The much-awaited results from Shoaib Akhtar’s scan on his injured ankle have revealed that his old hairline fracture has still not healed properly. The result means he will be unable to resume bowling for four to six weeks and will almost certainly rule him out of the initial part of Pakistan’s tour to England.”It’s a bad week for me. First I lost a close friend and now got a bad news that my injury has not healed although I still feel no pain and can jog for hours,” Akhtar told AFP. “But a bad news for me is a good news for the English batsmen. I will do my best to recover in time to at least play two Tests.””I carried that ankle injury from the series against England but I continued to play. Even after the operations I was feeling well before I twisted the ankle earlier this month.”Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, told Cricinfo that the results of the scan they had sent to specialists in South Africa did not make for good news. “Unfortunately the scans have revealed that though he doesn’t have a new injury, the fracture that he sustained during the home series against England and India, has not yet fully healed. He cannot bowl at all for four to six weeks.”Woolmer agreed it was “highly unlikely” that Shoaib would be able to play any part in the first half of the England tour but wasn’t willing to comment on whether he would be taken as a member of the squad. “We have a selection meeting later tonight in which we’ll discuss the situation and come to a decision after that.”The fact that his old injury still hasn’t healed will not sit well with the PCB. After he sat out the ODIs against India and then missed the tour of Sri Lanka, reports suggested that Shoaib was training and recovering with his own trainer rather than PCB-appointed officials, which irked board and team officials. It means, as one source close to the team revealed: “no-one is quite sure what he has been doing to his ankle because given proper rehabilitation, it should’ve healed comfortably by now. But it hasn’t.”The first Test is due to begin at Lord’s on July 13, just over five weeks, from now, which means Pakistani fans will now witness, helplessly, the same anguished race against time English football fans are currently experiencing with Wayne Rooney’s metatarsal.Earlier, the PCB had said their own medical commission had advised Shoaib three weeks’ rest and that his selection for the tour of England rests on the recommendation of the commission.Pakistani selectors are scheduled to announce the touring squad in the next day or so. Wasim Bari, chief selector, has said that Shoaib is likely to accompany the squad whether or not he is injured.He told : “It is certainly the most difficult decision that the selection committee will have to take when it meets. I’ve already met Inzamam and Woolmer recently to take their inputs over the team’s selection but recent developments have made it necessary to meet them again.”Bari said the inclusion – or not – of Shoaib will be the main issue of discussion. “There is nothing in writing for us on Shoaib’s fitness issue so I can’t say what we might opt for in our meeting to select the team.,” Bari added. “There is no doubt that Shoaib is a key player for us but then he has to be fit to be able to live up to the expectations. He cannot be included in the team without achievement and proving full match fitness.”
Tatenda Taibu, Zimbabwe’s captain, has ended his 11-year relationship with Takashinga and is looking for a new club side. He joined in 1993 when he was still at Chipembere Primary School in Highfield.Taibu made up his mind before last month’s Champions Trophy. “It was a very difficult decision for me to make but I felt that I needed to move to a club with very few, if any, players in the national team,” he told the Daily Herald. “At the moment there are about seven Takashinga players in the national team and so I decided to join a smaller club where I can help the youngsters there to progress in their cricket.”Three clubs – Uprising, Old Georgians and Harare Sports Club – are vying to sign him. “I have already spoken to these clubs,” he admitted. “This week I will be attending their training sessions to see how they do it and also have a look at their facilities.”His decision to move might not be as straightforward as it seems. Taibu admitted that there were problems – he described them as minor – with Takashinga but stressed the club “had become my second home and it was hard leaving”.But Takashinga has strong political affiliations and its influence with the selectors is considerable – Steven Mangongo, until recently the chief selector, is a senior member – and it is rumoured to have close links with the ruling Zanu-PF party. Its players have been sent home from development clinics for turning up in Zanu-PF T-shirts and bandanas, and one former club member said; “The ZCU makes them a powerful club, because they want them to be powerful. They have some real radicals and that suits some people at the ZCU down to the ground.”Every time they play against white or Indian clubs there are problems. There are always racial things said, and arguments on the field. Except when Taibu and [Stuart] Matsikenyeri play, then they keep quiet.” Without the calming influence of Taibu, things are likely to get worse.
