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Why elite clubs are in a desperate hunt for rare midfield magicians
Signing a player who can pick the lock is the most pressing task for clubs seeking to carry off silverware
The ability of Tottenham's Luka Modric to play attacking passes in the tightest of spaces has made him much sought after. Photograph: Ian Walton/Getty Images
The summer's transfer sagas are established and the most prized asset sought on the market is invention. Sir Alex Ferguson, drooling over the talents of Eric Cantona in 1996, had stressed "of all the many qualities a good team must possess, the supreme essential for me is penetration". The Frenchman was his "can opener". Those at the top still crave a player capable of prising opponents apart.
It is an urgency that has dictated why Manchester United, the champions by nine points last term and European Cup finalists, were willing to bid £20m for Samir Nasri, a player they could potentially pick up for nothing in 12 months' time. It has similarly dictated Arsenal's financially risky policy of resisting the loss of such a performer to a direct rival, particularly if Cesc Fábregas does finally realise his aspiration to return to his boyhood club, Barcelona.
Charlie Adam, a fine passer, has eventually been signed by Liverpool while the others to draw focus have been Luka Modric and Wesley Sneijder, a pair coveted by the top four. These are the talents able to combine vision with execution, playmakers that current employers will strive to retain and suitors will pursue remorselessly until the transfer window deadline on 31 August. There is an irony that a desire to recruit those capable of the unpredictable will be at the centre of an utterly predictable summer game of transfer cat and mouse.
The desire to add invention is understandable. The established elite have grown used to confronting massed banks of opposing ranks in recent seasons with 4-5-1 the norm for clubs visiting the Emirates, Stamford Bridge, Eastlands and Old Trafford. Rivals largely seek to suffocate and stifle. The contenders are forever seeking to move the ball more quickly, with "tempo" the buzzword in the dug-outs, but need to retain the accuracy in delivery. Chelsea managed only 39 home goals last term, compared to 68 the previous year, and lacked an instigator to fire Fernando Torres. United desire spark to elevate them closer to Barça's enviable level. The Catalans have set the standard. Theirs is the blueprint of the moment: they are a side who shift the ball in a blur. It is only natural that this country's best should try to emulate what they witnessed at United's expense at Wembley back in May. Yet, by returning to pursue Fábregas, Pep Guardiola is moving on already: the Spain international would apparently be used at the tip of a diamond in a 3-4-3 aimed at unpicking stubborn opposition. Yet, even if the European champions are moving on, the rest are still clambering to catch up.
That the playmakers being targeted are largely foreign should not come as a huge surprise. Jack Wilshere may be progressing impressively at Arsenal, and Josh McEachran quietly but assuredly at Chelsea, but English football has not been awash with inventive, home-grown talent in recent years. Paul Gascoigne, Paul Scholes and even Joe Cole stand out almost as exceptions among the swathe of industrious, box-to-box midfielders considered naturals for the domestic top flight.
"We've always had individuals who've come through [the system] but I wouldn't say we've had many of that creative player who sits in behind a striker," says Gareth Southgate, the Football Association's head of elite development.
"But then the Premier League, as a model, doesn't always lend itself to that type of player. It's different for our top clubs now when they play in European competition. But, for Premier League success, clubs haven't always encouraged that type of player to emerge. When we've imported those types – Dennis Bergkamp, Gianfranco Zola – they've been unbelievable. But, over a period of time, the likes of Wayne Rooney and Scholes have been the exceptions."
That is a situation the FA is attempting to redress. Southgate was speaking while promoting the association's Your Kids, Your Say programme, with which he has been touring the country alongside the FA's national development manager, Nick Levett. The scheme recommends key changes to the game at grassroots level which would include preventing children playing 11-a-side matches until under-13 level. It will be put to the FA's voting shareholders at next May's annual general meeting with an aim to implement the proposals for the 2013‑14 season.
There is evidence to suggest that reducing both the size of the pitches on which youngsters play, and the numbers in teams, will encourage the development of more skilful players who, by definition, will be more comfortable on the ball. The only other countries whose 11-year-olds play 11 versus 11 are Belgium, Australia and New Zealand – hardly footballing powerhouses – while Spain, France and Italy do not allow their juniors to participate in full-sided games until the under-14 age group. Those nations have claimed three of the past four World Cups.
It would take time for the benefits of the programme to be felt but change is needed. At present the onus is on athleticism, with 11-year-olds playing on the same sized pitches as senior internationals, with the physically stronger, but not necessarily most talented ball-players, most likely to succeed.
"We need to put youngsters in positions where they are going to get more touches on the ball, more shots on goal and be able to make more dribbles and one-on-ones," Levett says.
The benefits could be felt in time. For now, arguably the most talented and experienced English creative midfielder in the top-flight, Cole, finds himself on the fringes at Liverpool. A loan move away from Anfield may offer him more first-team opportunities, though his wage demands could frustrate even that lowly aspiration.
While the elite teams focus on their hopes of luring Modric or Sneijder, Fábregas or Nasri, Cole sits on the outside looking in while England awaits its creators.
