hellava_tough
Well-Known Member
- Apr 21, 2005
- 9,429
- 12,383
Are the Spurs youth any good?
There is much talk in the football world every year, in pubs and homes, on terraces and in the media, about youth players and ‘the next big thing’. Every fan around the globe is eager to hear of their club’s latest addition to its youth side, and whether the new signing will make it or not. So, in turn, this leads me to ask you – the very lovely ladies and gentlemen of Spurscommunity – the following question:
“How old must a player be before we, the fans, realise that he’s not going to cut it in the Premiership?”
On the face of it I’d say that when a player reaches 19 years old, one can determine whether or not that player will make it at the highest level. The player in question should have obvious ability, and should be playing regular first-team football for his club. I think this has been the case with the majority of the leading players in the game nowadays (Ronaldo, Messi, Rooney, Fabregas, there’s probably lots more, and I’m sure you’ll tell me).
Some youth players, particularly at bigger clubs, find it hard to break into the first team, so leave and do the business elsewhere (Robbie Keane moving from Inter Milan being a good example of this).
This leads me to our youth players, and in particular Kevin-Prince Boateng. I mention this player in particular because he has sparked some heated debate as to whether he’s good enough or not (although feel free to discuss all our younger players, because the article’s about youth potential after all).
I think KPB is the perfect example of a young player that won’t make it for a top 5 club in the Premiership. He’s 21 years old (March 6th 1987), doesn’t seem to have any discernable pace, skill, vision or positional sense and isn’t getting a regular run in the first team. With regards to the last point, some might say ‘How can you tell he won’t make it, if you’ve never seen him play?’ That would be a fair point, but one has to remember that KPB plays in training everyday and is scrutinised by professionals everyday, who monitor his development. Basically, there is a reason why we don’t see him play week-in, week-out; namely, he’s not good enough.
A player that may make it, however, is Adel Taarabt who is 18 years old (24th May 1989). He’s got some nice touches, the ability to dribble with the ball, and his passing ability is also good. If he develops a keen positional sense, then his lack of pace will not be seen as any great weakness. But the $64’000 question is ‘Will he develop?, especially since he’ll be 19years old soon, and he’s still not getting much of a sniff of first team football at Spurs.
So, anyway, this is where I open the floor to you guys. I’d also like to finally say that the emphasis is certainly on you, the readers, to answer the question above; this article is not a self-righteous monologue, but an open discussion.
There is much talk in the football world every year, in pubs and homes, on terraces and in the media, about youth players and ‘the next big thing’. Every fan around the globe is eager to hear of their club’s latest addition to its youth side, and whether the new signing will make it or not. So, in turn, this leads me to ask you – the very lovely ladies and gentlemen of Spurscommunity – the following question:
“How old must a player be before we, the fans, realise that he’s not going to cut it in the Premiership?”
On the face of it I’d say that when a player reaches 19 years old, one can determine whether or not that player will make it at the highest level. The player in question should have obvious ability, and should be playing regular first-team football for his club. I think this has been the case with the majority of the leading players in the game nowadays (Ronaldo, Messi, Rooney, Fabregas, there’s probably lots more, and I’m sure you’ll tell me).
Some youth players, particularly at bigger clubs, find it hard to break into the first team, so leave and do the business elsewhere (Robbie Keane moving from Inter Milan being a good example of this).
This leads me to our youth players, and in particular Kevin-Prince Boateng. I mention this player in particular because he has sparked some heated debate as to whether he’s good enough or not (although feel free to discuss all our younger players, because the article’s about youth potential after all).
I think KPB is the perfect example of a young player that won’t make it for a top 5 club in the Premiership. He’s 21 years old (March 6th 1987), doesn’t seem to have any discernable pace, skill, vision or positional sense and isn’t getting a regular run in the first team. With regards to the last point, some might say ‘How can you tell he won’t make it, if you’ve never seen him play?’ That would be a fair point, but one has to remember that KPB plays in training everyday and is scrutinised by professionals everyday, who monitor his development. Basically, there is a reason why we don’t see him play week-in, week-out; namely, he’s not good enough.
A player that may make it, however, is Adel Taarabt who is 18 years old (24th May 1989). He’s got some nice touches, the ability to dribble with the ball, and his passing ability is also good. If he develops a keen positional sense, then his lack of pace will not be seen as any great weakness. But the $64’000 question is ‘Will he develop?, especially since he’ll be 19years old soon, and he’s still not getting much of a sniff of first team football at Spurs.
So, anyway, this is where I open the floor to you guys. I’d also like to finally say that the emphasis is certainly on you, the readers, to answer the question above; this article is not a self-righteous monologue, but an open discussion.
