Jul 12
What purpose does United’s youth system serve?
Fraizer Campbell is the latest in line of the more prominent youngsters deemed not good enough to make the grade at United. He was sold at £3.5m (which could potentially rise to £6m). Financially, I think we sold him a bit on the cheap when Hull were prepared to offer up to £7m as a one time fee. But the fact is, here we had a player we got for free through our academy, and made a healthy sum on him.
But he clearly wasn’t the first of his kind.
More prominent among the players that left include the likes of Giuseppe Rossi, Gerard Pique, Kieran Richardson — each of whom left for fees in excess of £5m. Other lesser names such as Dave Jones, Lee Martin etc have left for smaller fees which still add up to a significant sum — or as our owners would like to say, profits.
Not accounting for members of our class of ’94, the folks who have come through our youth system and over the age of 24 are:
1. Wes Brown
2. Darren Fletcher
3. John O’Shea
Of course, I am talking about players who’ve enrolled as trainees at our club, or come through the academy. But modern youth systems in England don’t necessarily function in a way to find enough talented local lads that grew up within a 90km radius of the club. Which is why clubs like United look elsewhere in their efforts to stock up on promising kids. Last season we added Davide Petrucci from Roma; prior to him we got Frederico Macheda from Lazio. Giuseppe Rossi was lifted from Parma’s academy. Rafael and Fabio da Silva caught the eye in a few games for Fluminense and were bought immediately. And Rodrigo Possebon was signed even before he made a first team appearance for Brazilian side Internacional. Each of these players were signed on for little more than a song, whilst the occasional flashes of young British talent like Welbeck, and Jonny Evans continue to rise up the ranks.
This season we signed a 15 year old kid, Scott McGinty, from Charlton and 16 year old Empoli product, Albert Massacci. We were briefly linked to Brazilian centre half Dodo, whilst striking a deal with a Brazilian youth football factory, aptly titled Traffic Football Management (specifically Desportivo Brasil football club).
With United’s current squad depth, it is obviously quite hard for players to come through to our first team unless they are exceptional. Those that do, like when Rafael broke through, they pay off the faith the scouts and coaches have in them, and are hence useful additions to our squad.
Loosely speaking, Ronaldo at 17 could be classed as a youth acquisition and at £12m, was really a steal. However, Wayne Rooney at £27m was quite pricey for a teenager, but financially speaking, his value is likely to be way higher than we bought him for, for quite some years to come. [Not that I'm saying we are going to sell him, mind.]
However, tie all these in with our policy on buying players under 26, and we can see a business plan right before us. Now, a rigid policy of not buying over 26 is not always ideal, but more often than not, it wouldn’t make financial sense either, but I digress.
It seems rather clear from all these recent acquisitions that United have stocked up on enough highly promising youngsters not necessarily in the hope that everyone breaks through; it would be nice if most of them indeed do break through, but that would be naive.
With the way the Glazers have run the club, with a now clear mandate on transfers, there is sure to be a clear cut policy on young players. We don’t see Ferguson trying to be sentimental with young players, hoping they would come good at some point of time. If a player seems to be static he will, more likely than not, be culled. Gerard Pique was a promising player whose departure disappointed a lot of United fans. But the manager saw selling him a good piece of business, and he rated Evans over the Spaniard. Barcelona would be happy with Pique, but they would obviously be disappointed to be buying back a player they ‘produced’ from their academy.
This may not appear anything out of the ordinary for many readers; after all, clubs do bring players through the ranks, and some of those players have to be eventually sold. But there seems to be a purpose with the way United seem to be stocking up talent. Arsenal have made this a major part of their business strategy, but United’s first team squad is a blend of experience and youth that’s geared towards winning trophies and not necessarily to ideals that Wenger’s sides profess.
So what purpose does our youth system serve?
