These FA Cup 3rd round ties are showing the embarrassment of riches British football has (seemingly) coming through the EPPP plan. While I hate what it has done to clubs like us losing players far too easily, there does seem to be the highest number of young players i’ve ever seen, especially in positions we don’t usually develop.
Curtis Jones has just scored a worldie while Harvey Elliot looks quite brilliant at only 16 for Liverpool here (not to forget Rhian Brewster is also a decent young striker), Phil Foden had another good game and scored what I believe is the 11th senior goal of his career (young defender Harwood-Bellis with his first goal and Tommy Doyle also making appearances), Hamza Choudhury and Harvey Barnes had a good day at Leicester, Callum Hudson-Odoi got another for Chelsea while Fikayo Tomori marshalled another clean sheet, Brandon Williams dealt well with Adama Traore for Man U while Mason Greenwood got another start and Jake Vokins at 19 getting his first goal from left back for Southampton. Tomorrow Arsenal will likely field Bukayo Sako, Joe Willock, Emile Smith-Rowe, Ashley Maitland-Nile’s and Reiss Nelson.
Even Wales and the Rep of Ireland are benefitting with Will Smallbone, Adam Idah, Dan James, Neco Williams, Dara O’Shea and, while not actually used today, Troy Parrott being on the bench for Spurs.
The rest of the world will hate it, but the money in Europe was already giving a select group of nations an unfair advantage, and it looks like we have taken advantage. We had a squad good enough to make a World Cup semi final back in 2018, we have a host of options in addition to that squad already waiting to get their chance (Grealish, Maddison, Barkley, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wan Bissaka, Alexander-Arnold, Abraham, Rice, Winks, Chilwell, Shaw, Mount and Sancho who yes, are already in the team etc), and then you have this third wave of kids who are showing how good they could be.
At some stage in the next decade, I will be very surprised if we don’t end up with the mother of all summer parties at one of the next 6 tournaments.