Amid all the excitement surrounding the historic series between Pakistan and India, one group of people have been largely forgotten – the umpires.Simon Taufel, the Australian who officiated in the first two matches, told the Sydney Morning Herald of the problems he encountered. The main difficulty is the noise – and it’s not only the umpires who struggle, as proved on Tuesday when Sourav Ganguly clearly edged the ball but such was the cacophony that neither bowler nor wicketkeeper appealed.”From an umpiring perspective, it’s very difficult and challenging,” Taufel explained. “Umpiring before 75,000 at the MCG is nothing like here. The fans go nonstop. When the person they love comes out the noise is immeasurable.”That makes umpiring bloody difficult, especially when it comes to caught-behinds and communicating with other officials. It’s nothing you could ever train for. It’s very hard when you have one of your senses, hearing, taken away from you.”The fact that that the umpires have been ignored is probably a mark of the good work they have so far done: the effect of any howlers in these high-pressure games would be multiplied tenfold. “I’ve made several close calls in the two games already,” Taufel smiled. “Maybe you think that you might start World War Three if you get something wrong but, on the whole, I feel very comfortable to keep calling it as I see it.”
Somerset County Cricket Club Junior Sabre members are all invited to go along and watch Bristol City play against Peterborough United absolutely free of charge.Over the next few days all paid up Junior Sabres members of the club will be receiving their invitation in the post from membership secretary Joanne Arnold to go along to Ashton Park in Bristol on Saturday March 15th to see the match.All Junior Sabre members have to do then to receive their free ticket is to complete the form at the bottom of their letter and return it to Jo Arnold with a stamped addressed envelope before March 5th.Accompanying adults will have to pay £10 at the turnstiles, or alternatively they can book in advance by calling the Bristol City Hotline on 0117966 6666.Earlier today the membership secretary told me: "This offer is all tied in with the link that we have developed with both Bristol City Football Club and Bristol Shoguns Rugby Club, that gives our Junior Sabre members the chance to watch top class sporting action in the region absolutely free of charge. However it is only on offer to those who have joined for the 2003 season."On the day of the match the Junior Sabres will be joined by Somerset’s friendly dragon mascot Stumpy. Several members of the playing staff are also expected to be present at Ashton Gate.Anybody who has any queries regarding the arrangements for the day should contact Jo Arnold at the County Ground on 01823 272946.
It was India’s 468th and West Indies’ 428th match.
It was the 65th match between these two sides. The record nowreads : India 23, West Indies 40, tied one and abandoned one.
Umpires KC Barbour and GR Evans were officiating in their eighthand 13th match respectively.
Carl Hooper, on one, completed his 1000 runs in matches againstIndia. He was playing his 35th match and 33rd innings. Hooper alsobecame the third West Indian after Desmond Haynes (1357 runs in 36matches ) and Gordon Greenidge (1181 runs in 24 matches) and 16thbatsman overall to do so. Incidentally Pakistani Saeed Anwar with 1901runs from 49 matches holds the record of aggregating most runs in acareer against India.
India conceded only five extras in West Indies’ innings – twowides and three no-balls. It was only the seventh occasion when Indianbowlers and fielders conceded five or less extras in opponents’ totalof 200 or more. The details :
Extras
3
India
v Pakistan (252-3)
Lahore
31-12-1982
4
India
v Australia (263-3)
Rajkot
07-10-1986
4
India
v Australia (235-7)
Melbourne
31-01-1986
4
India
v NewZealand (207-3
Sydney
05-03-1985
5
India
v England (250)
Sharjah
11-12-1997
5
India
v Australia (236-4)
Indore
06-10-1984
5
India
v West Indies (229-5)
Harare
04-07-2001
Tendulkar (122*) when reached 76,completed his 1000 runs against WestIndies. He became first Indian and ninth batsman overall to do so. Hewas playing his 28th match and innings. Tendulkar now holds the recordof completing 1000 runs in a career against West Indies in leastmatches and innings. The earlier record was held by Pakistani Inzamamul-Haq who took 33 matches and 32 innings for his 1000 runs.
The hundred was Tendulkar’s 29th in ODIs and second against WestIndies. His only other hundred against West Indies was made at Jaipuron November 11,1994 when he scored 105 off 148 balls.
Tendulkar’s innings was the highest score by an Indian against WestIndies-home or away. -bettering Navjot Sidhu’s 114* at Visakhapatnamon November 7,1994.
