![]() Kane joined the club at 11 following spells at both Arsenal and Watford, while Andros Townsend was picked up even earlier, at the age of 8. Of their starting XI for the Capital One Cup final defeat to Chelsea, four players came through their academy. Tottenham, though, deserve considerable praise too. Something equivalent to Barcelona's La Masia academy would be much harder to pull off in England, which is why it's so impressive when a club like Southampton produce such an incredible array of young talent - Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, to name but three - in quick succession. Producing good young talent on a consistent basis is actually quite difficult in English football, which has stricter regulations than other countries in terms of how far youngsters are allowed to travel to train with clubs while still at school. A couple of youth products like Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere have worked wonders. Nationality itself is incidental - Arsenal will play the best XI regardless of what it says on their passport - so the club's emphasis upon these players suggests they were wary of a growing disconnect between fans and players. It's been interesting, for example, to see the way Arsenal have promoted their young British players recently, especially considering Arsene Wenger did more than anyone else to promote the recruitment of foreigners towards the end of the 1990s. It's about Kane being produced by Tottenham.Īs Premier League clubs have gradually become huge corporations and recruited high-quality players from across the globe, fewer homegrown stars have broken into the first teams, which is precisely why they're valued so highly. The song isn't about Kane banging in goals, or defeating Arsenal, or promoting his England credentials. It's not a particularly clever chant - there's no rhyming, it's to the same tune as every other football chant of the past five years and, considering the photos of a young Kane in an Arsenal shirt, it's probably not even true - yet it's telling that Spurs supporters are singing about this element of Kane's rise. That's the song Tottenham fans now sing about Harry Kane. But that missed the point: Welbeck wasn't valued by Manchester United supporters simply for his footballing ability, but also because he was one of their own. ![]() Arsenal's 2-1 victory at Old Trafford in the FA Cup was sealed by a goal from Danny Welbeck - the forward whom Van Gaal considered surplus to requirements this summer.Īs Welbeck - rightly - celebrated the goal, the debate started about whether United should have retained his services, especially considering the struggles of Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao up front this season. On Monday evening, Louis van Gaal's last remaining hope of winning a trophy in his debut Manchester United campaign disappeared. ![]() Tottenham usurp Man Utd in the Premier League's homegrown stakes You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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