‘Change’ has been a popular word in political circles these past few weeks. According to the all-powerful party machines and egomaniacal spin doctors, nobody, it seems, is at all keen on staying the same. Sure as night follows day (or blue follows red) the industrial quantities of hot-air spent espousing political change is all too rarely realised, however.
Genuine change, though, is in the rarefied air surrounding the ever-popular Barclays Premier League. Aside from essential regulatory reforms on issues such as club ownership and levels of debt, there will soon be a new dynamic in how the playing staff of each club is composed.
A “home-grown player rule” will take effect at the start of next season. All Premier League clubs will be required to name a squad of up to 25 players, of which no more than 17 can be over the age of 21 and not ‘home grown’ (i.e. trained for three years under the age of 21 by any club in the English and Welsh professional system). This long overdue imposition of a quota system – the first baby-step towards Sepp Blatter’s beloved ‘6 plus 5’ rule? – is designed to restrict the hoarding of talented youngsters at the biggest clubs and, primarily, to force clubs to invest in and carefully nurture their own British talent (or at least buy it in from closer to Leeds than Lagos).
Liverpool’s recent signing of follicularly-challenged Charlton youngster Jonjo Shelvey is surely a harbinger of things to come, given the incoming statute. Particularly when considering the club’s recent reluctance to invest in youngsters from these isles. Yet Shelvey is not exactly a trend-setter, as all top-flight clubs, from title chasers down to rank-and-file members, have already been concentrating their efforts on compliance with the new ruling, which they were formally made aware of earlier this season.
Since the turn of the year, a growing band of teenagers have been offered a taste of Premier League action. What’s more, a number of these new kids on the block have taken to life in the self-styled ‘greatest league on earth’ with impressive ease. One or two have even rapidly established themselves as irreplaceable first-team fixtures, with top clubs’ scouts already admiring their every move.
Wigan Athletic is perhaps an unlikely home of future International-standard talent, given the club’s previous preference for a mixture of battle-hardened journeymen and athletically able exotic imports. The startling emergence of Scotland-born Republic of Ireland international James McCarthy this year indicates a change of direction in recruitment at the DW Stadium, as confirmed by the cut-price January signing of exciting winger Victor Moses from Crystal Palace.
Though baby-faced McCarthy had long been tipped for stardom – and has been the subject of much controversy over his ‘defection’ to Ireland despite having been born and raised in Glasgow – few would have necessarily predicted the sudden and explosive impact the 19-year-old has made in his debut season at the top level of English football.
Perhaps his finest hour in a Wigan shirt to date came during the March win over Liverpool in which the callow youth clearly outshone a struggling Steven Gerrard (who would have been McCarthy’s skipper, had the Scottish Young Player of the Year’s proposed move to Anfield reached fruition. It was a performance which came only a week after McCarthy survived a crazy ‘tackle’ from Birmingham City’s Liam Ridgewell, which could easily have had season-ending consequences. Instead of being cowed by such an act of ruthless brutality, McCarthy instead went on to end the season on a high, comprehensively bearing out the words of his manager, Roberto Martinez: “I was delighted when he made that rather strange decision not to go to a top, top club like Liverpool. I think that decision is being proved right now.”
England under-19 international Moses – who, like McCarthy before him, has designs on representing a country other than that of his birth (Nigeria) – has had a more sporadic impact since his winter arrival. The same can certainly be said of the much-hyped Fabian Delph, of Aston Villa. The £6m midfielder showed glimpses of his undoubted talent during his rare opportunities at first-team level this year, but the well-established Stillian Petrov/James Milner axis has proven to be impenetrable. Delph’s season ended in ignominy, with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament suffered during training last month potentially keeping the ex-Leeds star out until Christmas.
Of course, buying in young, unproven talent is an expensive and risky process. In an ideal world, each club would produce a clutch of first-team-ready youngsters each year. It’s relatively inexpensive; and the fans all love to see a local-boy-made-good wearing the shirt they’ve dreamed of donning since they hoofed their first fluorescent fly-away football over the garden fence.
This year in the Premier League, there have been several shining examples of showing faith in youth being spectacularly rewarded. Phil Jones, of Blackburn Rovers (born in Preston), has garnered an array of praise from all quarters since his late-season emergence as the heir apparent to John Terry (if Sam Allardyce is to be believed.) Certainly, the 18-year-old’s authoritative and assertive displays since a sparkling debut against champions-elect Chelsea have marked the centre-half out as one to watch in the near future.
Sunderland’s home-grown starlet Jordan Henderson started the season out on the right flank; as is so often the case, marginalised by more senior stars at the centre of the Black Cats’ engine room. Since Lee Cattermole’s injury, however, the 6ft teenager has made a central midfield spot his own. Some optimistic pundits even tipped Henderson to make an unlikely surge for World Cup inclusion. Clearly, though, he’ll have to bide his time before making such a breakthrough.
Henderson’s success has been rewarded with a fresh five-year contract, with a similar deal also being agreed with his recent midfield partner, 20-year-old David Meyler (a product of the recently-defunct Cork City, who, like Delph, recently suffered a serious knee injury).
Elsewhere, well-regarded young guns at the top clubs have started to make serious breakthroughs this term. Everton’s giant midfielder Jack Rodwell has established himself in the Toffees’ first team squad and has scored some vital goals. Jack Wilshere’s loan at Bolton has been a tremendous success for the 18-year-old who was much-hyped but largely untested before his temporary move north in the January transfer window and Owen Coyle is naturally keen to extend the Arsenal prodigy’s spell at the Reebok into next season. Back at Ashburton Grove, 19-year-old deep-lying midfielder Craig Eastmond has had more playing time in Wilshere’s (and Aaron Ramsey’s) absence.
Nathan Delfouneso, born just up the road from his senior Aston Villa colleague and fellow Brummie striker Gabby Agbonlahor, is slowly establishing himself as a viable alternative to Emile Heskey as Villa’s primary centre-forward back-up. Indeed, the majority of Villa fans bay for the pacy teenager to be given the nod ahead of out-of-form Heskey when first-choice John Carew begins to tire. In March he notched his first goal for England under-21s; then scored the Villans’ winner at Fratton Park in mid-April.
With the new ‘homegrown’ edict coming into effect in a just a few short months, we should expect an increasing number of teenage squad members to join the likes of Delfouneso, Henderson and Jones; and, incrementally, a greater number of youthful first-team stars born and bred on these shores. So it’s a case of; ‘British jobs for British workers’. Perhaps one of those nice political parties could borrow that line.
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