By Sam Morgan.
There is no doubt that we were outclassed by a youthful and confident German side on Sunday. The manager has been blamed, so have the players, but what about the system we have in place in the Premier League? How come the Germans have so many talented youngsters at their disposal?
Firstly, there is no sign of a Chelsea or Manchester City type ownership as no club can be owned or controlled by a company or a particular person. This means, whilst not affording huge transfer fees and wages, they have to concentrate on their youth sides to produce talent for the first team. A year ago, Thomas Muller was playing for Bayern II in the German Third Division. I think everyone knows the damaged he caused England a few days ago.
Last summer, England’s Under 21 side lost 4-0 to the Germans in the final of the U21 European Championships. Four of those players, Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil, have made the step up to the senior side, all featuring in the recent demolition of England. In comparison, James Milner is the only member of that U21 side that featured in this World Cup.
It is still hard to see where the next batch of youngsters will come from. Adam Johnson, Joe Hart and Jack Rodwell are all tipped to be future stars, but is this enough?
An encouragement is England’s U17s recently taking Germany’s European Championships crown to show that the talent is there. It’s how British clubs preserve this talent that is the key. Is the introduction of at least 8 home-grown players in a squad enough? And will the top Premier League clubs really opt for youth rather than proven experience abroad?
