It’s 20 years since Alan Hansen famously said “You can’t win anything with kids.”
He was of course referring to Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United and the class of ’92. Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, John O’Kane and the Neville brothers all played a big part in United’s campaign as fresh-faced youngsters that season, and did in fact go on to win the title.
Alan Hansen ate his words. Even then it was rare to see a Premier League side field such a young team, but in recent years even fewer home-grown youngsters are grabbing first team spots.
Money has impacted the game in countless ways, but the standout trend worldwide is the increase in transfer activity. Today Premier League clubs don’t take the risk of fielding an inexperienced teenager, instead choosing to bring in experienced international players. This could be because it’s the most entertaining and competitive league in the world and the clubs need to maintain that standard.
It does still happen (Reece Oxford springs to mind), but seeing a young English face in a Premier League shirt is becoming less and less common. It takes time to nurture young players but you’ve got to be willing to put in the time to create your own talent.
In contrast to today’s typical transfer policy, Athletic Bilbao have stuck to their Basque-only policy since the day they were founded. “With home-grown talent and local support, you don’t need foreigners,” is the saying that defines the philosophy.
The club’s success is astonishing. Remaining in the top flight for over 100 years, Bilbao are Spain’s third most successful club – all accomplished using only players born in the Basque region of Spain. This means their future development is based solely on scouting and progressing youngsters through the ranks and into the first team.
Bilbao are doing a great job, and although we can’t overlook the influence of foreign players like Zola, Cantona, Henry and Ronaldo, who have helped the Premier League reach an amazing standard – other clubs could learn from Bilbao to create a great mix.
It’s hard to imagine English clubs adopting this approach in the future. But unless they change their philosophy, be more patient and focus on developing home-grown talent, will we ever see kids win the title again?
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