It seems to me that a catch-22 problem has shown itself and is in danger of rectifying itself – in a positive way.
First, how it happened. Very big money showed up a few years back and that money turned also ran into powerhouses in the top leagues in Europe. You can see it is still going strong in Monaco. Steroids for the weaker teams. Instant success in most cases. But was it? Twenty-first century Western civilization, with its instant gratification desires, has just about ruined football.
The best players get snapped up and paid a king’s ransom, as money is no object. Other teams try to compete in this market and fail as transfer fees as huge as they are, pales in comparison to salary. Young players are shut out of the big leagues and stop progressing. The talent pool becomes smaller and smaller. It’s a diminishing rate of return. There are plenty of players but they are starved as the big leagues go for the biggest and best and stop developing talent to any extent. A problem the English national team is realizing at this moment. Development has withered and stopped as teams look for the finished article for placement in the team. And that is becoming more often than not foreign talent There just isn’t any place for young players to move up to. And that is the Premier League and also in any top flight league in Europe.
This problem came home to roost in Germany a few years back. Teams just couldn’t afford the new way of operating. Dortmund is mentioned as a team that, just like Villa, suffered greatly the past few years. But Dortmund are now are quite successful by going the young and hungry route. Villa are now doing the same.
Fans are starting to realize that it’s a no-win situation. If teams are full of all stars and no one to really compete with, what’s the point? Manchester City, with all its money, couldn’t put it together last year playing teams far inferior in talent to themselves. Fans have watched their teams crash and burn with big spending. Given high hopes only to be disappointed on a large scale.
Randy Lerner has tried spending and it didn’t work. He tried using a manager of some status and that just about ruined the club. He put in a caretaker manager and he was hated. He was left (as were Villa fans) with disillusioned players on high salary with no drive to excel. A recipe for disaster. Then last year he did an about face. No more money other that what was necessary, a new philosophy, and a manager to execute the new thinking. So far it is working.
A way out of the spending madness that has become English football. How many others have taken notice? How many of the top clubs have taken notice? I know that young players have noticed with their desire to play for Villa, a team that is now willing to give them a chance to play on the big stage and develop in the best league around. A greater and more positive interest from fans will develop. A chance for fans to follow a player(s) through his development at the local club. To watch the team learn how to play together. To to become a team of players with the same desire, that is to succeed together, not as individuals. To go back to a system that brings players up to speed, not one that cherry picks the world and lets the home grown stagnate. I think the tide is turning with football thinking in Great Britain. Started in Germany and now taking root in England.
The development of English, Irish, Scottish,and Welsh players will become more prominent as clubs look for potential instead of a proven commodity. Wages will drop, attendance will rise as will interest. And the national team will benefit in the long run. A healthy environment is returning.
Villa is at the forefront of this and should benefit from a season or two head start. Will others follow in their footsteps? How can they not? Football is about to become much more enjoyable. Is it too soon to credit Lerner and Lambert?
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