If it’s not already obvious from the rambling above, here it is again: United clearly have a buy-small-sell-big strategy (if the player isn’t good enough). And that is the modern youth system for you in a country that restricts player movement under a certain age. So far the results have been a mixed bag in terms of players that make the first team transition. But it almost always seems to be making good business sense. Sending players out on loan to decent leagues, like Rodrigo Possebon’s loan spell to Braga for the upcoming season, are ways to increase the value of the club’s assets. Doubtless, if Possebon has a good season for Braga — which, by the way, will be playing in the Europa League this year — it will immensely help him make strides on his game as well as, from the United executive hierarchy viewpoint, increase his resale value.
Foreign talent are more likely to be coveted by clubs abroad, than English players coming through. Which increases the saleability of our Italian and Brazilian kids.
Win-win situation it could be, but we must also be sure not to be sucked into a Wengeresque stubbornness where we begin to reject obvious, mouthwatering talents just because they are beyond a certain age. It might be sad for a fan to see kids coming through our system only to be sold, but it is a part of reality in modern football and is bound to only increase in significance, especially for our club.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Fergie Ensures United’s Kids Get Knocked Out
- The Red Exodus | Rio Sure of Ron | Neville v Brown and Other Tales
- Fast and hard, fast and hard.
- United’s debt situation explained
- United to overpay for Valencia this week?
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (487)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (348)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
Hope welbeck is different…though.Evans is definately going to make it though
Like?
0 
0
Well its all about Money and Success brings Money, Arsenal are proving that relying soley on young talent coming through the Youth system doesn’t quite get you there. The initial Utd batch made it because everything was new and Utd’s journey to regular success under SAF was just beginning. It may change in the future, more for political reasons than the money. It won’t change for a while yet!
Like?
0 
0
Evans will make it, he will be ferdinands successor.
Welbeck will make it, when berba turns 29 and owens in his 30s, welbeck will be first choice i reckon.
Gut feeling that macheda will be a rossi and leave…
Might be that welbeck plays on the wing, rooney and macheda upfront. This could happen, you never know.
Overall, welbeck and evans are certs. Macheda maybe not.
Also, i believe that morrison will be breaking through, not this season, but next. I have high hopes for him.
Like?
0 
0
Of the ones we have sold I think that Rossi was one of the few mistakes together with, may be, Pique. All the other ones were not Utd material. Of the current crop Evan is almost certain to become an established first team player and there are hopes but not more than that for Wellbeck.
We seem to be good at producing squad players decent lower tier EPL players and Championship players but we haven’t produced any oustanding player since the class of 94.
Like?
0 
0
GR8 ARTICLE MAN.Atleast some good article are here to read.
yeah u are right money is made out of these youth player. but to be frank whichever players man u sold were never good enough to play for man u(yeah apart from pique).
But now i think there are some gr8 players coming through who will be representing man u for a long time eg macheda petrucci welbeck gibson evans to name a few.
Like?
0 
0
You are quite right RR. That is unfortunately the reality of the modern day youth system. They are just factories which produce talent that is to be sold off. None moreso than the South American ones; Douglas Costs for £20m?? I wonder how much net profit those South American Teams/Academies have made so far, it must be a ridiculous amount.
Like you said, we are handicapped by the fact that we can only pick up local English talent within a 90km radius as there is only so many worthy of a place in our academy. Luckily, we’ve found some and even if they didn’t make the grade, most have gone on to have somewhat successful careers. This is the main reason I have no qualms with the way we sell off our youth products, Fergie always tries to place them in the right stead (or right club) in which to continue their careers; Pique, Rossi, Campbell, Bardsley etc
Also, the foreign influx is partly a result of the handicap placed on us by the FA. Although, we have managed to stumble on a way to benefit from this handicap, which is getting these young players, developing them, selecting those who make the grade and selling the rest off for tidy profits. A bit harsh one might think but this kids are given a fair chance of playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world. If they make it, they stay, if they don’t, they are sold to the right club which would further their careers, while being able to have Manchester United on their resume. A win-win situation for both club and player.
