Wednesday 30 December 2009

The Great Academy Ruse


Anybody remember 'Arry upsetting our fans last season when he said the current Academy crop were not a match for the kids he brought through at Upton Park? Quite why his views were considered so controversial I'm not sure, given his crop included Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Jermaine Defoe, Glenn Johnson and Michael Carrick. Now, apart from the Giggs, Scholes, Neville, Neville and Beckham generation, you would have to go back a lot of years to find that level of quality coming through to the first team from a club's academy over such a short span of time. Who exactly in our current squad matches up to that bunch?

Collison looks classy. He is not a Joe Cole but he may be a new Carrick. I love his attitude and his confidence and he has quick feet and great control. Only stamina appears to be an issue. He could have played for England, but stupidly he opted for Wales. How many GCSEs has the lad got I wonder?

Noble has flattered to deceive and will never be in the Carrick class. He is the third best of an ordinary looking bunch but lacks the pace and class to become an England player. Yes he has a career in the Premiership ahead of him, but nothing more. Remember Geoff Pike? I see Noble in that class - and the sooner he understands his limitations and plays within them, as Pike did, the better. Despite what some think, Parker is not that fantastic, he just looks it because the players around him are so ordinary.

Tomkins, I think, will emerge as the other true class act from the current crop but I worry that we are damaging him by expecting too much, too early. He is looking pretty good at the moment and, apart from being done by Defoe for the second goal, coped very well despite all the pressure we found ourselves under at Tottenham. The trouble is, he does not have a turn of pace and lacks the experience to compensate for that at this stage. He needs a pacey, experienced centre back alongside him. At the moment he has the experience in the form of Upson, but if we lose Matty, I fear that Tomkins will be horribly exposed. Tomkins probably has what it takes to play for England but Anton looked just as good at the equivalent stage and his form has dipped - that is part of growing up for a centre back which is why I would buy him back because he will "come again" when the right manager makes him feel good about himself. But Ferdinand and Tomkins as a pair? Sharp intake of breath I'm afraid!

What about Stanislas? Well until we see the lad played on the right, I don't think we can judge. The boy is horribly one footed and that foot is his right, so the insistence on playing him on the left is madness in my book. Defensively, he is a disaster so clearly he needs to mature, but that's not a surprise. To me, he shows in flashes and lacks mental toughness. I don't see him ever playing for England and fancy that he may end up playing in the Fizzy Pop, hopefully not in a West Ham shirt!

Freddie is coming home! But he is coming home without a goal! Remember when Sears was being spoken of as the new Cottee? Well even Cottee didn't manage to net an England goal! Is the guy any good? Well he looks very very average to me and the decision to recall him smacks of desperation. He needs a goal, any goal, and then he may just kick on again but his physique is against him and he certainly does not have the mental toughness a top striker needs.

And then there is Zavon. That goal against Villa was pure class, but then we were all very excited when Sears burst onto the scene weren't we? You have to be very special to cut it in the modern game if you are small and, that goal apart, Hines has not shown anything to excite me so far. Yes he is willing but effort is not enough, the game has moved on.

Duxbury has used this crop of 'if, buts and maybes' to excuse shrinking the squad to generate cash. In the past we have sold our kids, now we are selling our experienced players and asking kids to do a job that they are not yet up to doing. It is all a huge con, with the Board exploiting our passion for our home grown players. I remember the days when you would see new cars driving at 30mph with "running in" notices on the back. I also remember 'Arry operating with big squads at West Ham and easing the kids through to the first team. The way we are doing it now, there is a danger we will burn out these kids and make them even more average than they already threaten to be.

As for 'Arry's comments last season - they weren't controversial, they were a generous wake up call. But we didn't want to listen!

5 comments:

Col said...

To be honest I think Collison is the only player (can't say about Nouble yet)that will ever get an international cap from the current crop. The rest simply are not good enough for that standard. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud they are making it through to the first team but we shouldn't expect too much of them as perhaps Dux is.

Hammersfan said...

Is Duxbury really expecting that much of them? It is convenient to play them and sell the likes of Etherington!

Essexhammer said...

Thats a good assessment HF.With no funding for quality players to be brought in, what option does ZOLA have but to keep playing our crop of youngsters.

Ricky Gervais said...

WASTEMAN, how many games have you been to? I can clearly tell that you are someone who watched Match Of The Day, and the occasional game on sky.

As a season ticket holder for the past 10 years, I have seen both crops of youngsters emerge. Yes, the previous crop was much better, but to put down the current is just insane.

Marek Stech is undoubtedly Petr Cech's understudy. Jack Collison is a different breed of Michael Carrick, one which does not rely on his passing, but his composure and skill. If he can develop passing and shooting, he will be a far better player than Carrick.

Nouble plays very much like Carlton Cole, with his back to goal, and with Cole, Zola and Clarke's help, he will become a quality player within 3 years (when he would have just turned 21).

Stanislas can play on the left OR right. Shows how much you know about football. Most of his goals have come from cutting in on the left and shooting. You don't need a left foot for that. He is also very handy at taking set pieces, has blistering pace, a good first touch, desire and work ethic. And as for defending. WHAT ARE YOU ON ABOUT. He is a winger. Do you see Ashley Young being celebrated for his defensive displays? NO. ***wipe. With his pace, he can track back well enough to annoy the opposition threat.

Hines is a player that never impressed me, until the season began. He has been sensational. Given that the only reason he is starting is because of injuries. He's not ready for a starting berth yet, which is why he doesn't look so good when he starts, because he is not experienced enough to know when to conserve energy, run for a ball etc. Of course, his stamina is not quite there for a full 90mins. He has two good, quick feet, pace, good awareness and when he improves his strength, finishing and movement (which come with age), he will be a force. By the time he is 26, he will be a far better player than Carlton Cole is at 26, and everyone knows how good Cole is right now.

Tomkins didnt impress me last year, but that was also because he was thrown in too soon. His neck muscles were weak, didn't have two feet, had bad positional sense and didn't have the aggression required. This year, he looks a class apart from his former self. Yes, he still lacks aggression (which I hope he does somehow develop because it's not the kind of attribute that magically appears). But now he has two good feet, more awareness, better positioning, a good header and the ability to block and tackle. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes to the next World Cup (when he will then be 24). Maybe not as a starter, but then again, apart from Cahill, there aren ot many young English centre backs coming through with astonishing promise.

Who else should I mention. Daprella? Ferrari? Terry Dixon (who everyone knows was a phenomenal talent at Spurs, and this is intel I have from various Sours fans and season ticket holders).

Add to that list Jordan Spence, who has captained England at every age, we have a strong academy. Not the weak one you suggest.

Freddie Sears I do not rate at all. Having him back on loan though will be good for us. It just means we can rest an important striker like Cole or Franco for meaningless games like Arsenal in the Cup.

By the way, I am poster that always insults your wife. Sorry about that. Can't help how she feels about me.

hammalot said...

Simply put: our current board idolizes Wenger's youthful Arsenal side way too much. They are ignorant of the fact that their seasoned vets Petit, Viera, Adams, Henry etc. gave them the tangible success needed to expand, market and profit.

You have to invest heavily consistently again and again (which the turnstiles should provide) to ultimately succeed and THEN rebuild through youth. you cant skip step 1!

edit: Barcelona may be the exception.