england - the next generation

[Hoop Blah]

Another positive performance from a potential future England player this afternoon. Step forward Daniel Sturridge. This loan spell at Bolton will do him the wonder of good, especially if he can continue to give good Premier League sides the run around like he did for a lot of this game.

Cahil looked pretty solid too.

[Elmer Park]

I agree with Hoop Blah's last two posts although Richards seems to have his good days and bad days.

Smalling's move to Manchester United shocked me as much as any transfer of recent times, except whenever Reading sign a player, but he does seem very promising and I reckon he will be in a full England squad soon. I also agree about Cahill's promise.

I think Sturridge may have been better off going to a Club like Bolton if he had got the chance when he left Manchester City although I suppose at his age the lure of Chelsea must have been powerful. However, having left Manchester City because he was going to be starved of first team starts, Chelsea wouldn't have been an entirely logical choice of next Club from where I sit. England badly need a young striker or two to come through as each time one of his original choice strikers withdraws from a squad Capello seems to be forced to look backwards at failed strikers from previous squads.

The England job is always going to be a results driven business but in a way it would have been good if after the World Cup everyone could have agreed to build for the next one and blood players who might flourish in that Tournament even if it meant playing inexperienced teams in the current European qualifying campaign. If England were ever in a position where the public would have accepted that it was after the last World Cup but I suppose if we got a few bad results that acceptance and patience probably wouldn't have lasted.

[Hoop Blah]

I agree on the building for the next World Cup etc, but on the Sturridge point, I don't think he left City because he wasn't going to get games. He left because Chelsea were offering silly money for a bright prospect that City dithered about matching. I think it was one of those situations where a youth product felt he wasn't paid equally to similar players bought from elsewhere.

[Hoop Blah]

Two more young Englishman putting in good performances tonight. Wilshire and Walcot were at the heart of all the good stuff from Arsenal.

[ZacNaloen]

Was about to make that post, Wilshere especially really living up to the hype.

Lets hope england fans don't ruin him.

[Hoop Blah]

This weeks 'next great star' might get a run out for Liverpool in the UEFA Cup after scoring a handful of goals in the Youth Cup earlier in the week.

Although Sterling is probably the generation after the next one, it'll be interesting to see if Dalglish takes a risk and gives him a run out whilst he's still buzzing. He sounds like one to watch.

[comeonyouroyals]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11827_6757058,00.html

Excellent news for English football, I can't think of any team that even comes close to bringing players through aswell as Barca.

[No Fixed Abode]

McEachran is the one to look out for. Class player and so composed on the ball for a 17 year old.

Chelsea won't sell Sturridge as Drogba's days look to be numbered.

[Thomas L'Heureux]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11827_6757058,00.html

Excellent news for English football, I can't think of any team that even comes close to bringing players through aswell as Barca.

I take it you've never heard of a little known dutch club called Ajax?

[comeonyouroyals]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11827_6757058,00.html

Excellent news for English football, I can't think of any team that even comes close to bringing players through aswell as Barca.

I take it you've never heard of a little known dutch club called Ajax?

Yep but let look at the quality of players their bringing through compared to Barca at the mo! Because somehow I feel Iniesta, Xavi, Messi, Busquets, Puyol and Pedro (add Fabregas and Pique all though not sure you can count them) etc may be a tad above Ajax.

[Victor Meldrew]

McEachran is the one to look out for. Class player and so composed on the ball for a 17 year old.

Chelsea won't sell Sturridge as Drogba's days look to be numbered.

This boy has been talked up quite a bit probably because he is the only English lad to come through their system for some years.
From what I have seen he looks quite composed but doesn't do much.
The current midfield there is so pedestrian and lacking in ideas he wouldn't have to be that good to get in the side except both Essien and Lampard are (despite doing nothing recently)are (wrongly)considered undroppable.

[Tails]

-----------------------------------------------------GK J Hart [23] MAN C----------------------------------------------

-----LB Gibbs [21] ARS | CB Smalling [21] MAN U | CB Cahill [26] BOLTON | RB M Richards [22] MAN C
....................................................................................................... [RB G Johnson [26] L’POOL]

--------------------------------------------CM Milner [24] MAN C
.................................. [CM McEachran [18] CFC]
................................................................ CM Wilshere [19] ARS
W Walcott [21] ARS ............................................................................. RW A Johnson [23] MAN C
........................................................................................................... [RW A Lennon [23] SPURS]

...........................................SS Rooney [26] MAN U

..........................................................CF A Carroll [22] L’POOL

I think there is enough here to create a competitive nucleus for European Championships. Most have either broken, or starting to break, into the first teams at their clubs.

