthermore, of the recent graduates, only Stephen Warnock now a regular at Blackburn and Danny Guthrie, who is now on loan at Bolton after a handful of appearances in the Liverpool side are still playing top flight football. David Thompson, touted by some Liverpool fans a regular fixture for years to come, left in 2000 and now battles for a place in the Bolton side.
In short, it doesn't compare to say the success of mid nineties Ajax side which was largely built up of academy graduates and appeared in two European Cup finals (winning one) or even the Manchester United side of 1999 winning with graduates such as Beckham, Scholes, Butt, Giggs and Gary and Phil Neville.
It hasn't been too bad in comparison to some. Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher. Great footballers not to be sniffed at! However, recent years have seen drips and drabs of hope but little concrete success.
However, a peak across the channel will show a reasonable blueprint that may bear fruit in the future. Houllier did confess to Mihir Bose that if England did go down the same route, they could be world beaters. The FA gave their backing to the building of a national football centre at Burton in recent weeks. Houllier's prophecy could be right. His predecessor, Rafael Benitez may have made his best signing as Liverpool boss in appointing Piet Hamburg as academy boss. For now the local representation at Liverpool will not be in quantity as well as quality!
posted by C O'K @ 1:08 pm
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