Finally, I don’t believe Fergie would fall into Wenger’s trap of bringing in just young talent and forgetting the rest. Valencia was a prime example; Berbatov also. We invest in youth and when Fergie sees a spot in the team youth cannot fill, I’m sure he’ll still go out and buy the experienced star who can fill that spot. (No one mention, ‘why not Aguero then?’ he might not be what Fergie wants or United need, ok!!
)
Like?
0 
0
@frankie: But that’s because it’s been a long long time since we threw a kid in at the deep end and made him step up, like we did with ’94. Those players had to turn it on week in and week out and they did. They were a tight unit who knew how to play together.
We don’t give the kids a chance anymore. Campbell was never given a chance at OT. Welbeck is getting pushed out to the wings for no reason, and he isn’t being given a chance. Macheda probably won’t be given a chance despite his knack of important goalscoring. Gibson and Possebon will never be given a chance as long as Giggs and Scholes are around which is why Possebon is off on loan all season.
Foster’s 26 and still hasn’t really had his chance!
Like?
0 
0
is costa any much better than welbeck at the moment I do not think so
Like?
0 
0
@Gabriel:
There is definitely a “business” element to our youth policy which is allied to strategic planning. The “homegrown rule” is a major factor.
Ferguson has gone on record as saying we cannot just rely on our traditional youth system hence the targetting of young talented foreign players aged between 16 and 21.
Also he has criticised the 60 minute and 90 minute rule which in this era of globalisation is archaic. This rule also benefits more the clubs based in the Midlands and South.
Like?
0 
0
The only young player I regret offloading was Rossi. If Fergie had got wise to the merits of squad rotation, he could have kept Rossi happy and there would have been no need to buy Tevez.
The others were surplus to requirements and as ambitious youngsters not willing to sit on the bench all season. But we should have got double or triple the transfer fee we got. You would think there would be an auction for players the quality of Rossi, Pique, Campbell……which should push up prices to the right level.
Ive got nothing against our buying foreign youth policy. English youth is overpriced and if we can poach foreign youngsters for nothing it is a win-win.
But we need a rational development strategy. What would be ideal is if the English league was like the Spanish league where we could have a B team that we could enter into a lower league.
Loaning is a bad strategy because there is no guarantee the club will play them. Even Rossi rotted at Newcastle before he got his big break in Serie A. Same with Campbell at Tottenham.
Like?
0 
0
By the way what do people think about the Et’oo rumours. Barca are buying Villa. City are out of the running. He’d be available for £18 million. For that you’d get a player (albeit a mercenary) who will score a lot of goals and have the pace to fit nicely into the 4-3-3 system Fergie likes to play in Europe. Yes he is over 26 but we’d get a couple of good years out of him then we could sell him to make room for Welbeck or Macheda. Yes he is a whiny bitch, but Fergie is better at man management than the Barca staff.
Like?
0 
0
I think macheda has a better chance of making it to the first-team than welbeck. We have loads of players with potential in our academy side too.
Like?
0 
0
@Faizan: but hes not the better player
Like?
0 
0
@Dan.
i dont agree with u man macheda is better than welbeck.
Like?
0 
0
Crikey, I’ve just had a look at our net transfer spend since 2004/05.It currently stands at approx. £27m which is almost £5m a year… positively Wenger-esque. Of course this is grossly distorted due to the Ronaldo sale.
Like?
0 
0
Right, changing the subject a bit, i just wanted to know something.
To all those who will be buying fifa10, with the manager mode revamp, transfers are now harder to pull off according to EA, you wont sign the likes of torres for £25mil, and sell players like ronaldo for £100mil anymore. Its realistic.
So my question is this,who will be your first, and second signing?
My first will either McGeady or young, my second being a Goalkeeper(they always rate foster mid 70s)
How bout you?
Like?
0 
0
Those fuckers at Goal.com are writing a piece on the United team of the decade or some crap like that. Anybody here wanna have a go at it? ‘It’ being naming our team of the decade…
Like?
0 
0
@Andrei:
Van der sar
Neville ferdinand Vidic Evra
Ronaldo scholes carrick giggs
Rooney RVN.
Like?
