The Importance of Being Brave With Youth

For youth development to truly work, it needs those in positions of power to be much braver

This past weekend saw the Premier League give debuts to players such as Memphis Depay, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Firminho, to name a few. All came with big fees and are exceptional talents. It a sign of the wealth and power of the league at this time, awash with cash and clubs at the top and bottom of the league, and the clubs are in a frivolous mood. 

It is clear that the league has enhanced its talent pool in recent years and seems only to get stronger as the increased TV revenue lines the already deep pockets of many of the leagues teams. 

For some the influx of greater of talent is a positive thing, I personally believe this is the case and enjoy seeing the great talent on show each week. However, I also want to see young English players coming through and playing in the league. I want to see the Academies being utilised more, with players getting greater chances to show what they can do. Unfortunately the culture of the league, prevalent with the fans too, is that of spending money and bringing in foreign players. 

Therefore it was a pleasant surprise to see a player like Reece Oxford make his Premier League debut at just 16 years old versus Arsenal. What a statement from the new manager of West Ham Slaven Bilic. And Oxford was excellent. He showed maturity, composure and intelligence which genuinely exceeded his age. He has a long way to go still and one hopes he can continue to develop, stay level-headed and in five to ten years time be at a level where we continue to admire him. But the key is that he was given the chance to show what he can do. The purpose of this article is to discuss the issue with risk and bravery in the modern world of football management and why Academies needs more risk takers at first team level to make their projects into successes.

Reece Oxford gained many plaudits and much acclaim for his performance on the weekend, and rightly so. However a few worrying trends emerged on this opening weekend. Only 33.2% of players who started the 10 games this weekend were English, that is 73 of 220. Some may hold that up to be positive, yet that same 30% area keeps on being hit. Remember Germany's Bundesliga gets above 50% of German's playing. 

Another one I saw was that of the 23 man squad for England’s 21’s only four of those players started; they were Jack Butland, John Stones, Harry Kane and Matt Targett. Now let’s just touch on these players and get a sense of what has helped these players get to where they are now. 

Jack Butland was given the opportunity at a somewhat case strapped Birmingham City and proved his hype with an impressive season before moving to Stoke. John Stones is now regarded as a £30m player, however it took the faith and confidence in his talent at Barnsley at 14 years old to allow him to develop physically and then took Roberto Martinez (yes he was bought by David Moyes while at Everton) to show the bravery to play Stones and embrace his talent. Harry Kane’s story has become well known but Spurs were patient with his development and then gave him the chance to show what he can do, firstly under Tim Sherwood and then with Pochettino and he took it with everything he had. 

As for Matt Targett, well he has the fortune of being at a club which values youth development better than any Premier League, and perhaps any team in across the English leagues. Southampton have become a model for bravery and trust in youth and have excelled on the pitch and financially from their ‘investment’. 

Two other players who played on the weekend were Brendan Galloway for Everton and Dele Ali for Spurs. Both were bought from MK Dons in recent years. This is not a surprise. MK Dons have gained a reputation for not only ‘developing’ good talent within their Academy but actually trusting them to play senjor football. Ali’s development has come from the trust which manager Karl Robinson had in him to give him a start to his senior career at just 16 years of age. After over 60 games for the club he developed into a £5m player. Would he have become this had he not been given the opportunity and trust to play?

This is what I am talking about, managers and club who believe in youth, and embrace youth. The players mentioned above have gained opportunities because they were/are at clubs where the people in charge aren’t afraid to put young players into the senior teams in order to see how they fare. And you know what happens most of the time? Those players go on to play for that club for years, give years of service and quality. And those who do really well often leave to play at higher levels, and the development club receive a hefty sum in return. 

Now the only concern with playing youth players is that they come with the risk of inexperience and the potential for mistakes. Unfortunately too many managers, and chief executives, think and act with fear and apprehension in their roles. They makes decisions based on fear of defeat and relegation. They lack the bravery to believe in what youth can bring. The impact a youth player can make on a team and club is startling, the fans warm immediately because they see these players as ‘one of them’, the players often find the youth players exuberance and fearless attitude brings out more from the team. 

If club's CEO's was smart, they would embrace a steady stream of youth players in their senior squads. Because playing youth players attracts attention from other clubs. There is a desperate hunt for potential players, those in the ‘lower’ leagues who may have that something about them. Ali, Galloway and Butland are testament to that. So too players like Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain who were both bought when Southampton were in League One. Arsenal saw in them potential brilliance. And why did they think this? Because Southampton gave their youth players a chance to shine!

It continues to baffle me that managers seem so reluctant and fearful to utlitse the youth their clubs have. In some ways you can appreciate they need to win games and gain points, that they can ‘rely’ on the experienced pro’s to help them through. But surely the CEO of the club, or the Director of Football, should be looking at it and thinking that embracing youth makes perfect economical sense. If a player steps up and does well then you have a player performing on a low wage, if he does very well he is sold and a profit is made. It just seems obvious to me. But that’s perhaps because I am in the world of youth development. I value what youth players offer, and look at the barriers these players have above them with disappointment. 

