The Football League: An Untapped Resource

Article by Tim Feather

This week, England lost 1-0 to Germany in a very challenging friendly against an experimental German team. Joachim Löw proved how deep the German squad is. England fielded some ‘international rookies’ but it was a reality check, the England squad is too shallow. An English player like Ross Barkley or Andros Townsend will have a few impressive performances in the Premier League, and they are then thrown into the England set up. However, there are some players out there who are never given the chance like Barkley or Townsend, they are told “better luck somewhere else”. Had it not been for Harry Redknapp, would we know about Townsend or would he be another player banished to the Football League.

The Football League is an untapped resource for English talent, it is full of impressive players who have been unlucky with injury or just never given the chance. According to official Football League figures, 1,529 players are registered as English for the 2013/14 season. That is a staggering 70% of players who are registered as English in comparison to just 34% in the Premier league. In that pool of 1,529 players, there is some real talent including the top scorer and assist maker in the Championship.

Two players who have been previously let down by system currently in English football are David Nugent and Grant Leadbitter. David Nugent was on the books with Liverpool but never made a professional appearance for them. He dropped to the basement division to play for Bury before moving to Preston North End. He eventually moved his way up the divisions and soon got his Premier League chance with Portsmouth, and played for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the top flight. Grant Leadbitter was a product of the Sunderland academy but was loaned out to Notts County.

Sunderland, along with Newcastle have a history of producing English players. Mick McCarthy took a shine to Leadbitter and played him in the Premier League for Sunderland until they were relegated. Leadbitter stalled contract talks for a move to another top flight club but instead was thrown on the scrapheap with the rest of English talent. He played in every age level of the England set up but only made three appearances for the Under 21’s and has never had a senior cap. He now plays in the Championship with Middlesbrough and has an impressive six assists this season. These are examples of two players who could have been fantastic players for England. Instead they are not given the opportunity to be coached at the top level. If England are to ever have any success on an international level, Premier League clubs need to help their youngsters, not just let them go.

The top scorer in the Championship is Burnley’s Danny Ings, with ten goals. The 21 year old can consider himself unlucky because of some serious knee injuries during his career so far. He was a product of the Bournemouth academy, but it begs the question, Why hasn’t he had a chance at top youth level. Ipswich Town’s Aaron Cresswell, is the top assist maker in the Championship with seven assists in thirteen appearances. He has started to attract attention from some Premier League clubs but the 23 year old started his career with Tranmere, but will we have caught this young left back too late to mould into a world class player? Huddersfield Town’s Adam Hammill has six assists this season, the 25 year old was also a product of the Liverpool academy. Like Nugent he never made a professional appearance for the Merseyside club but was instead loaned out four times, three of those clubs were football league clubs. Hammill did get his chance with Wolverhampton Wanderers making twenty three appearances in the Premier League. However, he was loaned out to Middlesbrough and Huddersfield before making his move to the Terriers a permanent one.

Another product of the Liverpool academy and one of the biggest names in the Championship is another player who has been failed by the youth structure in England. Blackpool’s Thomas Ince has been linked on more than one occasion with Premier League clubs. Like Nugent and Hammill, Ince never made a professional appearance for Liverpool, who look to have let another player through their grasp. He was instead loaned to Notts County before he signed for Blackpool. Ince is a key player for Blackpool and for the Under 21 England set up and was a favourite of ex Under 21 coach Stuart Pearce. He hasn’t been given the chance or the facilities to develop into a world class player despite the potential.

We look to the future, but the future looks bleak for some players. Hartlepool United’s Luke James is a product of Hartlepool’s system and was on the radar of Newcastle, Bolton and Celtic. However in June 2012, Newcastle who used to be a power house for producing English talent said they would not sign the 19 year old but would keep tabs on his progress. When will the Premier League learn, they have a pool of talent on their back doorstep, but it is being ignored. Players are not being given the facilities to be coached or developed into players who are good enough for the International set up. Premier League clubs would rather buy a foreign player who has been coached in the right way and given the facilities to become a top player.

We shouldn’t suddenly give all these players an international call up, but these are just a handful of players who have been failed by the system, they haven’t been given their chance to develop for one reason or another. The FA and the Premier League need to try and learn from these players and next time they see a Thomas Ince, a Danny Ings or and Adam Hammill they will think twice before they sell them on.

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