Tendulkar’s innings was the highest for India on this ground. Theprevious highest was a paltry 70* also by Tendulkar against Zimbabwein the second league match of this series on June 27,2001.
The hundred was Tendulkar’s second in Zimbabwe. The other being 127*against the hosts at Bulawayo QC on September 26,1998. Tendulkar hasnow become only the third batsman to score more than one hundred onZimbabwean soil. The others being Alistair Campbell in 42 matches andRoshan Mahanama in three matches.
The hundred was Tendulkar’s 17th on foreign soil-yet another record !He was earlier at level with Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar with 16 hundreds.
Tendulkar has now aggregated 6712 runs (ave.41.43) in 182 `away’matchesmaximum by any batsman in ODIs. He surpassed the aggregatesof two Pakistanis – Saeed Anwar (6685 in 186 matches) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (6647 in 209 matches) . The following table lists the leading runscorers in away matches in ODIs :
Runs
Batsman
For
Mts
Inns
NO
Ave
Hs
100
50
0
6712
SR Tendulkar
Ind
182
178
16
41.43
143
17
32
9
6685
Saeed Anwar
Pak
186
185
11
38.42
194
16
32
11
6647
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Pak
209
201
25
37.77
137*
5
49
12
6215
M Azharuddin
Ind
221
206
34
36.13
111*
4
42
6
6208
PA de Silva
SL
213
207
16
32.50
134
6
43
13
6075
DL Haynes
WI
189
188
17
35.53
138*
7
45
11
5916
IVA Richards
WI
154
141
20
48.89
189*
11
38
7
5548
A Ranatunga
SL
201
196
29
33.22
102*
2
35
16
5455
Salim Malik
Pak
218
202
26
30.99
102
3
35
15
5405
Javed Miandad
Pak
165
158
23
40.04
116*
4
39
8
5290
BC Lara
WI
146
144
12
40.08
169
9
34
10
The 133 run-partnership between Ganguly and Tendulkar was the secondhighest for India for the opening wicket against West Indies. The besthowever still remains the 176 run partnership between Ajay Jadeja andTendulkar at Cuttack on November 9,1994. Incidentally the previoushighest opening stand for India against West Indies in `away’ matcheswas unbroken 116 runs also between Ganguly and Tendulkar at Port-of-Spain on April 27,1997.
Ganguly and Tendulkar also became the third pair to participate in twocentury partnerships for the opening wicket against West Indies afterAustralians Adam Gilchrist and Mark Waugh and Indians Ajay Jadeja andSachin Tendulkar.
Tendulkar was getting involved in a century partnership for the 47thtime in his careera new world record. The break-up of Tendulkar’scentury partnerships- 20 for the first,11 for the second,10 for thethird,3 for the fourth and 3 for the fifth. The previous record ofmost century partnerships was on the name of West Indian DesmondHaynes who featured in 46 such partnerships. The following table liststhe batsmen who have been involved in most century stands
Batsman
Country
Total
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
SR Tendulkar
India
47
20
11
10
3
3
–
–
–
–
–
DL Haynes
WestIndies
46
26
11
6
1
1
1
–
–
–
–
ME Waugh
Australia
40
14
11
9
4
1
1
–
–
–
–
SC Ganguly
India
37
16
12
5
2
1
1
–
–
–
PA DeSilva
SriLanka
35
–
3
22
5
2
2
1
–
–
–
M Azharuddin
India
34
–
5
18
9
1
1
–
–
–
–
IVA Richards
WestIndies
32
–
9
17
3
2
–
–
–
–
1
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Pakistan
30
1
7
5
13
4
–
–
–
–
–
Tendulkar was winning his 41st Man of the Match award. This was alsohis sixth award against West Indiesmaximum by any player. He waspreviously at level with Pakistan’s Imran Khan with five awards.
Crystal Palace face an uncertain managerial future after contract negotiations with Oliver Glasner reached a critical juncture this week.
Fabrizio Romano revealed in his latest YouTube video that the manager has made a final decision regarding his future at the club after extensive discussions and negotiations spanning several months.
The well-respected transfer journalist confirmed that talks between both parties have been ongoing for a while, without reaching any breakthrough that would secure the coach’s services beyond 2026.
Romano explained that the manager has been carefully weighing up aspects like the Palace’s project direction, long-term vision and ambitions for sustained growth at the highest level
The reporter also claims that, after plenty of thinking, Glasner has elected not to sign a new deal.
