This week saw the opening of the “David Rocastle Indoor Centre” at the Clubs Academy. It is a fitting tribute to perhaps the last truly skilfull youth player that the club has produced from its own doorstep. Rocastle is an example that should be held high to all who pass through the doors about what can be achieved if they apply themselves. However, his graduation through the clubs ranks could not be in more stark contrast to the multi-national setup the club has today. In his era, a foreign player at the Academy would have been someone from the Isle of Wight. Bringing in Spanish youngsters was not permissible then under UEFA rules.
So why have clubs, not just Arsenal, gone down the route of multinationalism? The most oft-quoted reason is technique, the English boys tending to be less able in that department that their overseas counterparts. Also, football has changed considerably. English clubs are no longer the bastions of British players they once were. The Liverpool side of the 70’s and 80’s had more than its fair share of players from the Home Nations. Never again will a team consisting of that mix win a title. For one, the conveyor belt of Scottish players coming south has dried up, their league equally full of Europeans and Africans as the Premiership.
It appears however, that one of the main barriers is the geographic limitation placed upon clubs by the FA. This week, the Manchester United Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson has lambasted this rule. Speaking at the Under -15 Manchester United Premier Cup, he said, “The academy is a handicap to us. The 90-minute rule is the most ridiculous rule I have ever known. Ninety minutes could be five miles up the road.I would have thought it was illegal to deny a young boy the chance to come to a club like Manchester United but it is something we can do nothing about.” Ignoring the emotive nature of Ferguson’s language, he has a point.
No more could Manchester United or Arsenal take a player from the opposite end of the country and put him in digs. Now if they want to sign that player, his family have to move with him. Which can be impractical as the parents are not just uprooting themselves but siblings as well. This can be problematic as a sibling may be sitting Exams. As a parent, I would be reluctant to take one child from an important year of schooling on the off-chance that the other may make the grade. The clubs have other issues to deal with. It is in their interests to find the breadwinner a job in the area. But changing jobs can be time consuming. Do they employ them at the clubs themselves in the short term? Have they the capacity to do so within their administrative workforce? Not usually.
So the clubs with their extensive network of scouts now look as much in Europe and Africa as they do in Balham or South Shields. This is not good for the bigger clubs, that is obvious otherwise Ferguson would have been singing the rules praises. In Arsenal’s case, they now seem to be signing Spaniards who come here on their own (maybe Reyes mistake was to ship his family en masse to London) and Fabregas adapted well. Senderos came from Switzerland (although of Spanish Parentage) at a similar time and the two were in digs together, going through the homesickness cycle, supporting the other through it and out the other side. Technically, Fabregas was and is, streets ahead of his English counterparts which makes him a more attractive proposition to Arsenal.
The Ninety Minute rule may have benefitted smaller clubs more than Premiership ones. A large proportion of the country is closer to a League side than Premiership. So the youngsters can get into the professional game via this route. But increasingly this is becoming an outdated mode. Once the younger players have made the grade in say, League Two, the talented are signed at a young age, step forward Theo Walcott, or they are never signed. When was the last time Arsenal signed a player in his mid-20’s from a lower league team? I’m thinking of Lee Dixon or Steve Bould. That was twenty years ago. The most likely scenario in today’s game is that the club will hold onto the player until it is too late. WBA want £10m for Curtis Davies. No way is he truly worth that at 21, especially when an experienced centre half can be had for half of that fee. The question the FA should be asking is whether or not this rule is ninety minutes away from killing English football?
One final thought on this subject. Back at the start of the entry, I mentioned the Under-15 Manchester United Premier Cup. Alex Ferguson will be presenting the trophy. Not to his club though, they appear to be out. But Arsenal are still in there with a shout at the time of writing. Now wouldn’t that get his season off to a flying start? Presenting a trophy to an Arsenal team…
According to today’s Guardian, a rare English product of the youth system could be a Chelsea player by this time tomorrow. They report that Cole’s transfer is not as dead in the water as it seemed and Mourinho’s assertion that they would not pay “£1 more” than their current offer is in fact complete hogwash. The get-out on their statement? Roman Abramovich. The paper insinuates that he has yet to give his final view of the transfer and whilst Chelsea have apparently set the limit at around £19m, presumably this is from his pot of money he gave them at the start of the summer for transfers, he may yet increase that limit. Chelsea believe that there is no market for Cole outside of Stamford Bridge hence their attempt to play hardball. Dangerous game to play. For whilst they may be the only ones interested this summer, next year could be a different story and I for one, would not be surprised to see him in La Liga if he is not signed by Chelsea this window. The most serious indication that the deal will go ahead was given yesterday when Cole was omitted from the first team squad photograph. The Sun meanwhile reports that who picks up the £1m bonus due to Cole under his current contract is a sticking point. This is a test as to how much Chelsea and Cole want the deal to go through. If Cole is serious, he waives it, safe in the knowledge that he is going to make up for it in the longer term. If he does not, it is a sign of how much pure greed is his motivation. We wait but breath is not baited. Meanwhile Jose Antonio Reyes was included in the photo, surprising given the paper talk was of the closeness of a deal between Real and Arsenal. I have time for the Spaniard as he has always given his all for the club when called upon, even if things did not work out quite as he intended. And not once, has he publicly anyway, never once had a bad word to say about the club. The papers meanwhile would have us believe that his deteriorating relationship with Thierry Henry was the reason for Wenger acceding to his wish to move back to Spain. So no homesickness then in their eyes.
