Youngsters don't win anything, do they?
Youngsters don't win anything, do they? Tell that to Newcastle and Liverpool. In a pressure game against Notts Forest that could decide the championship, do you play a £7 million striker or a youngster who has come up through your own youth team? Ask me something sensible! Paul Scholes made the breakthrough four minutes from half time which swung a tension packed match in United's favour. David Beckham added another two, Ryan Giggs who in comparison is old at 22 made it four nil before an (in)famous Frenchman made it five. This game probably cost Newcastle the league and inspired the team of teenagers to beat Liverpool in the F.A. Cup Final.
If you look through the current Manchester United squad you will see that it is one of the cheapest in the Premiership. Eric Cantona was a steal at £1.2million. The number of youngsters is similar to that of the Busby Babes era. Admittedly the current squad don't look ready to win the European Cup but they are still the most promising British team in years.
You may think that these ramblings about the English league are irrelevant to us Scots but didn't Celtic win the European Cup with eleven Glaswiegians? Didn't we give first team debuts to eight or nine youngsters this season? We did have a lot of injuries and some of the youngsters were on the bench but McLeish did put them in the team rather than splashing out on a rush signing. Grieg Denham is only nineteen and held together a stuttering defence during an injury crisis. Stephen McMillan looks a very promising wing back on either flank. Ian Ross had a good debut in the final game of last season, he showed a lot of confidence and didn't seem afraid to take players on (Billy Davies could learn a lot from him). Lee McCulloch and Innes Ritchie could come good with a bit of coaching and we also saw Paul Ferguson, Roy Essandoh, Martin Hick (since the time of writing he has been released) and Stephen Craigen appear on the team sheet. All of the above have now reached world wide celebrity fame having been mentioned in GLF!
With the implications of the Jean Marc Bosman ruling it is unfeasible that we shall keep any of these players for the duration of their career. This means that if a youngster has talent we shouldn't be afraid to put him in the team. Phil O'Donnell enjoyed lengthy runs in the first team and when we released him he was one of the most promising midfielders in Scotland. To contrast this there is the story of Stevie Bryce. He was never given a lengthy run in the team although he did score a couple of goals on rare first team excursions. While Phil O'Donnell got a £1.75million move to Celtic, Stevie Bryce was off loaded to Ayr United for a nominal fee.
At the time of writing the Bosman ruling only effects transfers that involve a player moving between different European Union countries. Very soon the same ruling will effect domestic transfers which means that all the money and coaching we've put into a player can walk away for nothing. This will hardly encourage clubs to continue with youth teams. At least Motherwell aim to continue our youth policy with the opening of the Davie Cooper Academy. Not only are we bringing up our players we're doing Scottish football a service by making sure that the O'Donnells, McAllisters, Boyds etc. keep coming through.
Derek Wilson
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