Since arriving at Selhust Park, Glasner has transformed the club into genuine European contenders while delivering their first major trophy in the club’s 120-year history with a memorable FA Cup final victory over Man City in May.
His remarkable achievement in guiding the Eagles to silverware represents the pinnacle of success for a club that had previously never won a single major trophy.
The Austrian followed up that historic triumph by securing another piece of silverware when Palace defeated Liverpool on penalties in the Community Shield in August.
Crystal Palace learn Brennan Johnson stance on January transfer from Tottenham
The Wales international is a key target heading into the winter.
ByEmilio Galantini
His performance over the past 18 months have attracted admiring glances from numerous clubs across Europe who view him as one of the continent’s most talented young managers.
That is according to TEAMtalk and journalist Graeme Bailey, who report that Palace are now in the process of identifying replacements for Glasner.
Crystal Palace eye Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior
One name that features prominently on Palace’s shortlist of potential successors is Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior, who has impressed during his time in charge of the French club.
Hull City managerLiamRoseniorand Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna before the match
However, the 40-year-old also appears on Chelsea’s radar as BlueCo consider their own succession planning should Enzo Maresca depart Stamford Bridge at some point in the near future.
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Palace are believed to be real admirers of Rosenior following his exceptional time in Ligue 1, where he guided them to Europe last season and briedly had them contending with PSG near the top of the table this term.
The former Hull City boss has been lavished with praise for his development of players as well, with European football expert Andy Brassell calling him ‘exceptional’ in this regard.
Unfortunately, BlueCo hold almost all the cards here unless Rosenior pushes to leave Strasbourg, so Chelsea will be overwhelming favourites to hire the boss if they decide to replace Maresca with him.
You can picture it now: Michel Platini taking a few practise swings with his new Thor-like hammer; the letters “FFP” emblazoned across the side of it.
Does this summer represent the last chance for clubs to indulge in the heavy spending that has become part of football over the past decade? Or will Platini be forced to keep his hammer from seeing the light of day by forceful club owners?
It’s hard to imagine football without reckless spending. Even if Uefa do follow through with their plans for Financial Fair Play, you’d still expect there to be a few big signings flying about. But on the other hand, Michel Platini’s reputation is on the line here. He and Uefa have been heavily persistent that this new model will be implemented and enforced with an iron fist.
A level playing field and the opportunity for every club at some stage to really have a crack at a league title is a good idea. The American leagues thrive off that sort of rotation in competition. In the past five years there have been five different winners of the World Series, four different Super Bowl champions, and five different Stanley Cup winners. Salary caps are in place to enforce a similar ruling to what Uefa are advocating, and teams are forced, for the most part, to build their squads through draft systems.
Sure there’s money flying around in the form of monster contracts, but the transfer fees that are involved in football, coupled with the contracts, help to create a greater disparity between those at the top and bottom.
With the new rulings in place, would we see less outside investment in football teams? Probably. After all, most investors don’t pick up football teams to sit around waiting years for a team to slowly, patiently, and according to the rules, build their potential title winning squads. They speed up the process through the strength of their chequebook.
For the most part, none of them are fans of their football club. They either buy into the club to make a profit somewhere down the line, or, in the case of one or two in the minority, have so much money that the club is their own real life Football Manager.
But that’s the point, isn’t it? You build an empire or a footballing dynasty through investment in the transfer market. Clubs like Ajax, who make excellent use of their youth academy, aren’t going to be super powers in European football any time soon. And even Barcelona, who follow a similar ideals, have splashed big in the market.
In many ways it would be great to have a more level playing field across European football, but isn’t it still a bit of a romantic idea? How long will it take teams at the bottom of the food chain to catch up with those at the top?
The Bundesliga is an excellent benchmark where clubs look to balance their books more efficiently. They don’t indulge in big spending like the rest of their European counterparts do. For the most part, clubs are owned by fans who take up 51 per cent of the club and, in turn, block investors from taking over the way they do elsewhere.
A fee paid of around £15 million for Marco Reus by Borussia Dortmund is seen as one of the larger fees from a German perspective. In countries such as England and Spain, it’s the norm for a fee like that to exchange hands.
Germany is a good example of where FFP is in effect to a degree. The league have shown that there is a possibility to remain competitive across the board instead of limiting it to a few clubs, and the national team have been able to thrive off the success of clubs’ youth academies.
