Raheem Sterling (1994)

YEL has been following this young wizard for sometime now, and frankly we’re a bit surprised he’s not made more impact yet. He has the full tool kit – frightening pace, great control and skill, and he can score goals too.

Sterling’s clearly got a bit of an attitude, but that might help him in the long run and Brendan Rodgers should eventually get the best out of him. How good might that be? It could be tremendous.

 

What to expect?

Sooner or later Sterling should break out for Liverpool and then there’ll be no looking back. Of the plethora of young English wingers – Townsend, Chamberlain, Zaha, Ince, Redmond – Sterling has the greatest potential and sometime in the next two years, expet him to have proven it and be a fixture in the England team.

Rating

Solid Pro…………………………………….10

Top League Stalwart……………………10

Regular cap/top 6 player………………9

World Beater………………………………3

Daniel Crowley (1997)

Crowley is one of the leading talents from year group that is teaming with them. A playmaking midfield, most comfortable as a “No. 10”, or as the most advanced member of a midfield three. He first emerged at England age group level while with Aston Villa but was snapped up by Arsenal this summer. The comparisons with Jack Wilshere are inevitble, even if Danny is right footed and even smaller than his Gunner elder.

He’s had some excellent showings for Arsenal age group teams so far, but the U18s have not been performing well and it’s a little surprising he’s not been elevated to the U21s.

Still, in two or three years expect to see this little gem mixing it with Wilshere, Ramsey and Ozil. He’ll fit right in, as you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtcUoN1460k

What to expect?

England haven’t exactly been overrun with play-makers in recent years, but there is a group brewing that can end the drought. Crowley should be near the top of any such list and in Arsene Wenger he has the perfect manager to guide him to the top, which is surely where he is headed.

 

Rating

Solid Pro…………………………………….9

Top League Stalwart……………………9

Regular cap/top 6 player………………9

World Beater………………………………3

Patrick Roberts (1997)

Tags

England U17, Fulham, Winger, Young star

We thought we’d start with Roberts if only because he’s one many of you may not yet be familiar with. Roberts is with Fulham and currently starring for the England U17s.

At just 16, we still have plenty tolearn about young Patrick, but here’s what we know. He’s a winger with good pace (though not Walcott-type pace) and excellent footwork and skill. He runs at a man, can put in a good cross and a clever pass and chips in with the odd goal. He can play through the middle or on the left, but is best as a new-age inverted winger on the right.

He reminds YEL a little of Samir Nasri, but judge for yourself – he’s the No. 7 who shows quick feet on the touch line and a nice cross with his weaker right foot. This was a pretty good showing against Italy’s under 17s and it followed a similarly impressive game against Portugal. This kid can really play. You can read a bit more about him in his own words here or at daswunderkid.

What to expect?

It’ll be a while before we see Roberts break through at Premier League level – he’s only 16 after all. But expect him to feature prominently for the Fulham U21s before getting a loan in a season or two. We ought to see him among the big boys by the time he leaves his teens.

Rating

Solid Pro…………………………………….9

Top League Stalwart……………………9

Regular cap/top 6 player………………8

World Beater………………………………3

Related articles

• Match Report: England U17 1-3 Portugal (theyouthradar.com)
• VIDEO: England U17 coach Peacock hails quality of Portugal players (tribalfootball.com)

How we rate them

OK, so posting a bunch of profiles on young English players is interesting, but not nearly as interesting as profiles that include some sort of metrics to indicate just how excited you should get.

The system we use will simply ask how likely a prospect is to attain a variety of different levels. Let’s use JonJo Shelvey as an example…

Solid pro (will make it as a pro in the lower leagues)…10/10

Top league stalwart (premier league player, but for a lower ranked club… 10/10

International/top 6 class (regularly capped for England and/or a starter for a top club… 3/10

World beater (one of the best in the world in his position)… 0/10

So to interpret briefly, YEL think JonJo is a sure thing to make it as a pro and as a premier league pro at that. We can be certain of this, because he’s already reached this level. But we think there’s only 30% certain that he’ll be a regular at England level or a stater for a Top 6 Premier League team. That’s based on the fact that while he’s been capped by England he’s not exactly a regular and most likely never will be. He’s also been sold by a big club in Liverpool and has settled at a lower level one in Swansea. But so far, he’s settled in well in Wales and there is always a chance – about a one in three one in this case, that he’ll re-emerge as a higher level talent.

Finally JonJo scores a 0/10 in the World Beater category because he is not and never will be one of the best footballers on the plant. Sorry JonJo.

So that’s how it works, on with the profiles.

YEL

 

Where to begin? In 1992 of course.

When looking at young English footballing talents it helps to view them by year of birth. There’s a tendency to talk about a player’s age (“this 20 year old is a real find”) but sooner or later, that information will be out of date. By referring to a player’s year of birth, we’ll always be up to date.

So, why 1992? Well, right now at least, 1992 is the earliest a player can be born and still be eligible for the national U21 team. Therefore Young England Lions will focus on players born in 1992 or later. At some point we’ll no doubt drop coverage of the older players as we embrace even younger talents, but for now 1992 is where it starts.

 

All about Young England Lions

Fans of the England football team have had a tough time of it for, well close to 50 years now. Our hopes are raised every few years only for them to come crashing down at the hands of some nifty feet from Argentina, Brazil or German.

The debate over why England fail  has raged on for years but at Young England Lions, we have hope. Ultimately, England’s prospects will be determined by the quality of the players we develop and in that respect the signs are at last a little promising.

While the darkness surrounding England’s failings has reached new degrees of black recently, there are signs that the dawn might be just around the corner.

If you are paying attention, while pundits are complaining about the lack of touch players in the English system, a significant number of promising young star are starting to emerge.

Young England Lions mission is to bring light to some of these prospects, track their progress and perhaps give some hope to long suffering plans.

Enjoy the read!

YEL

Related articles

• Tony Adams critical of foreign imports (sportsmole.co.uk)
• Greg Dyke: England’s man with a plan (thingsivelearntaboutfootball.wordpress.com)
• Speech from Greg Dyke, chairman of the Football Association: full transcript (telegraph.co.uk)
• PST: England should “win World Cup in 2022″ as FA sets out targets (prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com)