Manchester United's Youth: Where Has The Tradition Gone?

Tuesday was a day of great frustration for me. Not only could I not watch United take on QPR, I was left with no choice but to watch Arsenal's U-19 side take the complete mickey out of a full strength (albeit Heskey) Wigan side. 

But my anger was more towards the on-going match at Old Trafford where United were taking on Championship strugglers QPR. Now, lets have a look at the facts here for a moment:

QPR:- 7th in the Championship

Manchester United:- 4th in the Premier league (one game behind Arsenal)

Now why, why would Sir Alex Ferguson play Park Ji Sung, Anderson, Nani, Tevez, Gary Neville, Kuszczak and Ben Foster against a Championship side?

Looking at Wenger show complete confidence in a team of 17, 18, 19 and even bloody 16 year olds to play against a Premier League side lead me to think just what Ferguson thinks of our young lads that he doesnt even trust them against Championship side.

I couldnt really have cared less about the match even if United won 5-0 with Tevez scoring four and Nani scoring from the half way line!

Arsenal's reserve side that contains many of the players that were on show against Wigan have attained nine points from six matches in their reserve league; United's reserve team has seven points from four! Is there any clear indication of a bridge of talent from that?

Every year we hear of United's "new and exciting youngsters." Just before the match, manutd.com had a three page article about players like Gibson, David Gray, Possebon etc. Yet off them only Gibson, Possebon and Rafeal, who all started and Wellbeck, got to play.

Yes last year we lost to Coventry with a young side but that doesnt mean we should completely scrap the idea of testing out these youth and reserve players. They wont get many more chances other than these early Carling Cup and FA Cup matches.

I've been following United's reserve and youth matches for a very long time, reading post match reports and watching as many highlights as I can find. Let me tell you there are a number of wonderful players we have besides the well known Da Silva twins, Possebon and Evans. 

Young central midfield powerhouses Matty James and Oliver Norwood, who I've seen blast in more 30 yarders than Anderson has got on target in his career. Strikers Federico Macheda and David Petrucci amongst others. 

Even the lads that graduated before them, the likes of Sam Hewson, Craig Cathcart, Tom Cleverley, Galbraith, Zieler and Eckersley who reached the 06-07 FA Youth Cup final are fantastic players.

Oh and funny thing, they beat the Arsenal youth team in the semi-finals that year.

While I talk about these players I've probably left out the best. The Reserve Quadruple winning side of 04-05. Yes, Quadruple!

This team had the likes of Jonny Evans, Gerard Pique central defence with Phillp Bardsley and Adam Eckersley out on the flanks. Darren Gibson and David Jones in central midfield with Chris Eagles down the wings. The regular strikers being Ebanks-Blake and a one Giuseppe Rossi. 

Of these, only one remains in the current first team. Jonny Evans, which leaves one to to wonder why. Yes there are players who werent of United calibre, players like Eckersley and Jones, but the rest could have gotten a decent run in the first team. 

Some did, Phillp Bardsley played at RB for a number of games in 05-06 while Neville was injured, and performed admirably for his age but was never given another first team match after that, eventhough playing well at Aston Villa on loan.

Rossi is always the one whose sale pains me, and causes my hatred of seeing Tevez play; it should have been Rossi. Now that he scoring plenty for Villarreal, it shows just what we are going to miss. 

His sale along with the coming of Tevez, Anderson and Nani told me about a starch change that is about to come to United, no more will we be seeing youth players get the chances they deserve.

No more will we be seeing the Salford boys from Carrington celebrate a goal against Liverpool by kissing the badge infront of the Stretford End.  

Every great United team from the past has had a heart and soul thats come from Manchester. The Great Busby Babes, the European Champions of 68 with Charlton, Best, Kidd, Sadler, Nobby, Foulkes, Aston and The Class of '92.

Will we ever see the likes of them again? I'm sure we will, the legacy of Matt Busby and Ferguson will still live on at United and as long as it does, another generation will arrive to take it to the money spinning foreigners and give them a lesson of how football should be played, football taught by Matt Busby!