0 
0
My england team of the Decade
Foster
Neville ferdinand terry cole
beckham Hargreaves Gerrard cole
Rooney Owen
Like?
0 
0
@Dan: Have to
completelyalmost agree with that.Van der Sar
Neville Ferdinand Vidic Evra
Beckham* Scholes Keane Giggs
Rooney RvN
*I guess Becks over Ronaldo takes some explaining: Beckham is my favourite player. Apart from Inzaghi and Fabregas, Ronaldo is my least favourite player.
Also, how could you forget Keane?
Like?
0 
0
@Andrei: because although he is a good player, we have won much more this decade with carrick in the side then with keane.
Saying ronaldo is your least faviourte player is silly.
I like Roy Keane the player, but if i met him in a pub, id punch his lights out. You can like a player, but not like the person.
Like?
0 
0
I’ve been concerned about the way we handle young players for some time now. While I understand why people think we haven’t produced any really outstanding kids since the class of ’94, I think we have let go of far too many kids without giving them a fair chance.
Playing in the Carling Cup is one thing – but kids will only get the experience they need and we’ll only truly be able to judge their potential once they’ve had a few league games.
I’m convinced Rossi would have been a major success in the first team, while I think we should have kept Campbell instead of signing Owen. Likewise, I think Gibson and Possebon deserve a chance to show what they can do. Its time to remember our roots and give the youngsters a chance in the first team.
Like?
0 
0
@Dan: You mean you’d try and fail…
I used to work with someone whose mate is a bouncer at a a posh Cheshire club that Keane was at. On his own, drinking. Someone was winding him up, and he had a go at them and was asked to leave. He told the 3 big 6ft2 30 stone bouncers where to go. One of them punched Keane, and he hit the ground, only to bounce back up like it was a bouncy castle and dive at the guy, fists flailing at all three of these massive bouncers.
They eventually removed him, and 5 minutes later he came back to apologise to the bouncers, signed a couple of autographs and went on his way.
Bottom line is, Keane aint scared of shit, and you probably couldn’t beat him in a fight
Like?
0 
0
when I read the german legend Beckenbauer comments I went straight onto facebook and became a fan of his. Beckenbauer you said a mouth full florentina perez is a nutcase. who perez himself has gridlocked the transfer market, we should call the transfer market now the real madrid tranfer market because all the other clubs cannot buy the quality players. only hope we have is we get the future world player of the year sergio aguero.
Like?
0 
0
I find it impossible to disagree with Dan’s team of the decade.
Keane would have made the team of the 90s but by the 00s Keane was on the wane whereas Carrick despite his modest abilities has been a great fit in our team.
Funny how there is so much criticism of Evra yet he makes peoples’ teams of the decade. OK Heinze is more solid defensively, but United has always been renowned for its full backs who overlap and Evra is great at doing this and getting forward so he’d just make my team ahead of Heinze. Fact is there aren’t that many good full backs in the world (which is why Johnson goes for £18 million. Evra is in the top ten.)
I feel sorry for Ruud. The guy is the best out-and-out striker United have had under Fergie. A total goal machine. But his supporting cast just wasn’t up to scratch so we didn’t win anything much with him and ultimately Ronaldo was able to take over his mantle as the team’s main goalscorer.
Like?
0 
0
colver well van nistlerooy had that supporting cast between aug 2001 to may 2003. the difference was the defence and goalie were never up to scratch. Fitting in veron during van nistlerooys golden 2 years was the main reasons why united did not make history.
midfield of keane butt veron beckham giggs
and solkjaer upfront and scholes who was used in that position saw Ruud score tons of goals. van nistlerooy had the team but that team was coming to an end.
Like?
0 
0
I think fergie might be trying to do that now…evans played a lot of games last season…so did rafael and by not signing a striker this summer,we might give macheda a chance…btw i rate macheda higher than danny..danny has more skills and all but i think macheda has strikers mentality…both could be massive if given a chance…no need for any eto’ o or whoever
Like?
0 
0
If we don’t spend a lot yhis window I won’t be surprised.
