Facebook Q&A Developing youth

The next in the Facebook Q&A series takes a look at developing youth in a results driven world.

  • To both probably. Will you be continuing with the transfer policy of buying young exciting prospects?
    2 · Like · Reply · May 29 at 8:17am
    • Tottenham Hotspur Mauricio: We need the right balance in the team. It's not about age it's about the right profile of player for the team.

      Daniel : I think a balance is needed but you can be sure we shall always be a club that embraces youth.
      38 · Like · May 29 at 10:17am

Tottenham's talented youngsters are starting to make their mark, Harry Kane for instance is now the poster boy for the club, the player the fans in Malaysia and Australia wanted to see the most. He did his PR by scoring in both games quite apart from the off the field duties.

It was a breakthrough season for Ryan Mason who offered the speed of passing in midfield that we lacking previously and are lacking when he doesn't play. He is underestimated by many who only see flashy players, part of his role is to collect the ball from one side and pass it quickly to the other, nothing fancy, just do it quick. A manager wants players who are going to do as they are told and do it effectively, then improve upon it.

Eric Dier has come to the club and made his mark, Bentaleb is attracting the eyes of the bigger clubs, but resting on our laurels is the route to failure. The England Rugby World Cup win in 2003 happened because Sir Clive Woodward put together a team to analyse every minute detail that goes into putting a team on the field and the playing aspect in the years leading up to the tournament.

There were over 2,000 changes made to the way things had been done in the past. The aim was to give the team every possible chance. Woodward left after that triumph, England didn't continue analysing every detail and English rugby went backwards.

Tottenham should do the same, re-organising the football side of the club, which Baldini has had a big hand in, is a start. We have brought in new personnel as well and have a transfer strategy for the years ahead. We have a head coach with a long term task, world class training and medical facilities, improved our players diet and fitness, we suffer fewer muscle injuries now.

It is imperative that a conveyor belt of talent is produced and managed properly. On the playing side of things Mauricio Pochettino has to develop the talent coming through as well as those that have broken through. Next in line are Tom Carroll and Alex Pritchard, but their are players behind them, Harry Winks, Kyle Walker-Peters, Josh Onomah, Grant Ward, who were all part of the AIA Cup squad.

If we didn't have the Europa League how are any of these players going to get a game? The last four may have to wait for future years but Kane was developed by playing him in the tournament, it's the obvious route for Pritchard. He drew plaudits for his performances at Brentford but it was the Championship, the sides coming up from there struggle, players who perform at that level can not always do it at a higher level. We are challenging for the top four so have to maximise their development in games that we can. Who do you drop to play Pritchard for instance?

David Pleat gave an interview to Back Pass Magazine where he spoke about developing the youth players at Tottenham.

“Everyone at Tottenham is eagerly awaiting the next in line who they can clearly call ‘one of our own’. The secret is to encourage, identify but most importantly give an opportunity. Home-grown talent can rest assured that they will not be denied the chance if they are good enough.”

You either go out to win youth football games or you try to develop players, the mentality is to win every game but as a coach you have to put that on the back burner, you have to put young players in a situation where they will make mistakes. How they react to that and what they learn is more important than any result. You have to give people the chance to fail for them to succeed.

Tim Sherwood tells us the team with the most technically-accomplished players wins and that with games, Tom Carroll, who he says is technically very gifted, will develop into the player everyone thinks he can be. But that is the problem isn't, with games. Spurs fans shout for youth to be given a chance but as soon as a youngster is put into a game they moan that he isn't good enough. Like Pritchard, Tom Carroll should be playing every Europa League game to give him regular game time each week. Milos Veljkovic is another who should be bloodied when the situation permits.

There has to be a balance between the result and bringing a player on for the future. Under Pochettino we are not bringing along a player, we are bringing along a team. It's the same philosophy, we are doing both together and have moved up a place in the League table in our first season.

Next season will see the young squad develop further.

Catch up with yesterday's most popular post: The next Makelele

Previous Facebook Q&A article: Buy early but some fans still living in the past