Manchester United ‘abandoning’ their history says Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger
Did Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger say Manchester United are trying to buy glory? The Times reports:
Arsène Wenger has accused Manchester United of abandoning the club’s tradition of youth development in pursuit of short-term success…
He did?
Wenger contrasted United’s new approach to Arsenal’s philosophy, which he claims remains geared to producing players, albeit many of them recruited from all over the world as teenagers.
Wenger said that? It’s seems out of character. Frenchman is hardly the most gung-ho individual. Take what he says about the coming season and Arsenal chances of winning the Premier League title:
“All going well, I feel we have a chance. But I cannot guarantee we will win the title. We now have the stability that gives us strength but it’s very difficult to guess how strong the other teams will be.
“There have been times in the past when I knew we could not win it. When you just squeeze into the top four and see others strengthening while you are losing players, it is difficult to be convinced you can still win the league.”
Back, then, to the Times and is story on Wenger attacking Man United for “abandoning” it’s roots:
“With United’s success they have created huge financial resources and today there is no patience for them to continue to do what they did — and they have the financial resources to go with a different policy. As well, they do not have available the players like Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham inside the club, because youth talent is spread more through 20 clubs than it was 20 years ago.”
So. He didn’t say United were buying success. Wenger said the market has changed because United grew rich through glory brought about by sound planning and Alex Ferguson’s management skills. They can now spend huge amounts of money.
As for the homemade players coming through:
Of players who came through the Old Trafford academy, Evans made the most Premier League starts last season with 12, the same number as Paddy McNair, followed by Adnan Januzaj with seven and Tyler Blackett, right, with six.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 23rd, July 2015 | In: Arsenal, manchester united, Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
