http://www.westlondonsport.com/features-comment/qpr-youth-system-progrese Ultimate success for a youth system is of course producing home-grown players who become first-team regulars. In QPR’s case, not since Richard Langley, who made his debut nearly 18 years ago, has the club managed to produce such a player. Marcus Bean’s 76 appearances are often overlooked, perhaps unfairly. Bean has gone on to have a decent career since leaving Rangers. Still just 31, he is approaching 400 league appearances. The failings of QPR’s youth system haven’t just been highlighted by the wait for a home-grown first-team regular. While those kind of success stories have been non-existent at Rangers for so long, they’ve been pretty thin on the ground across the board. please log in to view this image Langley made 148 appearances for QPR English clubs are generally not producing talent in the way they used to. But many clubs judge their youth system not just according to how many players it produces for them, but how many it produces generally. Success isn’t just the odd home-grown player who becomes a first-team stalwart. Relative success is also producing players who have some market value, are perhaps worth a few hundred thousand quid, and will go on to have careers in the game. From a club’s perspective, this means some return on investment. Crucially, it also helps them attract prospective academy players. Bean’s story of relative success is therefore important and it’s the absence of similar examples that most highlights the failure of Rangers’ youth system, not the absence of a top-line youth product. Here is someone who has had a good career, is regarded as a good professional and who learnt his trade at QPR. In other words, Bean has been a good ambassador for Rangers’ youth system. And until fairly recently, he was pretty much the only one. When a youth system is failing that badly, it’s not going to suddenly start churning out first-team regulars without first showing some flickers of life. Unfortunately, the co-chairman would have you believe otherwise. please log in to view this image Fernandes has promised to revitalise QPR’s youth system Tony Fernandes’ musings, which are often an attempt to deflect short-term, knee-jerk criticism, tend to be inaccurate and misleading. That is certainly the case when it comes to the subject of Rangers’ academy. Fernandes’ determination to kickstart the failing production line he inherited is sincere, but he has given the impression that significant change is much closer than it is – or was ever likely to be. The problem with this, as with Fernandes’ PR in general, is that the definite short-term gain leads to inevitable longer-term pain, because the greater the false optimism generated, the greater the anger – you could even call it hysteria – when the reality becomes apparent. That was highlighted last week by some of the reaction to the sale of Cole Kpekawa to Barnsley. Part of the reason for this was that QPR fans were sold a pup. They were led to believe that the (latest) new era meant there were youngsters waiting for their chance who would now be able to establish themselves. They were also led to believe that these youngsters on the fringes of the Rangers first team are far better than they actually are. The shame for QPR is that the sale of Kpekawa has been seen as a sign that the neglect of the youth system continues. It’s not. It’s a major sign that things are improving. The sale of a youngster who was rightly regarded as being a long way from first-team material for almost half a million pounds is a positive development – and it continues an upward trend. QPR’s hot air about their academy, fueled by Fernandes’ claptrap, didn’t do justice to just how bad and how deep-rooted the problem really was. Forget producing first-team regulars for QPR, until fairly recently the club could barely produce a player capable of seeing out a month on loan somewhere. That’s how bad it was: on successive occasions Rangers youngsters failed to impress while on loan to the extent they were sent back early. Since that rock-bottom point, good young players like Michael Harriman, Max Ehmer, Darnell Furlong, Michael Doughty and Michael Petrasso have gone on loan and given a good account of themselves and of QPR. please log in to view this image They’ve been well coached at Rangers, have good attitudes, and there are people in the game who can vouch for their ability and professionalism. A couple of those players weren’t quite good enough for Rangers and moved on permanently. Others will probably follow. For QPR, this isn’t failure. It’s very significant progress indeed. But it’s widely seen among the fan base as a negative, not a positive thing. This significant progress was achieved despite financial, logistical and other challenges. Of course there has been tragedy too, with the loss of genuine prospects in Ray Jones, who was closely monitored by a number of impressed Premier League clubs, and Kiyan Prince. That progress wasn’t achieved by the current management team spearheaded by Les Ferdinand, for all his achievements so far and the merits of his general strategy, It was achieved by years of hard work by Steve Gallen, with help from the likes of Marc Bircham, prior to Gallen leaving QPR this year. please log in to view this image Gallen worked against the odds during his time at QPR Unkind whispers emanating from the club at the time of Gallen’s departure suggested the failure to produce home-grown players in some way reflected on him. That is nonsense. While Gallen’s years unfortunately didn’t produce the long-awaited QPR first-team regular, given the circumstances he operated in he did superbly to get as many players as close to that standard as he did. This has been borne out by the QPR production line now, finally, churning out well-schooled players who are capable of having good careers and in some cases are worth six-figure sums. These are the Bean-like relative-success stories that could be a precursor to something better. Only on Fernandes’ fantasy island could a club go from one extreme to the other without this kind of progress in between. The question now is whether the current regime can build on this progress and take things to the next level. Time will tell.
No Stan it does.... The players coming through now (Cole, Shadipo, Kakay, Doughty, Reece-Cox) are Gallen's ...he had them from the age of 14 etc onwards. He started from nothing...the Goons got rid of the kids teams I seem to remember, Gallen had to start afresh....with none of the good kids coming to us, prefering Brentford, Southampton, West Ham....teams with previous records of producing professional footballers
I really dislike the Fernades bashing. He badly needs to convince the rest of his investors that the club can be turned around and a little enthusiasm for the green shoots showing from the rejuvenated youth policy is part of that.
I'm in the Stan camp on this one. Steve Gallen was a thoroughly nice bloke who probably did a reasonable job against the odds. Maybe there were individuals within the club who did not support him or who must take some of the blame, who knows. He may not be totally responsible but he must be somewhat responsible and on that basis, he HAD to be replaced.
Gallen was also producing or trying to in a time when the club were intent on buying established professionals who were nothing but a drain on the club. The young players must have thought would we or will we ever be given an opportunity. Think Sterling - he left us at 15 to go elsewhere. Maybe the direction of the club was to try to buy instant success. If we look at CFC down the road, in the Daily Mail they listed 38 players on their books that have gone out on loan to other clubs. Wouldn't it be good if we had a few youngsters that we could send out on loan for experience before they dip their toe in the water with us?
By that logic all Prem clubs that spend big (ie virtually all of them), would have no youth system ?? Sterling left us, because he was of a quality that a club like Liverpool identified him and lured him with huge bucks. I would have thought young players get attracted by the reputation and quality of coaching.
There are very few Premiership players that have come from the youth team into the team that they now play for. Barkley for Everton is one that springs to mind, there are probably others (Terry for Chelsea), but they are few and far between. Could be a reason why England always flatter to deceive in championships and world cups
It is a worrying trend that the British football watching public would rather see the likes of Aguero, Costa, and Sanchez than John Smith who came through the ranks at Rochdale. I guess we have Sky to thank for that plus, it is far easier for the top clubs to go into Europe and beyond and sign a player than invest 5+ years in a youth player that may not make it.
It's going to get worse. Only Barca, Real, Bayern and PSG can match the transfer fees and salaries that Crystal Palace can offer. Unless there are rules about British players (viva Brexit!) why should it stop?