Clubs mustn’t fail these kids . . . England expects!
IT’S not often you see a team win a trophy and simultaneously throw down a challenge but that’s what happened in Kolkata on Saturday.
We can say without fear of contradiction that, at present, English football has the best youth programme in the business; Steve Cooper’s Under 17s crowned a glorious year for the development squads by following the Under 20s lead and conquering the world.
And in doing that, those young players laid down the gauntlet to their clubs. They cannot be failed now. They have to be given every chance to become the stars we hope they will be, not left to stagnate behind a raft of signings in the future.
Look at Manchester City’s Phil Foden as an example. If he does not make it as an elite footballer, we should all pack in and say it’s never going to happen for a young English talent ever again. I look at him and can see James Rodriguez.
Foden, believe me, is a superstar in the making. It’s easy to say that after he scored two goals in a World Cup final and won player of the tournament but he has got the lot. People are talking about him being ready for the Premier League in six to eight months but look at him: he’s ready now.
This is what concerns me about the kids who have been successful in 2017. They have made their mark in boys’ football but what they all need now is the chance to do so in the men’s game. They don’t need to hear coaches telling them to wait for the future.
I’ve watched every tournament this summer. It doesn’t matter what the age group, the teams have played with a style that we haven’t seen at youth levels before. We’ve gone away from what used to be our physical ‘strengths’ and play in a more continental — or even Latin — way.
Winning those tournaments has given everyone a lift. But, if we are brutally honest, the Under 20s hardly get mentioned now and I fear it will be the same for the Under 17s in a few months. Once these players go out of sight, they go out of people’s minds.
What these lads have done for England only becomes good if they kick on when they return to their clubs: success, as I see it, is watching Everton’s Jonjoe Kenny and Dominic Calvert- Lewin start against Arsenal in the Premier League, not what they did against Venezuela in June.
Those two are at a club that will give them a platform. Southampton, Tottenham and Manchester United will do likewise but what about elsewhere? I used the word stagnate earlier because I have seen so many lads fail to fulfil their potential due to a lack of games.
The way I see it, this isn’t a problem that can be pinned solely on managers. If I ever get the opportunity to manage, there would be no man more committed to having young players in his team.
I know what it’s like to be 18: all you want at that age is a reason to believe. I also know, though, that if I do get a job, should I fail to win my first four or five matches, I’ll face the sack. There is no patience in the game any more and that means managers can’t afford to look at the long term; they can’t afford to have kids making mistakes when they need results.
But if they don’t get the chance to play men’s football regularly, they will never be able to recreate what they have done for England’s youth team where we want them to do it most of all — at a senior European Championship or World Cup.
It’s in the next stage of development that we could learn from Spain. When a top club have an exciting talent, they ensure he gets miles in the legs and minutes in the head in men’s football.
Ferran Torres — a 17-year-old at Valencia — is the best example. He’s playing in the Segunda B Division — in games that matter, not academy knockabouts — and Real Madrid and Barcelona are already fighting over him. He will be ready when his time comes.
They know how to look after the good ones in Spain. After our golden 2017, we need to do the same.
If Foden doesn’t make it, we should all pack it in and admit it’s never going to happen for a young English talent