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The thing about this Financial Fair Play is that you’d like to see it in practice before you can definitively say how much of an impact it will have. The idea is great, but there’s still too much in football weighing it down.
The big-money transfer, for example, could still be sanctioned without much fear of Uefa coming down on clubs. The spreading out of the transfer fee has always been the norm with clubs, so where a club pays £30 million for a player, that fee is split over the duration of the player’s contract. Coupled with the wages of that player, the total expense for that one transfer still totals to less than £30 million in one year.
It’s perhaps more a case of reckless spending which will see it’s final days. There will continue to be big spending because there are clubs who can legitimately afford it. But the case of spending £100 million for three or four players may be a little harder to disguise.
Liverpool’s Luis Suarez has stated that he knows he harbours a sizeable bulk of the side’s goalscoring responsibilities in 2011/12, but that he will try to remain calm amid heightened expectations.
The former Ajax forward was signed along with Andy Carroll to replace outgoing Fernando Torres in January, and made a good start to his career on Merseyside with impressive performances and four goals in 2010/11. Despite this, the weight of his £22.8million transfer has not gone unnoticed.
“There are so many people watching you. You feel the pressure of what the club has paid for you, but I tried to live as calmly as I could, not to think about the people watching me,” the 24-year-old told Don Balon.
He also revealed his predecessor gave him some words of wisdom before moving to Chelsea for £50 million.
“He told me to be the same player I always was, not to try to change, that Liverpool were a great team and that they would help me to grow a lot. The truth is that his advice was a great help and he was not wrong, he was exactly right,” the Uruguayan continued.
Suarez is represented by Pere Guardiola, brother of Barcelona coach Pep, and he stated an admiration for the current European champions.
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“Before knowing Pere, I had that dream of having the chance to play for Barcelona. Obviously he is connected to Barcelona through his brother, but these are work issues, totally different to personal ones. If [Pep] Guardiola wants me, he will want me totally independently of who represents me,” he concluded.
The Liverpool frontman is currently in Argentina on international for Uruguay in the Copa America.
Albeit slightly premature, I think it’s fair to say Rafael van der Vaart has been the signing of the season. His performances for Tottenham since his deadline-day arrival have helped transfer the North London side into a real force in the Premier League. But whilst Harry Redknapp can congratulate himself on a job well done by signing the Dutchman, are the rest of the top clubs bosses bemoaning a missed opportunity?
The deal which brought van der Vaart from Real Madrid to Spurs was surrounded by conspiracy theories. But whatever the case may be, for £8 million, Redknapp pulled off a major coup. Although his record speaks for itself, credit is due to the Spurs manager for bringing in a player who represented something of a risk. His career has been consistently interrupted with unfortunate injuries and the player himself stated he was beginning to fall out of love with football after becoming bored with Jose Mourinho’s regime at Madrid.
But now Tottenham’s new ‘Messiah’ has rediscovered the form which gave him his name as one of the worlds brightest talents, the likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Sir Alex Ferguson must be wishing they had taken a chance on him.
Despite being second only on goal difference, Manchester United haven’t yet managed to set the Premier League alight this season, and at times, they have desperately missed that creative spark someone like van der Vaart could provide. At the moment, they are doing more than enough to compensate; unbeaten this season proves that, but when Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs do finally decide it’s time to hang up the boots, there is going to be a huge void left in United’s midfield. A void that a certain Dutchman would fill quite nicely.
Chelsea have missed the injured Frank Lampard and despite bringing in the likes of James Milner, Adam Johnson and Mario Balotelli, Manchester City have lacked any kind of attacking prowess so far, apart from last weekend of course.
Arsene Wenger argued that he decided against bidding for the Spurs man because he didn’t need another midfielder. Insisting his squad was the best he’d had in years, the Arsenal manager reeled off a list of names to back up his point. Admittedly, Wenger has acquired an impressive attacking line-up, but on this form I question which side wouldn’t be improved by Rafael van der Vaart?
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Even if the rest of the Premier Leagues big guns did now decide that the Dutchman should be plying his trade at their respective club, it’s hard to see the attacking midfielder being prepared to leave White Hart Lane. Harry Redknapp has given him a platform at Tottenham to express himself and play the way he enjoys; eight goals in 13 games would suggest the player is happier at Spurs than he has been in a while.