NOTE: Players ages are not all correct.

[comeonyouroyals]

Would Probally chuck Young in for Johnson also Kelly from Liverpool at right back for me.

[Thomas L'Heureux]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11827_6757058,00.html

Excellent news for English football, I can't think of any team that even comes close to bringing players through aswell as Barca.

I take it you've never heard of a little known dutch club called Ajax?

Yep but let look at the quality of players their bringing through compared to Barca at the mo! Because somehow I feel Iniesta, Xavi, Messi, Busquets, Puyol and Pedro (add Fabregas and Pique all though not sure you can count them) etc may be a tad above Ajax.

The current crop is outstanding of course, but it's unfair to pigeon-hole it to a single generation (otherwise what's the point of a youth set-up in the first place?).

Ajax's youth program is responsible for the likes of Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Edwin van der Sar, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, Frank Rijkaard, the de Boer borthers, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Ryan Babel, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Maarten Stekelenburg, Eljero Elia, Johnny Heitinga, Nigel de Jong, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thomas Vermaelen to name but a few.

You're a bit narrow-minded if you think that just because Barca have a golden generation on their hands that no other club has come close to producing those standards in the past. The Ajax team that won the European Cup back in 1995 was populated by more youth products than the current Barca side I'd say.

[comeonyouroyals]

Don't get me wrong Ajax were brilliant at it and still produce some fine players, and of course provided the template for Barcelona to work from. What I mean is that it is brilliant that the Barca system is churning out the best players so surely it is the best one to have at the moment? I am not dismissing other clubs youth system it's just Barcelona's is currently the best by a mile.

[Thomas L'Heureux]

Don't get me wrong Ajax were brilliant at it and still produce some fine players, and of course provided the template for Barcelona to work from. What I mean is that it is brilliant that the currently the Barca system is churning out the best players so surely it is the best one to have at the moment? I am not dismissing other clubs youth system it's just Barcelona's is currently the best by a mile.

You're right in that it is in no way a bad thing to have a Barcelona academy here in England; if it can help develop even a handful of current Barcelona-esque players than it'll be great for this country.

I guess I'm a bit sceptical as the likes of Man United had a golden generation when the likes of Beckham, Giggs, Scholes etc came through but they've not consistently brought through a huge array of talent since then. Barcelona's current squad is emphatic, and players such as Pedro, Bojan and Thiago do go some way to proving that there is more to come from them. Time will tell I guess, but sometimes I think it can be more down to luck than judgement.

[bobbybottler]

[...Ajax's youth program is responsible for the likes of Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Edwin van der Sar, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, Frank Rijkaard, the de Boer borthers, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Ryan Babel, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Maarten Stekelenburg, Eljero Elia, Johnny Heitinga, Nigel de Jong, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thomas Vermaelen to name but a few....

Not knocking your post TLH but I'm not sure about Ibrahimovic being a product of the youth policy at Ajax, he'd already played top-flight domestic football in Sweden before joining them. You might as well have included Jesper Olsen.

Or Rudi Krol, Arie Haan, etc. etc.

[Thomas L'Heureux]

[...Ajax's youth program is responsible for the likes of Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Edwin van der Sar, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, Frank Rijkaard, the de Boer borthers, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Ryan Babel, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Maarten Stekelenburg, Eljero Elia, Johnny Heitinga, Nigel de Jong, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thomas Vermaelen to name but a few....

Not knocking your post TLH but I'm not sure about Ibrahimovic being a product of the youth policy at Ajax, he'd already played top-flight domestic football in Sweden before joining them. You might as well have included Jesper Olsen.

Or Rudi Krol, Arie Haan, etc. etc.

I threw his name in as Comeonyouroyals mentioned Fabregas and Pique .

[donface]

The Barcelona Youth Academy is pretty much a carbon copy of the Ajax one, as it was put in place by Cruyff.

[Hoop Blah]

Another English player talked up for the future is Tom Cleverley. I've not seen much of him on loan this season but he was excellent for Watford last year.

Anyone seen much of him playing for Wigan? Thoughts?