Some clubs simply may not bother having youth academies from my experiences. They find them burdensome and a economic drag rather than a chance to bring through potential. And then of course at certain clubs you get the need for the giants and the neglect of the smaller technician. This small minded mentality forgets that the smaller technician pretty much dominates the world of elite football right now. If you’re a club wanting to develop elite modern players, surely your prototype players are Messi, David Silva, Eden Hazard no? Maybe that’s just me. I believe in quality, size shouldn't be a concern. Clubs seem afraid of embracing smaller players because of that fear mentality again. Instead of seeing what the player can offer, they look at what he doesn't do. A great example is Jack Grealish at Aston Villa. Paul Lambert set up the team negatively and saw in Grealish a liability rather than the creative spark Villa needed. Sherwood embraced Grealish and Villa had a great end to the season. Sherwood, with experience working with youth, is brave and wants to embrace youth. His risk taking personality worked for Villa. 

Speaking of the smaller playmaker, I love watching Danny Crowley from Arsenal, a player coming through who I see as a player who is perfect for the echelons of elite football. But what about lower down the leagues? I’ve watched and admired the progression of a player like Matt Ritchie shine at Swindon under Paolo Di Canio and then flourish even more at Bournemouth under Eddie Howe. His talents helped both clubs to promotions and we now see Ritchie in the Premier League. He has been fortunate to have managers who trusted in his talent and embraced it. The results are obvious, it has helped both clubs push forward. Di Canio may have his faults but he showed great bravery at Swindon, in the teams style and trusting smaller players, and succeeded for it. Howe has been a revelation and is regarded as one of England’s brightest managers. Both are brave and trust youth and size. 

The majority though live in fear it seems of youth and size. And this is a major problem for English development as a whole. The positive however is that is changing, clubs are clocking on to the benefits of youth development, are seeing the need to make sure their annual investment is reaping rewards. Yet it is not about that necessarily, it is about the ‘want’ of a club, as a whole, to buy in and embrace a model which appreciates the importance of giving youth a chance. 

Too many clubs don’t have this going all the way through, most clubs stop being brave at youth team level, the coaches are mostly old school and play a style which limits, not enhances potential. If an Academy is doing well all the way through to 21’s then most often the manager is reluctant to go near the youth players. Again, for fear of losing his job. This is where the CEO needs to be the man properly in charge, and which is why Southampton works better than anyone else. There is a proper structure and a real idea which runs throughout the whole club. It is their culture to embrace, develop and utilise youth footballers.  And it’s working so well that other clubs would be silly not see the benefits of a model like this. 

I find myself frustrated at the amount of talent un-used across the academies by first team managers. And it is not because the  players aren’t good enough, it is because they are not getting the opportunities. And this is because the culture of fear within many managers is holding back the development of young players. 

Going back to the start of the article I touched on the increased revenue in the league and how this will only increase the buying power of the clubs. This is a major concern. However the hope is that clubs look to bring in coaches who trust and appreciate youth, who can nurture these players and be brave to give them chances. 

A great example now is Brendan Rodgers. His trust in youth is evident and the players who have excelled under his management at Liverpool is testament to his philosophy and bravery. Liverpool may not have won the league, or gotten into the Champions League this time around, but they sold Raheem Sterling for £49m, a player a few years ago had potential, yet who under Rodgers became the most expensive English footballer. Another manager may have had him still with the U21’s. You may laugh but look at the careers of Lewis Baker and Josh McEachran at Chelsea and see what happens when youth isn’t appreciated or valued. Who knows how many players are being denied what Sterling or Jordan Ibe are getting because they don’t have the fortune of having a manager who believes in them and trusts them? 

And that’s what it comes down to ultimately, the subjective philosophy and individual bravery of respective managers/coaches. Some clubs are now making sure to hire coaches who will embrace the philosophy of buying into their youth policy and philosophy. These clubs will make it work. As evidenced by Liverpool, Southampton and Arsenal. 

Now there will be an argument to say that teams who ‘win’ the big trophies don’t’ have this philosophy, recent winners of the Premier League seem to show this. But that is where this idea is wrong. One only has to look at the success of Spain and Germany and with that Barcelona and Bayern Munich to see that in the past decade the most successful nations and teams have been those who have actually embraced youth devleopnent and cultivated and nurtured young potential into world class talent and trophies. In fact it seems that in order to succeed in Europe consistently it may be relevant that you have a strong core of youth products in the team. This has been clear with Barca and Bayern and their success proves it. 

Why? Well the players have a deep knowledge of the club; its values and philosophy and the development of collectivism which builds over years of playing and developing together. Of course the bond between club and fans helps too. Right now none of the top Premier League clubs have this kind of makeup in their teams. Chelsea’s one stalwart is John Terry. Man City have perhaps Joe Hart. Arsenal have Wilshere. United don’t have anyone really. There is a sense that these sides lack a true identity and personality in their sides. They have forgotten what truly makes a successful team. Ferguson got it right with the bleeding of the class of ’92 and look what happened for 15 years following. It was incredibly brave of him, regardless of how good these players were, he took a risk and it worked splendidly. 

I am not saying you have a full XI of academy players, the best teams have shown to blend their youth, home grown and the top class talent within their teams. That is an art in itself, but it is that word ‘balance’ which teams need to find. Unfortunately I find the lack of faith and trust in giving youth a chance a real shame and a damning indictment of the current mindset across English football. Fear reigns in first team offices and board rooms. Until this mentality becomes one of bravery, risk and trust then we will not truly develop a greater number and hopefully increased quality of English player. The signs this past weekend were very positive, it is clear there are some out there who aren’t afraid to embrace youth, and they and their clubs will be rewarded. I just wish more had the belief in what youth can bring.

The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address