http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/spor...s/liverpool-fc-skipper-steven-gerrard-6130031 Itâs tougher for youngsters to break through in the Premier League now says Reds legend Liverpool FC skipper Steven Gerrard believes the number of overseas players in the Premier League means itâs increasingly difficult for English youngsters to make the breakthrough at top clubs. However, the long-serving midfielder says teenagers need to help themselves by displaying a real hunger to succeed at the highest level. âManagers are only ever eight to 10 games away from the sack so to take risks on unknown young players is difficult,â Gerrard said. â Brendan Rodgers has been fantastic at this club because heâs been bold and brave and heâs given the young players a chance. âBut thereâs no two ways about it, itâs a lot more difficult to break through nowadays because of the standard of players and because there is a lot more foreigners about. âWhat I tell young players when they come down to Melwood is that the hard work is only just starting for them. âA lot of players fall away when they come to Melwood because they think the job is done. They become big time. They become footballers for the wrong reasons. âFor me, my professional days started and the hard work began when I was invited to train full-time with the first team. âThatâs when you have to move people out of your position and show the manager you are better than whatâs in front of you.â
Anyone else find these comments by Gerrard (not the first time he's said it) strange and slightly ironic? He broke into the team when the likes of Ince and Redknapp where in the team. fair enough, they are English but these were also seasoned internationals!
What he says is neither strange or ironic. He says that its NOW even more difficult for youngsters to break through because of the imports. Even if those numbers were limited he is totally right about the true work starting when you train with the first team squad. Doesn't matter where the established player comes from who presently holds the position, it's the task of the youngster to prove firstly that they can and ultimately that they are, better than the established player. He appears to be totally right about the attitude being a big part of the development. Let's take that one head-on. Sterling has/had all the potential. However, from what we read and see - cars, women, court appearances, the outside influences are dramatically effecting his football development. Why are we so surprised by that? It happens in other clubs and it has happened in ours before. You can't make all the decsions for the youngsters but the more people like Gerrard tell them the better.
I don't agree it is harder because there are more foreign players on these shores, if you are good enough then you'll break through. What makes it harder is the money that is in the game, this puts excessive pressure on managers to succeed and less likely to take a risk (calculated or not) on a youngsters. However, what's stopping a youngsters breaking through at a different club? As you rightly said, mentality is a big part of the game. All too often, the modern day youngsters think they've made it before they can walk! They jump at the chance of joining one of the big clubs and then wonder why they are not in the first team when they make their twenties. I admire the likes of Tom Ince here, he made the decision to move because he wanted to play rather than stagnate. Maybe its harder for the average to good players but the top stars (which Gerrard obviously is) will always raise regardless.
Sturridge couldn't get a regular game at either city of chelski. Look at him now Rodgers saw the potential and took the risk.
not really cos he had to apply exactly the work he said to get ahead of them.. took a while to get houllier to put him in. He is right but wrong in saying "a lot of foreigners" thats very "english" i guess. It is more accurate to say everyone in the world wants to play in the prem. you are competing with the best in the world not just the scraping here lads. If you look at the very best players they all have a similar attribute. they all just live to play. messi etc etc etc.. you can tell those who fall out of love with he game like sneidjer. you can lit 100 guys like babel who you wonder are they bothered.
i admire alex K... i think tom ince is being managed by his dad and its putting off everyone. Look at eccleston... missed his chance due to money grubbing then he vanished after a few games at lw. thats a perfect example of the type of stuff kids go do. sterling is a prime example really. big contract and lots of off field antics. There could come a time before next may where people on this forum are wanting us to drop sterling altogether for ibe, prob happening already..
Hence me saying what I did about money and managers Does anyone believe he wasn't good enough to play for Chelsea? Or that Lakaku isn't a better option than Eto'o, Ba or Torres...? My point was, it isn't harder for players to break through because it is still a case of if they are good enough, they will make it. The problem is money and managers in the game.
Much better put MITO. The standard has increased but its not harder because there are more foreigners.
Tom Ince was doing well before his dad became manager so I don't think that is relevant. PS...I don't want us to sign him though.
I think you have to ask yourself why the foreign players are here. We didn't import them because we thought it would be 'nice' to have some exotic players in our teams. We did import them to raise (supposedly) the skill level within out teams. Hence any UK youngster who has gone through a British development programme is chasing an even higher level of skill requirement than would have been required had they faced only national senior players. Not only that but with the present trend of importing youth, the UK kids face even less opportunity. Now we can argue that society has been too soft over the last decades on our youngsters i.e everybody succeeds to the level of their ability, the removal of the competitive element in schools, etc. Therefore, those kids who do manage to even make the 1st team training squad are really going to think that they've already achieved and deserve a 'rest'. Add to that the stupid amounts of money that we throw at them and it's a wonder that any of them arrive as established players with a degree of common sense!!!
That's a whole other debate right there I'd say most were imported because they were a cheaper option
Just not true. The supposed technical skill of foreign players has been held to be far superior to their UK equivalents since England lost their first match at Wembley. The premium on English players only exists as a result of legislation and has nothing to do with skill.
That would be your opinion. IMO, some of the foreign players in this country are no better or worse than some of the English player, they just cost less. For every Henry, Zola, Vieira and Bergkamp, there is a Diao, Diouf, Traore and Biscan (named the last two intentionally ). As I keep saying, if a player is good enough (physically and mentally), they will raise to the top one way or the other. Foreign players in the Premier League has not made it harder for young players to break through. However, the improved standard has. Fair enough there are foreign players that have helped to improve that standard but my point is there are a hell of a lot that don't, they're just cheaper options to buy for the immediate success demands of modern day football. PS...this thread actually fits in with yesterday B-Team discussions
Just look at the percentages of UK and foreign players in the Premiership. Look at the number of non-UK youths in our Academy. Finally think about the numbers of UK dross that still manages to find a place in Premiership sides.
I mention it as that was the only reason he left us in the first place.. daddy in his ear engineering a move. co-incidentally now his daddy is his manager he's not trying to leave blackpool is he? its all about daddy's best interests with tome inc... IMO.
Maybe it is now but when he left us he had someone that was looking out for his best interests rather than an agent trying to make as much money out of him as possible.
anyway overall I think myself that the thing can be boiled down to value. If you had a choice... would you pay henderson 20k per week or coutnho 20k per week. Its a no brainer. we bought henderson for 16mil and lumped 60k per week at him. Why i don't know but thats a fact. is it English players agents? I dunno We bought coutinho for 7mil and pay him nothing 20k.... I do think there are a lot of managers who go for the foreign player as they are cheaper and the words "english core or heart" show that really they IMO see the enlgish players as a few grafters to give backbone more than anything. do this for 10-20 years and you get the siutation today. managers look for grafters and ignore talent. 90% of our young players are athletes, runners, and sprinters... ox-chamberlain, sterling, walcott... or fat lumps like caulker or jones. (harsh i know) a whilshire is so rare..... Now any time a prem clubs sniffs an english player the fee is twice thier worth and wages 3 times their worth. however this cannot excuse filling an academy form 14-17 years old with foreign kids. My opinion is its exploitation fo them as much as blocking english progression.
