Nothing can work without solid foundations; a good set-up from pitch-side right down to the tea lady is instrumental in helping a club make a name for itself. A youth system has to be successful in bringing through new talent; Liverpool have recently seen the emergence of Martin Kelly and Jay Spearing, while Arsenal reap the rewards so regularly from their youth set up, Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere come to mind. But of course the best example of this is in Barcelona’s La Masia, the youth academy which, year after year, brings through great footballers and which produced no fewer than nine of Spain‘s World Cup winning squad. Helping blood the team with future stars is key in maintaining high status in the footballing world.
All the ‘big’ clubs have huge investment; Chelsea and Manchester City have, in recent seasons, propelled themselves on to the elite stage with huge takeovers and are now being bankrolled by billionaires. Despite not having the most illustrious of histories, such teams are being classed as ‘big’ clubs; perhaps the saying is true, ‘money talks’. With UEFA’s new fairplay rules coming in over the money being spent by clubs this may all change, but for now, money is the ultimate divide between being a ‘big’ club and not.
You thought I was finished didn’t you? Well I sort of was, but I haven’t really said anything different or ‘out there’; we all sort of knew these things really. So I got thinking some more; does it ultimately boil down to location? Blackpool are a joy to watch but will never house 60,000 weekly because of where they are. Similarly Celtic won’t ever reach the ‘elite’ standard simply because they play in a country that isn’t huge on football and doesn’t have the strongest league. The same with the likes of Santos in Brazil or Suwon Bluewings in Japan; yet the beauty of these teams is in quite the opposite vein of Man United’s global business, it is in their local meaning being truly embedded in their community; and that my fellow fans is what built football teams from the ground upwards.
The article was written by Daniel Blazer for FootballFancast.com. Make sure to check out the latest news, blogs and podcasts at FFC – ed.
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