If van der Vaart’s form continues, Tottenham can continue to improve and upset the odds. The win at the Emirates was a huge sign of what Redknapp is trying to build at Spurs and whilst other managers may look longingly on at the Dutchman, Harry will carry on building a team around one of Europe’s best.
Alan Hansen was infamously ridiculed for his declaration that “you’ll never win anything with kids”. The immortal phrase was uttered on August 19, 1995 after a baby-faced Manchester United had lost their opening day fixture. We all know what happened next with the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes and to a lesser extent the Neville brothers helping to inspire the Red Devils to a league and cup double. Hansen found himself with the contents of an omelette on his face but would he endure the same mockery if he repeated the phrase today?
In recent years we’ve seen Arsenal’s stars of the future fail to reach their projected heights whilst United’s success is epitomised by their continued reliance on the experience of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. The prospect of another ‘golden generation’ seems increasingly unlikely, with only a few standout players across the league ever really breaking through into the first-team, after life in the academy. Is it fair to say that despite pumping millions of pounds into academy football, it’s getting more and more difficult for players to establish themselves in the senior squad?
At present, the only real taste of professional football a young starlet is likely to enjoy (at a Premier League club) is through participation in the Carling Cup. The competition is bit like first-team football with training wheels on, there’s a certain degree of intensity and atmosphere but it’s still perceived as a distraction from the league campaign.
Without any disrespect to the lower league clubs, an away tie against the likes of Barnet isn’t going to be too dissimilar from the standard of their usual fixture in the reserves. The sad fact is that even if a team manages to progress to a stage where winning the trophy becomes a real possibility then these youngsters will always make way for their senior team-mates.
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To put things in perspective, in the 1990 FA Cup final the average age of the Manchester United and Crystal Palace starting line-ups was around 26. Two decades later when Portsmouth played Chelsea the two starting line-ups featured 11 players over 30, with the average age rising to well over 29.
Speaking of Chelsea, their turbulent twelve-month period is unlikely to encourage any other clubs to disregard their aging squad members and promote their younger counterparts. Andre Villas-Boas tried to install a drastic overhaul during his brief spell as manager but met fierce opposition from the stands and their idolised senior squad members. Sunday’s convincing FA Cup semi-final victory over rivals Tottenham was exemplified by the performances of Terry, Drogba and Lampard, which will undoubtedly leave promising talents Romelu Lukaku and Oriol Romeu even further adrift of a regular position in the starting line-up.
During his time at the Bridge, Villas-Boas suggested that the Premier League should be allowed to field reserve sides in the Championship, akin to the set-up in Spain. However, League chief Andy Williamson perfectly sums up why this could never happen;
“Our clubs are constituted as sovereign entities which represent their town or city with pride, rather than being a subsidiary of another club in another part of the country,
“These are senior professional football matches that matter – they are not just platforms for developing other clubs’ players.” (BBC)
The simple fact of the matter is that the reserve leagues aren’t competitive enough to help continue the development of young players. The demands for success from fans, the media and even the chairman will mean managers are increasingly reluctant to test these individuals in the first-team. Perhaps the advent of the Elite Player Performance Plan will help spark a transformation and as the country’s best young talent gradually migrate to the top-flight, we may find ourselves with reserve football that is the equivalent of the U21’s at international level.
All is not lost for our current crop of young stars, as loan moves across the divisions have proven an effective way to gain experience of the physical demands of professional football. However, unless such players continue to shine week in week out – Wilshere at Bolton or Welbeck at Sunderland – then they’re unlikely to find any further opportunities at their doorstep once they return to their parent club.
It’s certainly easier to break through at Championship level with an increased number of games and significantly less competition for places. The exceptional players will attract the attention of the Premier League elite and will often find themselves at the heart of a high profile move. In spite of the recent success story of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, many find themselves struggling to adapt (see: Connor Wickham, Marvin Sordell and Carl Jenkinson).
As the financial implications for failure become ever more apparent, a reliance on success in the here and now will always stunt the development of the future of tomorrow. Competitions like the Carling Cup will allow for brief cameos on the centre stage but when teams are criticised and even fined for fielding ‘weaker’ teams in the Premier League, it’s difficult to see many youngsters being handed a starring role.
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Come find me on Twitter @theunusedsub where I’m currently watching that 1990 FA Cup final, wondering what could have been…