Signing a player who can pick the lock is the most pressing task for clubs seeking to carry off silverware
The ability of Tottenham's Luka Modric to play attacking passes in the tightest of spaces has made him much sought after. Photograph: Ian Walton/Getty ImagesThe summer's transfer sagas are established and the most prized asset sought on the market is invention. Sir Alex Ferguson, drooling over the talents of Eric Cantona in 1996, had stressed "of all the many qualities a good team must possess, the supreme essential for me is penetration". The Frenchman was his "can opener". Those at the top still crave a player capable of prising opponents apart.
It is an urgency that has dictated why Manchester United, the champions by nine points last term and European Cup finalists, were willing to bid £20m for Samir Nasri, a player they could potentially pick up for nothing in 12 months' time. It has similarly dictated Arsenal's financially risky policy of resisting the loss of such a performer to a direct rival, particularly if Cesc Fábregas does finally realise his aspiration to return to his boyhood club, Barcelona.
Charlie Adam, a fine passer, has eventually been signed by Liverpool while the others to draw focus have been Luka Modric and Wesley Sneijder, a pair coveted by the top four. These are the talents able to combine vision with execution, playmakers that current employers will strive to retain and suitors will pursue remorselessly until the transfer window deadline on 31 August. There is an irony that a desire to recruit those capable of the unpredictable will be at the centre of an utterly predictable summer game of transfer cat and mouse.
The desire to add invention is understandable. The established elite have grown used to confronting massed banks of opposing ranks in recent seasons with 4-5-1 the norm for clubs visiting the Emirates, Stamford Bridge, Eastlands and Old Trafford. Rivals largely seek to suffocate and stifle. The contenders are forever seeking to move the ball more quickly, with "tempo" the buzzword in the dug-outs, but need to retain the accuracy in delivery. Chelsea managed only 39 home goals last term, compared to 68 the previous year, and lacked an instigator to fire Fernando Torres. United desire spark to elevate them closer to Barça's enviable level. The Catalans have set the standard. Theirs is the blueprint of the moment: they are a side who shift the ball in a blur. It is only natural that this country's best should try to emulate what they witnessed at United's expense at Wembley back in May. Yet, by returning to pursue Fábregas, Pep Guardiola is moving on already: the Spain international would apparently be used at the tip of a diamond in a 3-4-3 aimed at unpicking stubborn opposition. Yet, even if the European champions are moving on, the rest are still clambering to catch up.
That the playmakers being targeted are largely foreign should not come as a huge surprise. Jack Wilshere may be progressing impressively at Arsenal, and Josh McEachran quietly but assuredly at Chelsea, but English football has not been awash with inventive, home-grown talent in recent years. Paul Gascoigne, Paul Scholes and even Joe Cole stand out almost as exceptions among the swathe of industrious, box-to-box midfielders considered naturals for the domestic top flight.
"We've always had individuals who've come through [the system] but I wouldn't say we've had many of that creative player who sits in behind a striker," says Gareth Southgate, the Football Association's head of elite development.
"But then the Premier League, as a model, doesn't always lend itself to that type of player. It's different for our top clubs now when they play in European competition. But, for Premier League success, clubs haven't always encouraged that type of player to emerge. When we've imported those types – Dennis Bergkamp, Gianfranco Zola – they've been unbelievable. But, over a period of time, the likes of Wayne Rooney and Scholes have been the exceptions."
That is a situation the FA is attempting to redress. Southgate was speaking while promoting the association's Your Kids, Your Say programme, with which he has been touring the country alongside the FA's national development manager, Nick Levett. The scheme recommends key changes to the game at grassroots level which would include preventing children playing 11-a-side matches until under-13 level. It will be put to the FA's voting shareholders at next May's annual general meeting with an aim to implement the proposals for the 2013‑14 season.
There is evidence to suggest that reducing both the size of the pitches on which youngsters play, and the numbers in teams, will encourage the development of more skilful players who, by definition, will be more comfortable on the ball. The only other countries whose 11-year-olds play 11 versus 11 are Belgium, Australia and New Zealand – hardly footballing powerhouses – while Spain, France and Italy do not allow their juniors to participate in full-sided games until the under-14 age group. Those nations have claimed three of the past four World Cups.
It would take time for the benefits of the programme to be felt but change is needed. At present the onus is on athleticism, with 11-year-olds playing on the same sized pitches as senior internationals, with the physically stronger, but not necessarily most talented ball-players, most likely to succeed.
"We need to put youngsters in positions where they are going to get more touches on the ball, more shots on goal and be able to make more dribbles and one-on-ones," Levett says.
The benefits could be felt in time. For now, arguably the most talented and experienced English creative midfielder in the top-flight, Cole, finds himself on the fringes at Liverpool. A loan move away from Anfield may offer him more first-team opportunities, though his wage demands could frustrate even that lowly aspiration.
While the elite teams focus on their hopes of luring Modric or Sneijder, Fábregas or Nasri, Cole sits on the outside looking in while England awaits its creators.
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