We’ve got a lot of lads breaking through. Like the twins, Kiko, Welbeck, Evans and also Possebon going on loan. Also it is a huge year for the likes of Ando, Nani and Berba. This is their year to make it or perhaps get choppeed.
Then we have the old guard such as VDS, Neville and Scholes who could all be having their final year.
How I see it is there is a major transition going through.
Yeah we got a lota cash to spend, but that doesn’t mean we have to just blow it and be senseless. United isn’t a team geared up on short term success. There’s a much bigger picture.
Even if Fergie retires soon, he loves this club and is certainly looking long term. He isn’t going to spend crazy just so he can go out on a bang. I certainly respect him for that, for viewing United in such a way. There are many managers who just focus on their own tenure.
I can see us bringing in perhaps one more player. Our squad is huge and we certainly can’t accomodate a host of players coming in. That would stunt the growth of youngsters making a breakthrough as well as “The Big Year” for many of our players including Rooney.
I can see a lot of movement happening next summer with players retiring and the ones who just can’t make it being shipped off. United always get overcharged, but in this market it’s an extra 20-30M on a palyer. Real have absolutely fucked things for this transfer market, but they won’t spend like this every year.
Normally 30M is a huge tranfer fee and thaught to be crazy, yet today 50M is seen as understandable. It’s ludicrous!
Perhaps our major deals will be done next year as we will have a smaller squad and less crazy market.
We might not have the greatest of seasons… But fuck we just won three leagu titles back to back. We aren’t glory hunters are we??!
We in this for the Long Haul!
Like?
0 
0
Yeah just because evra had a very poor second half of last season doesnt mean we should forget hes a fantastic left back…he may not cross the ball that well but he stretches teams well and he Is the best left back in our team
Like?
0 
0
Taehr the one thing I like about welbeck is he can play more than one position. He can play right left and through the middle and is a more powerful forward, what I would love is united do a swap deal involving berbatov and aguero. I think aguero is far more reliable to partner Rooney and united can risk by being light upfront, because aguero is not only an impact player he is involved in the game. He can set up a shit load of assists and he has this ability to slice glide and rip into defences and he is such a brave player plus he can score 20 goals a season. Not to mention he does something that the UK love he works hard. Oh yea aguero is supposed to be a united fan and he is 21 add Rooney is 23 they can be a partnership for over a decade both are so gifted it is not even funny.
Like?
0 
0
@Dan: He’s not my least favourite player – he’s my third least favourite player and I’ve been saying that for a good year now.
Like?
0 
0
@Andrei: Thats not the point. My point went right over your head didnt it…
Wanted to use the eye roll there
Like?
0 
0
@colver: yes i agree with u, 18mill for eto is good value, as he is top class, and to be honest missing out on benzema and signing berba last year was a double whammy, utd havent got a proper striker (besides owen) as of yet! although aguero should be pursed at all costs!
Like?
0 
0
@Andrei: van dar sar
brown ferdinand vidic evra
beckham scholes hargreevs ronaldo
rooney
rvd
i left keano out cause he simply lost his Best form after 001
and with scoles in the team hargo would just have to clean up and sit back
Like?
0 
0
@jamie lee: MAte, hargreaves has only played a season with us, brown only started at right back for the last 1 and half seasons.
this is the WHOLE decade, not the last couple of years.
Like?
0 
0
We should pay 35 mil max if we were to buy aguero no more…anymore would be a rip off
Like?
0 
0
Dan…morrison is a striker or winger? Iv only seen him a bit on youtube
Like?
0 
0
@Dan: Oh okay, now I get your point. Yea, I hate the player (because of dives and his general attitude) and I hate the highly effeminate, I-am-the-best attitude that characterizes him as a person.
Let’s make a grid:
————————- Ronaldo ——— Beckham
Great Player ————- o ——————- o
Cult Icon —————— o ——————- o
Wears a Flower ——— o ——————- x
Dives ———————- o ——————- x
Tracks Back ————- x ——————- o
Greedy ——————– o ——————- x
Fighting Spirit ———– x ——————- o
So, you can probably tell why I hate him as a player as well as a person
Like?
