All over the internet United fans claim that the club have gone away from playing home grown talent since the sale of Danny Welbeck to rival Arsenal. But the truth is that these fans seem to have an emotional attachment to Danny Welbeck since he scored a stunning goal from 30 yards out against Stoke City on his Barleys Premier League debut.
Many fans look at Danny Welbeck and think that he hasn’t had a fair chance, because the likes of Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez have been played as a striker, while Danny Welbeck had been put on the wing more often that not. While that might be a fair statement, it is also down to Welbeck to deliver as a striker, battling with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie and Javier Hernandez. They have all played as a striker, Danny Welbeck had been played up top the least up top out of the 4. But to be frank, Danny Welbeck had been under performing as a striker to say the least. The manager would either play a player that best fits the team, or not play the player at all. Loaning Danny Welbeck out would lower his self esteem even further.
When a player’s senior career starts, he is always hungry for more playing time, but it likely would not happen overnight. The class of 92 was a unique group that came through the United academy and was promoted as a group, where they have played in the youth level for 1-2 years. There is a reason why Welbeck have often been left out of the team sheets, United hasn’t given up on their more senior players on most positions of the pitch, the likes of Paul Pogba and Danny Welbeck have not been give enough playing time, because United was very much looking to contend the title in the short term. It has been unfortunate that these two players have not been given consistent minutes under Sir Alex Ferguson, and due to United’s pursue of short term success, the academy players might have been compromised. However, under the new regimes of David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal, with a struggling first team, they have given the likes of Adnan Januzaj, James Wilson, Reese James, Jesse Lingard and Tyler Blackett a chance.
The timing of a player’s emergence onto the first team dictates the chances a player gets to play. When a team does not need academy players to keep the team afloat, less time would be spent on developing players, when you consider the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez were on the first team squad when Welbeck onto the scene, there was no need for United to remove dead wood from the squad. It is only only when the team is struggling that youth would get a chance. Going back to the class of 92, Eric Cantona was suspended for 2 months for his Kung Fu incident against Crystal Palace, the United squad was not looking healthy. This is when Sir Alex Ferguson decided to give youth a chance.
While fans might argue Manchester United have not fully utilised their youth players through their more recent glory days, it is certainly not right to criticise the lack of home grown players in the youth academy, that statement is simply not true. The Academy might not be the focus of most fans, but it does not mean that not enough home grown players are going through the academy. United fans need to put personal feelings aside and look at the facts, Welbeck is a decent player, no doubt about that, but when the player isn’t happy about his role at the club, it is time for him to go and utilise his talents elsewhere. Some argue he is still young and has room to develop, there is simply no point in slowing down the team’s progress for the sake of a player’s development, as evident in the sale of forward Bebe.
With the signing of Radamel Falcao, Angel Di Maria, Marcos Rojo, Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw. The academy graduates are likely to get a chance in the FA Cup, one of two competitions United are left to play this season. Having a thin ageing bench on Van Gaal’s hands, there is no doubt the manager will give youth a chance and allow the players to truly develop.
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