EPL Youth Academies: Where Are the Goal Scorers?

Middlesbrough FC is a pretty good example of an English youth academy.  In the past decade the Hurworth facility has brought through a long list of Premier League players including Brad Jones, David Wheater, Lee Cattermole, Stewart Downing and Adam Johnson among many others.

Middlesbrough fans rightly take a lot of pride in the academy, but one criticism has struck throughout their unquestioned success in developing quality players: Where are the strikers and the goal scorers?

It has been a fair criticism. The likes of Tom Craddock and Ben Hutchinson hardly stand up to Wheater, Downing and Johnson in terms of career path.

Middlesbrough will come face to face with their best goal scoring product in the form of championship-leading goalscorer Danny Graham this weekend. 

While it is fair to say Graham would be a great addition to the current Boro team given how far they have fallen, it is also fair to say producing only Graham shows the strikers to be of a lower standard than the midfielders and defenders to come through the Boro academy.

It is questionable, though, whether this is an issue for Middlesbrough FC or for English football in general. Even a massive club like Liverpool haven’t produced a great goalscorer since Michael Owen, not unless you include Neil Mellor.  

Look at Manchester United’s fantastic academy graduates in defense and midfield and ask yourself if the strikers compare.

The answer to why more defenders and midfielders are produced could well be in our culture.  Thinking back to playing on the youth field of England some mantra’s coaches repeat more than any others included “keep the ball” and “play the way you are facing.”  It is also typical for a cheap turnover of possession to be accompanied by a scolding from the coach.

For this reason, a player would typically put stock in positional discipline and keeping the ball over creativity and taking risks.

This pattern continues all the way to the elite levels of the English game.  NSCAA president Jeff Tipping taught a coaching course in 2006 and cited some interesting research from the Portugal versus England quarterfinal clash in Euro 2004.

The study took note of how many times a player received his ball with his back to goal and turned fully to face the goal and attack a defender, a move that showed bravery and creativity. 

Portugal players did this 37 times during the quarterfinal, in contrast, England players did this only 22 times in the entire tournament (four games total).  Furthermore, 15 of the England turns were by one player, Wayne Rooney.

To change this mentality it will take more than the typical diagnosis from youth coaches.  We hear about the core coaching issues time and again:

• Smaller fields;
• Small-sided games;
• More touches for each player; and
• Technical focus.

However, to truly change a culture, it would take more from academy coaches. 

Can they watch a player try a creative trick that goes to waste without criticizing?  Can they encourage a penetrating pass even with the higher risk of a turnover?  Can a creative player be allowed an off-day without being hammered to play the easy ball and keep possession?

It is unlikely that a wholesale change will occur, but if one or two creative spark plugs can develop along with the other talent then Middlesbrough, and indeed the English game would be all the better for it.

Here is hoping young Luke Williams can develop and follow the path forged by Adam Johnson ahead of him, except in more of a striker’s role.

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