0 
0
jamie lee it is worth just splashing the cash on aguero he is far younger than etoo and etoo is playing in african nations cup every 2 years.
Like?
0 
0
Yay!! Somebody other than me likes Rooney most
Link!
Like?
0 
0
@Dan: ya i see where ur coming from but in the last decade keano hasnt been at it, and he has been gone a few years now, so surely he couldnt be in the decade bracket on those points, and from his replacement hargo has been the best, and if fit will continue, so even tho it has only been one season i stll would rate him high enough, and brown has been here for a decade and has been better than neivelle for past few years, so i think im right with my decisons, IMO
Like?
0 
0
@Andrei: Mate, those things have nothing to do with players. Tevez has fighting spirit, hes not a good player is he.
Like?
0 
0
@steve: i totally agree, im just not sure, with utd being utd, will they pursuse aguero considering his price! BUT he is a must buy!!
Like?
0 
0
My Team Of The Decade:
van der Sar
Neville Ferdinand Vidic Evra
Ronaldo Scholes Keane Giggs
Rooney/Solskjaer RVN
I think Ronaldo accomplished more in his 6 years here than Beckham did in his last 4 years. Ronaldo is the main reason why we bounced back from our titleless spell from 2003-2006.
I can’t decide between Roo and Ole: Ole had been a constant provider of crucial goals from 1999-2008, (excluding his injury spells) and he had to be in for nostalgia’s sake. Rooney is a more recent addition, and on merit, would deserve to be in the team of the decade more than Ole.
Like?
0 
0
@Taehr: Hes one of those players that can play in multiple posistions. Like Ljajic, he can play on the wing, upfront off the striker or even in midfield.
I Reckon his best positions will be off the striker, as he would b central and have a free role really, roaming around.
Like?
0 
0
@Andrei: I think Ronaldo has a fighting spirit, albeit an extremely arrogant one. I don’t think Ronaldo has ever once shown that he has given up on his football. He is desperate to improve constantly, to prove people wrong, and to become the world’s best. Just because he doesn’t chase back 60 yards doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the drive and determination to overcome his obstacles.
Like?
0 
0
@Jon: why keane instead of carrick? we’ve won more with carrick then with keane…
Like?
0 
0
jamie lee etoo goes to african nations cup every 2 years. may is well just splash the cash on a player that can play every season for years and years to come, not waste it another forward who is in his late 20s. berbatov should never have been bought in the first place anyway.
Like?
0 
0
Andrei, Frank was questioned on the best player he’d played with. He hasn’t played with Ronaldo or else im sure he’d name Ronaldo. Whether you like the boy or not, he is the best player in the world.
Beckham was a good player but nowhere near as complete as Ronaldo. He couldn’t beat a man, was very slow, couldn’t head the ball, couldn’t tackle, wasn’t very creative, was just a world class passer and crosser.
Ronaldo can dribble, score from anywhere, is a damn good header, very strong, very fast, a much better passer and crosser than people give him credit for, and can win matches on his own.
Ronaldo carried our team for the last two years. Beckham was just a good player in a good team.
Like?
0 
0
@steve: Franz Beckenbauer is my second favorite player of all time and a man I have always had a great deal of love and respect for. One of the great ambassadors of the game and a man who sees the common sense approach to the game that so many others don’t amongst his closest friends is Sir Bobby Charlton and trust me when I say it was this friendship that finally led to us getting Owen Hargreaves.
He is so right in everything he says about Perez and Madrid but here is the thing that frustrates me about Beckenbauer. He puts down Perez and Madrid and calls them bad for the game yet one of his closest friends and a man he supports 100% is none other than Sepp Blatter FIFA’s top ass clown. This I will never understand because Blatter is fully on the side of Real Madrid and Perez. So please Franz, what’s with that? How can you support a man that supports the actions of an evil entity like Real Madrid? I am often confused by these forms of politics in the world game.
Like?
0 
0