Football’s obsession with youth is in danger of becoming unhealthy

Fabio Capello fielded 20-year-old Jordan Henderson against France

England’s lackluster performance against France should serve as a valuable lesson that youth is no substitute for experience and younger does not necessarily mean better.

There is far too much emphasis on youth in modern day football and this issue is being exasperated by the impending introduction of the Financial Fair Play regulations. Liverpool’s new owner, John W Henry, inadvertently articulated the problem when he criticized the club’s decision to sign a number of older players prior to the recent takeover,

“We cannot afford player contracts that do not make long-term sense,” he said.

Henry had presumably been casting eyes at rival clubs such as Manchester United and Arsenal who have made enormous profits in the transfer market by recruiting players early in their careers.

Alex Ferguson identified Cristiano Ronaldo as a teenager and signed him from Sporting Lisbon for £12.24 million, a cost which was seen by many as exorbitant for an unproven 18 year old. Six years later, when Real Madrid came calling, Ronaldo’s price tag had risen to a world record £80 million.

In percentage terms this type of transfer market profit is peanuts compared to the sort which Arsenal have become accustomed to making under the astute guidance of Arsene Wenger. The club’s state of the art training facility at London Colney was almost entirely financed by the money they made from the transfer of Nicolas Anelka. The 17 year old striker was signed from Paris St Germain in 1997 for a fee of £500,000 and sold to Real Madrid just two years later for £22.5 million.

Another typical piece of Wenger business was the one which saw Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure exchange the Emirates for Eastlands. Wenger signed Adebayor for around £3 million at the age of 21 and sold him to Manchester City for £25 million just three years later. Toure joined Arsenal as a 20 year old for £150,000 and cost Manchester City a cool £16 million.

What the balance sheets will not reflect is that none of these players made anything approaching an instant impact on English football. Ronaldo’s tricks and flicks initially failed to convince at Old Trafford and he was dismissed by many as offering style rather than substance.

Toure did not make his Arsenal debut until he had been at the club for six months. He looked unconvincing in a defensive midfield role and it was only when Wenger stumbled upon the idea of playing him at centre half that he became a fixture in the first team. Adebayor could only manage eight goals in 29 league games in his opening season and fans were distinctly unimpressed with his profligacy.

With Liverpool’s financial situation looking a little precarious it is entirely understandable that the new owners should view the transfer market as a potential source of revenue. There are numerous examples across Europe of clubs which are being kept afloat purely by their ability to repeatedly sell players at a profit.

Investing in young players seems like an obvious strategy but it is effectively a gamble. Teenage prodigies can require years of careful nurture with no guarantee that the player in question will ultimately be a success. Luke Freeman cost Arsenal £200,000 at the tender age of 15, yet three years at the Arsenal academy has clearly not had the desired effect. Now aged 18, Freeman is in the middle of an unproductive loan spell at Yeovil Town.

A recruitment policy which focuses exclusively on youth might make financial sense but it is Liverpool’s first team which is in urgent need of reinforcing. Roy Hodgson’s significant pre season signings, Raul Meireles, Christian Poulsen, Fabio Aurelio and Joe Cole, were all aged between 27 and 30. Henry is correct in his assertion that the value of these players will only diminish but is probably unaware that outfield players tend to peak towards their late 20s.

Chelsea’s success has been built on a policy of signing proven players regardless of age or cost. Ashley Cole, Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka had all been tried and tested at an elite level elsewhere before being recruited. While none of these players were cheap they have all gone on to emphatically justify the club’s initial expenditure on them.

Chelsea actually appear to have become unstuck in a recent attempt to give their ageing squad a more youthful appearance. Ageing players such as Michael Ballack, Juliano Beletti, Ricardo Carvalho and Deco were all allowed to leave in the summer.

The theory was presumably that they were standing in the way of the development of Chelsea’s youngsters. The reality, which has been highlighted by the club’s recent defensive injury crisis, is that despite their advancing years these veterans are significantly better than anything emerging from the Chelsea academy. It speaks volumes about Carlo Ancelotti’s lack of faith in 20 year old Patrick van Aanholt that he would rather use Paulo Ferreira as a makeshift centre half than risk playing the ‘promising’ Dutchman in his preferred position.

Fabio Capello favoured youth over experience in the recent friendly with France and was rewarded with a nervous and disjointed performance lacking any sort of fluidity. Despite going through a transitionary period after the World Cup debacle France fielded arguably their strongest available side and it should not rank as a major surprise that an inexperienced, experimental England XL was totally outclassed.

Jordan Henderson, 20, might have tremendous potential but that does not necessarily make him a better player than Kevin Nolan, 28, or Scott Parker, 30. Andy Carroll, 21, is another player who has youth on his side but Peter Crouch, 29, averages a goal every other game for his country, and should surely be ahead of him in the international pecking order.

Wenger is very specific about when he feels footballers reach their peaks. He believes that goalkeepers are at their best between the ages of 30 to 35, central defenders 26 to 34, midfielders 26 to 32 and strikers 24 to 30.

There are obvious exceptions to Wenger’s rule and once in a while a truly precocious player will emerge. Wayne Rooney and Cesc Fabregas were both playing regular first team football at 17 but most footballers cannot be expected to progress at such an accelerated rate.

Football’s fixation with youth is in danger of damaging the development of young players. Fast tracking youngsters into the upper echelons of the game can have a detrimental affect and it is difficult to see how Henderson would have benefited from being involved in such a dysfunctional England performance.

The likes of Nolan and Parker are unlikely to improve but that is because they are already at their peak. Henderson has the potential to be an outstanding midfielder but he has yet to reach the sort of level which Nolan and Parker perform at week in, week out.

Paulo Maldini was a vital member of the AC Milan team until the age of 40, Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar is still going strong at a similar age and 37 year old striker Filipo Inzaghi was agitating for a move earlier this season after growing frustrated at making only sporadic substitute appearances for AC Milan. Inzaghi was averaging a goal every other game at the time, including an impressive brace against Real Madrid in the Champion’s League.

It might not be as fashionable as youth but experience is still a valuable commodity in modern football. Capello gave Carroll an opportunity in a relatively meaningless friendly but in a match which actually mattered, the European Championship qualifier against Montenegro, he turned to 33 year old Kevin Davies.

There is an important distinction between potential and ability which football is in danger of losing sight of. Players with potential might offer clubs the greatest margin for profit but it is players with ability who win trophies.

Picture: Getty Images

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