I'm new on here so apologies if I have missed this article somewhere else. Makes interesting reading from today's Guardian. Not sure Steve Highway will be too pleased though!
Academies are not working and need big change, says Benítez
Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez welcomes Arsenal's young imports in the Carling Cup tonight with a warning for the English game.
Dominic Fifield
December 19, 2006 12:30 AM
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/20...rking_and.html
Rafael Benítez welcomes Arsenal's prodigious second string to Anfield tonight having renewed his attack on the English academy system, the shortcomings of which have prompted the Spaniard to follow Arsène Wenger's lead by attempting to recruit youngsters from abroad.
Arsenal travel with their Carling Cup squad featuring personnel lured from all points between from Sao Paulo to Auxerre complementing home products. Benítez has not spent the kind of fees it took Arsenal to sign Abou Diaby or Denilson, who both moved from foreign clubs, or Theo Walcott, from Southampton, for an initial £5m, rising to a maximum £12m.
His dissatisfaction at the lack of local talent emerging from Liverpool's academy has prompted him to look further afield, though the fact he will select more senior players for this quarter-final is a reflection that his squad lacks the depth of Wenger's. Even after the Argentinian Gabriel Paletta's arrival from Banfield in summer and the recent signing of his compatriot Emiliano Insua, who arrives next month from Boca Juniors, Liverpool continue to play catch-up with the youthful Arsenal team which defeated Everton in the previous round having cost £30.95m to assemble.
"It depends what you mean by Arsenal's 'youth policy'," said the Spaniard when asked if he admired their set-up. "If you mean spending a lot of money on top-class players, it isn't difficult for me if I have that money. We know there is a big difference with Arsenal, who can pay millions for Denilson and also spend big on Walcott and Diaby.
"We were monitoring those players, but we can't compete with the big money they spent on them, so we have to work twice as hard. I am really pleased with the work of the scouting department who are working really hard to sign quality international players without spending a lot.
"When Wenger talks about quality and not nationality, I agree with him because the most important thing is to be winning. And, for me, you need to improve the English academy system because it's not the best. I'm not talking just about us, but for English football. If you want to improve, you need to change because you can see that young players don't progress here."
Benítez's frustration stems from his perception of a lack of competitive football for youth sides in their leagues, and the apparent over-emphasis on education in the system. Though the Spaniard appreciates the need to incorporate a teaching element, he has suggested that, given the hours spent in the classroom rather than on the training pitch, the academies are effectively catering for failure.
He endorses Jose Mourinho's insistence that junior teams should play competitive games ideally in the Football League, something Benítez did as manager of Real Madrid's B side in finishing sixth and eighth in the Spanish Second Division.
"You can't just have young players playing 18 games in a year," said Benítez. "When I was in Spain, the youngsters came up against 30- or 35-year-olds. If you need to play against men, you must play against men. The academies are not working, and that's worrying. We are not training youngsters to be good lawyers or teachers, but good footballers. If you want to improve English players, you have to change because there will be long-term effects."
Liverpool, under the academy director Steve Heighway, won the FA Youth Cup last season but a set-up which developed Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman, Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher has not generated a first-team regular since Steven Gerrard. Benítez's predecessor, Gérard Houllier, was perturbed at the poor level of talent he judged to be emerging from an institution which costs £3m a year to run.
Houllier looked to his native France by signing Anthony le Tallec, Carl Medjani and Florent Sinama-Pongolle. Benítez, predictably, has used his knowledge of the Spanish-speaking markets. He tried to sign Fran Merida Perez from Barcelona, only for Arsenal to prove more tempting, with Liverpool now looking more to South America. "Insua is 17 and he's already in Argentina's Under-20 squad," Benítez said. "We aren't talking about a small country. It is Argentina, the world champions in that age group."
Investing in the future
Arsenal's youth purchases
Denilson (Sao Paulo), age 18, £3.4m
Arnand Traoré (Monaco), 17, free
Fran Merida (Barcelona), 16, free
Theo Walcott (Southampton) £5m plus
Abou Diaby (Auxerre), 20, £3m
Alexandre Song (Bastia), 19, £1m
Johan Djourou (Etoile Carouge, Switz), 19, trainee
Gaël Clichy (Toulouse), 21, nominal fee
Nicklas Bendtner (FC Copenhagen), 18, free
Arturo Lupoli (Parma), 19, free
Sebastian Larsson (Eskilstruna, Swe), 21
Cesc Fábregas (Barcelona), 19, £1m
Vito Mannone (Atalanta), 18, £350,000
Carl Parisio (AS Cannes), 17, free
Vincent van den Berg (Heerenveen), 17, free
Liverpool's youth purchases
Nabil el Zahr (St Etienne), 20, free
Godwin Antwi (Real Zaragoza), 18, free
Paul Anderson (Hull), 18, swap
Miki Roque (Llieda, Sp), 18, £10,000
Besian Idrizaj (Linzer ASK, Aut), 19, free
Jack Hobbs (Lincoln), 18, free
David Martin (MK Dons), 20, free
Gabriel Paletta (Banfield, Arg), 20, £2m
Emiliano Insua (Boca Juniors), 17, £1m
Academies are not working and need big change, says Benítez
Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez welcomes Arsenal's young imports in the Carling Cup tonight with a warning for the English game.
