da jogodeouro： Former Manchester United defender and now manager of France, Laurent Blanc, has been voicing his concerns over the Premier League and how it hinders the progress of precocious young players. His ideal would be for players to gain as much experience through regularly playing, but when that isn’t the case in the Premier League, he suggests that staying in France would be more advantageous to players in order to improve and build their reputation. It is notoriously infamous that the Premier League has the lowest home reputation of players, compared to all of the other major leagues in Europe.
da brwin： So does Blanc’s point remain valid or is he narrowly viewing the matter as influenced by his current managerial position? Against Blanc, we may cite the new Premier League rules that limit clubs to a 25 man squad and the further caveat that 8 of these 25 players have to fall under the category of ‘home grown’. This came into effect for the new season, it is therefore in its preliminary stages of having notable and observable effects. The only problem is that the term ‘home grown’ doesn’t necessarily mean English, it only means that the player has to have been affiliated to the club for 36 months prior to their 21st birthday.
These rules will undoubtedly take years to fully come to fruition, the type that will increase the percentage of ‘home grown’ players and the aim of giving the England manager more options when choosing their squad. It still seems that the Premier League are behind the times, having enacted this new legislation only this season, whilst countries such as Germany have been implementing this kind of mentality for years now.
There seems to be a vicious contradiction of interests at work here, as Blanc cites Gael Kakuta’s stagnation at Chelsea as evidence of his rationale, the young prospect was enticed by the instant gratification of material gains that French clubs couldn’t match. But rather than the likes of Kakuta being played, they are kept at arm’s length, only if needs determine his use. This is due to the overarching demand of competition, the cry for success, and fans insatiable desire for immediate change. So why would managers risk their jobs in playing inexperienced kids, devoting their time to developing them over a course of years, when they’re likely to be cast aside if results aren’t favourable over the short-term?
This dichotomy of clashing forces creates two paths that are poles apart and one that will be arduous to reconcile. The demand of short-term success contrasts against the foresight to provide for the national squad. Do we wish for an exciting and unparalleled league or do we wish for a respectable effort in attaining a World Cup? Admittedly we do have some talent emerging, the likes of Jordan Henderson, Jack Wilshere, Andy Carroll and Kieran Gibbs all being involved with the England set-up in some capacity.
But is it really enough, and soon enough, that these types of players are getting the exposure that is essential to their evolution? With the stipulated rules mentioned above, from the Premier League, it’s a dip in the shallow end of the pool, I mean who’s to say, and there’s evidence for it, that clubs won’t just buy foreign 12-18 year olds and develop them accordingly. Blanc identifies a familiar problem and it bares testament, pressurised clubs will be determined by tangible outcomes, not who their academy has produced. But then can youth challenge this notion for the good of the national team?
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