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THE ANLOV MATHIESEN COLUMN
DOOMSDAY FOR THE ACADEMY ERA?
Anlov Mathiesen, 3 Feb 2010
This SPL flood may be the end of the locals.
Strachan has been surprisingly swift in terms of changing and molding the
squad to his liking. When he talked about 'men', we knew what to expect and
we got it. Scottish experience. Players with passports or years north of the
border.
This gives hope, to a campaign which had gone downwards from the moment he took
charge. It gives hope to all of us. We are tired, sick of the inability to score goals, hold the lead and generally display some needed grit. But how the hell did it come to this?
The squad Strachan inherited was ranked by the media all over Britain as
top two or three in the Championship. The same squad who got us to
the top of the league. And - of course - the exact same squad who was ONE
point of the top as he arrived. You can call me a Southgate fan, but not a liar.
These are all facts.
Column Continues Below...
Gone was the philosophy of fast, fluid counter-attacking footbal. In came
the philosophy of ... 'men'. And as we know, 'men' means an SPL player
between 24-30, who is preferably a personal friend of Strachan. And not to forget,
now may be the time to say goodbye to the excessive recruits of talents.
Partly because of economical restrains, but also out of will, Southgate was
always looking to give the academy boys a chance, or even ten. How is that
gonna play out now that the boss have bought new faces all over the pitch?
Is Franks going to get a lot more starts this year, will McMahon be prefered to Naughton?
Amidst the optimism of transfer window frenzy its time to reflect on this
possible radical change in politics. How can Grounds do a Wheateresque rise
to fame, given the purchase of McManus? The answer is it is not going happen.
And what about Rhys Williams, the real finding of this campaign. Actually, he
might get games, as Robson and Flood will alternate between centre and
flanks.
Last year's relegation was no fun. But at the same time, it was great seeing
so many of the academy boys get real and lasting chances. No one has forgotten Matthew
Bates' heroic displays in midfield.
Being the man he is, Strachan cant help gathering his own guys around him, his 'men'. But the fans and Gibson must make sure he's not allowed to forget the crucial importance of the academy to
the club. In many ways it has become part of the soul.
A soul that media all over England saw diminish as Gibson threw away his
reputation of loyalty with last years graceless sacking. Not a few major papers
showed their contempt for both timing, manner and logic. Diminishing of
crowd and table reality being the most obvious ridicule.
Let's keep the pressure on Gibson not to let Strachan change the club academy-wise. It
might help for one play-off push, but it will be a disaster in the long run,
both in terms of economy, loyalty, image, quality and identity. Lets just
call it soul.
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Comments On This Article
Nick Thompson, February 3, 2010 at 4:40 pm
An excellent article Anlov and I agree with every word except one.In the penultimate paragraph you say \"graceful\"sacking. Did you mean \"disgraceful?\" If so I would then agree with EVERY word!
Elle, Director of Publishing, February 3, 2010 at 4:48 pm
I think Anlov meant \'graceless\' although I could be wrong. When editing our foreign columnists particularly I try not to change too much as I think the meaning can get lost in translation but I think perhaps it was between \'disgraceful\' and \'graceless\' and given the rest of the column I opted for graceless after you helpfully pointed out the error.
peter jones, February 3, 2010 at 5:17 pm
I think Strachan will give the kids a chance if he believes they are up to it.Franks did not get a look in under Southgate nor Luke Williams.From his comments he clearly rates Rhys Williams.
Any manager worth his salt identifies players who are not good enough and not up to it then moves them on.In my opinion McMahon should be moved on, although his attitude is first class,he\'s not good enough.Andrew Taylor is another.For too long in the comfort zone he\'s gone back over and plays without heart and desire.
This is the managers job.To identify those with the right attitude and enough ability.If they fail on either count move them on,
Charles Walford, February 3, 2010 at 5:23 pm
Not sure i agree with \'fast, fluid counter-attacking football\'. the only southgate game i saw this season was Reading away. and it was desperately poor, even though we won. We were in a false position at the start of the season as Johnson worked his magic. the home defeats against Leicester and Watford and the late goals conceded were the real mark of southgate. yes, i\'d prefer to see the youngsters play. but i\'d also prefer to see these \'men\' than the disinterested likes of St Ledger and Bent who southgate played.
Phil Davies, February 3, 2010 at 6:37 pm
Fast Fluid counter attacking football that had the net result of 28 goals in 38 games. I think unfortunately you watched a different game to the rest of us. Strachan will play players who merit there game and not just because they are local lads who have come through the ranks. The \"boys\" will have to become \"men\" though to earn their place.
David Meehan, February 5, 2010 at 11:17 am
test
TEST, February 5, 2010 at 11:17 am
Just checking the comment function : )
borospike, March 4, 2010 at 7:21 pm
Gareth Southgate is no more the Boro manager than Steve McLaren. He is history can you just get over it and stop crying?
Academy products Johnson, Wheater, L Williams, R Williams, Franks, Grounds, McMahon, Bennett, and Josh Walker have all played under Strachan so this article has no substance.
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