Buying stars early can save a fortune

Feb 2 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

YOUTH POLICY: Newcastle United have always aspired to become one of the most powerful clubs in Europe, but Kevin Keegan believes they were missing a trick. Chief Sports Writer Luke Edwards reports

WHEN Kevin Keegan returned to Newcastle United after an 11-year absence last month, he was not only surprised by the galvanising effect his return had on the city, he was also stunned by the changes in the club he had once helped to rebuild.

A year is a long time in football, so it is unsurprising the Newcastle United Keegan found after more than a decade away was a far cry from the one he left. He was full of praise for the new training ground, the expansion of the stadium, the building of the Academy and even the food that is served to players and staff at the club canteen. But there was one vital component missing, something which had strangely and foolishly been ignored by the previous regime – the recruitment of young players from other clubs.

When Newcastle made their decisive moves in the transfer window it was to bring in top teenage talent, with 17-year-old Swedish goalkeeper Oli Soderberg yesterday joining Italian striker Fabio Zamblera, English left-back Ben Tozer, French forward Wesley Ngo Baheng and Hungarian defender Tamas Kadar in arriving at St James’s Park in January.

None of the above are more than 18 years old and, with Dennis Wise beginning his new job as an executive director at Newcastle this week focusing on player recruitment, Keegan believes the Magpies are finally putting right years of neglect which has seen them fall behind the other big clubs in the Premier League.

“I don’t think there is any doubt the previous regime has not covered the youth spectrum as well as other clubs,” said Keegan, who, nonetheless, is still frustrated he has not been able to add to his first-team squad during the January transfer window.

“It is not the fault of the people in the Academy. It is just the policy they have had, I guess, under the previous regime. Everybody knows that much as you dislike paying money for kids, that is what happens at virtually every other club.

“You can ignore the kids and then pay an absolute fortune to sign them when they are established internationals or you can try to get them when they are still young. The thing with the Academy system is that, even if the players who come through do not make it into the first team here, if the Academy is a good one, other clubs will want them and that pays for the whole system.”

Considering Keegan short-sightedly scrapped the reserve team during his last spell as manager and was accused of failing to pay proper attention to the development of home-grown players, it seems he has learned valuable lessons at Manchester City.

It was Keegan who oversaw the development of the clutch of home-grown youngsters who have broken into the first team set-up at Eastlands in the last few years and it is something he believes the appointment of Wise will help happen at Newcastle. He explained: “At Man City, the lad Daniel Sturridge who came on recently, we had to fight off three or four clubs for him because everyone thought, at 15, he was an outstanding talent.

“I allowed him to train with the first team for a couple of days. You have got to do these things if you want the best kids and, while it is admirable to do it the other way, saying they have got to want to play for Newcastle, for all the right reasons, unfortunately everyone knows who the best kids are and everyone wants them.

“Man City were doing exactly what Newcastle are doing now and everyone was saying that morally you should not be going into the transfer market for kids, but the clubs that were doing it were getting all the best players.

“You have got to do it or you end up paying massive fees when other clubs have done it and sell them on. It is right and I think that is the main focus of Dennis’ job and he has also to give the people on our board – the owner, Chris (Mort) and now Tony (Jimenez) – a football side because they are still learning.

“They need someone who knows the game and Dennis certainly does. You only have to sit in his company for half an hour to know that.”

Nevertheless, with his Newcastle team sliding perilously close to the relegation battle below them following a run of two points from 21, Keegan knows the club’s focus on the future rather than the present needs of the first-team squad is a calculated risk.

“It is a calculated gamble to some extent because the other clubs around us have bought players in during the transfer window,” he said. “That always gives players a lift.

“Regardless of what you think, players like to see new players coming in. Yeah, there is a downside because they might be taking their position, but for some it is a challenge.

“But you have to treat it like your own money and, while I have never been afraid to spend and there is plenty of evidence of that, I have always tried not to waste money.

“You are bound to get some wrong and you’re more likely to get them wrong in the January window than at the end of the season when you have more time to study. The pressure is not on then because the clock is not ticking away.”