Dominic Fifield
December 19, 2006 12:30 AM
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/20...rking_and.html
Rafael Benítez welcomes Arsenal's prodigious second string to Anfield tonight having renewed his attack on the English academy system, the shortcomings of which have prompted the Spaniard to follow Arsène Wenger's lead by attempting to recruit youngsters from abroad.
Arsenal travel with their Carling Cup squad featuring personnel lured from all points between from Sao Paulo to Auxerre complementing home products. Benítez has not spent the kind of fees it took Arsenal to sign Abou Diaby or Denilson, who both moved from foreign clubs, or Theo Walcott, from Southampton, for an initial £5m, rising to a maximum £12m.
His dissatisfaction at the lack of local talent emerging from Liverpool's academy has prompted him to look further afield, though the fact he will select more senior players for this quarter-final is a reflection that his squad lacks the depth of Wenger's. Even after the Argentinian Gabriel Paletta's arrival from Banfield in summer and the recent signing of his compatriot Emiliano Insua, who arrives next month from Boca Juniors, Liverpool continue to play catch-up with the youthful Arsenal team which defeated Everton in the previous round having cost £30.95m to assemble.
"It depends what you mean by Arsenal's 'youth policy'," said the Spaniard when asked if he admired their set-up. "If you mean spending a lot of money on top-class players, it isn't difficult for me if I have that money. We know there is a big difference with Arsenal, who can pay millions for Denilson and also spend big on Walcott and Diaby.
"We were monitoring those players, but we can't compete with the big money they spent on them, so we have to work twice as hard. I am really pleased with the work of the scouting department who are working really hard to sign quality international players without spending a lot.
"When Wenger talks about quality and not nationality, I agree with him because the most important thing is to be winning. And, for me, you need to improve the English academy system because it's not the best. I'm not talking just about us, but for English football. If you want to improve, you need to change because you can see that young players don't progress here."
Benítez's frustration stems from his perception of a lack of competitive football for youth sides in their leagues, and the apparent over-emphasis on education in the system. Though the Spaniard appreciates the need to incorporate a teaching element, he has suggested that, given the hours spent in the classroom rather than on the training pitch, the academies are effectively catering for failure.
He endorses Jose Mourinho's insistence that junior teams should play competitive games ideally in the Football League, something Benítez did as manager of Real Madrid's B side in finishing sixth and eighth in the Spanish Second Division.
"You can't just have young players playing 18 games in a year," said Benítez. "When I was in Spain, the youngsters came up against 30- or 35-year-olds. If you need to play against men, you must play against men. The academies are not working, and that's worrying. We are not training youngsters to be good lawyers or teachers, but good footballers. If you want to improve English players, you have to change because there will be long-term effects."
Liverpool, under the academy director Steve Heighway, won the FA Youth Cup last season but a set-up which developed Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman, Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher has not generated a first-team regular since Steven Gerrard. Benítez's predecessor, Gérard Houllier, was perturbed at the poor level of talent he judged to be emerging from an institution which costs £3m a year to run.
Houllier looked to his native France by signing Anthony le Tallec, Carl Medjani and Florent Sinama-Pongolle. Benítez, predictably, has used his knowledge of the Spanish-speaking markets. He tried to sign Fran Merida Perez from Barcelona, only for Arsenal to prove more tempting, with Liverpool now looking more to South America. "Insua is 17 and he's already in Argentina's Under-20 squad," Benítez said. "We aren't talking about a small country. It is Argentina, the world champions in that age group."
Investing in the future
Arsenal's youth purchases
Denilson (Sao Paulo), age 18, £3.4m
Arnand Traoré (Monaco), 17, free
Fran Merida (Barcelona), 16, free
Theo Walcott (Southampton) £5m plus
Abou Diaby (Auxerre), 20, £3m
Alexandre Song (Bastia), 19, £1m
Johan Djourou (Etoile Carouge, Switz), 19, trainee
Gaël Clichy (Toulouse), 21, nominal fee
Nicklas Bendtner (FC Copenhagen), 18, free
Arturo Lupoli (Parma), 19, free
Sebastian Larsson (Eskilstruna, Swe), 21
Cesc Fábregas (Barcelona), 19, £1m
Vito Mannone (Atalanta), 18, £350,000
Carl Parisio (AS Cannes), 17, free
Vincent van den Berg (Heerenveen), 17, free
Liverpool's youth purchases
Nabil el Zahr (St Etienne), 20, free
Godwin Antwi (Real Zaragoza), 18, free
Paul Anderson (Hull), 18, swap
Miki Roque (Llieda, Sp), 18, £10,000
Besian Idrizaj (Linzer ASK, Aut), 19, free
Jack Hobbs (Lincoln), 18, free
David Martin (MK Dons), 20, free
Gabriel Paletta (Banfield, Arg), 20, £2m
Emiliano Insua (Boca Juniors), 17, £1m
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