Youth players at United - patience is the key.

Fabio Paim. A name many of you will never have heard before. If you play a lot of Football Manager or follow Chelsea Reserves then his name will ring a bell.

“If you think I am good, wait until you see Fabio Paim”. These were the words uttered by a certain Cristiano Ronaldo during his time at Sporting CP. We all know how the latter turned out, but the former, if Mr. Ronaldo was right, could have been something else.

Fabio Paim was the kind of player who, at the tender age of 13, would dribble past every single player on the opposition team, get through on goal and instead of shooting, would run back to the half way line and start all over again. That’s how talented he was. However, with no one able to guide him down the right path and teach him how to control his money, he became lazy and thought that he was far better than everyone around him.

After several unproductive loan spells including one to Luis Felipe Scolari’s Chelsea, Sporting CP decided to offload their bigheaded winger in 2010. Fabio Paim is now without a club, having last played for Primeiro de Agosto in Angola until getting released in April 2012.

Fabio Paim - to be this cool takes time

In an interview with Record shortly after being released from Primeiro de Agosto, Fabio Paim admitted making many mistakes in his career:   

“Today I look at ex-colleagues like Rui Patricio and Daniel Carriço and I think that I could be in their place, even at a higher level. But they always worked hard, whilst I made several mistakes. I'm happy for them, I am not envious; I do not hold any grudges, even when they tell me on the street that I could be better than Cristiano Ronaldo. The truth is that I could not handle the fact that football was not a hobby but a profession.”

Why Fabio Paim? Because he is the prime example of what could happen to many young footballers if they are given too much money and promised glory far too soon.

When news crept through that Sir Alex Ferguson refused to give Paul Pogba the contract he wanted, I could not help but smile at the decision. The old man is no fool. Players should not demand contract renewals, they should work hard and wait until they are offered one. A salary increase is a reward, not an obligation. Yes, Paul Pogba is a talented footballer and will probably enjoy a good footballing career but a large ego is not what reserve players need.  Look at Tunnicliffe: he gives his all every game and stays out of the headlines, hence his inclusion in the pre-season tour. The same can be said about Lingard, Petrucci and the Keane brothers.

These youth players will, in a few years time, be central to Manchester United’s plans alongside Nick Powell, Tom Cleverley & the Da Silva twins yet, they are not quite 100% ready for the big leap to the first-team. Lingard and Petrucci have shown flashes of brilliance so far in pre-season and Tunnicliffe has battled hard whenever he has featured but these are only pre-season friendlies. The difference in intensity compared to Premier League games week in, week out is substantial. Loans to the Championship or to the likes of Wigan (look at Cleverley) could be much more beneficial than sitting on a bench hoping to come on for 5 minutes at the end of a game in the 2^nd leg of a cup tie.

Petrucci gaining experience in pre-season

This may sound absolutely logical to some of you but the amount of fans calling for some of them to be part of the first team next season is rather staggering.

A great example of what can happen to a player given an opportunity too soon is Freddy Adu. You will have heard of him. He made his debut at the age of 14 for DC United and holds the record as the youngest USA international (16 years and 234 days). Making the leap from the MLS to Benfica at the age of 18 was a great mistake for his career.

Playing only 11 games in 4 years at the Portuguese clubs and being loaned out rather unsuccessfully to a variety of clubs in France, Portugal and Turkey showed that he was nowhere near ready for the increased level of European football. Having now returned to the MLS with Philadelphia Union, Freddy seems to have found his feet again and, still only aged 23, seems to have his career back on track. The hype surrounding Adu was staggering and had he stayed a few more years in the MLS to develop properly, football could have had a new superstar.

What we, as Manchester United fans, do not want to see is a waste of talent. Our reserve team is full of potential ability but youth players need to be given time to grow at their own pace and not forced into a level of football they are unable to keep up with. Turning talented players into stars takes time. Rush things and Manchester United could find itself with a black hole where a potential galaxy of promise used to be.

By Tom Coast

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One Love - living the dream on United's tour of South Africa

By Natanael Pillay

The 25th June 2012 will always hold a special place in my heart; it was the day that I received my golden ticket. No, this wasn’t a ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory; although Scholes would make an awesome oompa loompa, this was the ticket to my El Dorado, my place of dreams; my ticket to watch Manchester United play AmaZulu in a preseason friendly.

I would have to wait a little over 3 weeks to get the chance to watch United play, but this only served to allow my excitement to grow. Not even the daunting task of having a presentation on match day could put me down. Once the presentation had been complete, there was no stopping me.

I arrived at the stadium a good 4 hours before the match could begin. I was surprised to see that there was already a big group of people already there, and that they too were as excited as I was. A few drinks later and I was ready to enter the stadium, and what a stadium it was.

As the crowd grew, the expectation also grew exponentially; every appearance of a Manchester United player brought rapturous applause. The excitement grew into a carnival atmosphere as the stadium grew close to its 51,000 capacity. A small group of supporters, including myself, had stationed ourselves near the tunnel and then broke into a little chorus of “There’s only one Sir Alex”.

It took a few hours, but a few players emerged from the tunnel. Even though it was the unfashionable Ben Amos and Sam Johnstone, the crowd appreciated all the Manchester United players.  Not too long after, the rest of the team came galloping onto the field and began their warm ups. Some were conventional, and others were just plain funny.

After the warm ups was complete, the stadium held its breath for the moment that we all had been waiting for; it was almost time for the match to begin. As the team walked out, I suddenly realised why supporters go to matches. We live in a digital world where we can watch the matches on TV or on live streams, but nothing beats the feeling of being at the match. Actually seeing the players a few metres in front of you; the supporters feel the same joy or pain that you feel; it’s the tension, the abuse thrown at linesman and the all-round atmosphere that cannot be recreated at home.

The actual moment of brilliance that brings you to your feet and sends the crowd into delirium is just unbelievable. There were a few moments like this such as Jessie Lingard slipping his way through the AmaZulu midfield, Dimitar Berbatov’s sumptuous volley, Davide Petrucci’s rasping shot, and even Macheda’s brilliantly taken goal.

For everyone else, the game was always about Kagawa and his debut. This was highlighted by the reception he received. It sent chills down my spine as you could feel the excitement just bursting out of people. Even though Kagawa was only on the field for a matter of minutes, it was as if every step he took made the crowd scream louder and louder and caused the vuvuzelas to be blown louder and louder; much to my annoyance.

The reason I said “for everyone else” was that I was more excited to see someone else play for United. He wasn’t a youngster by any stretch of the imagination and isn’t a typical modern day player. He is Paul Scholes, our very own Ginger Prince. The day Scholes retired was the day I realised I would never watch him in a live game, but his subsequent reversal of his decision and United’s tour of South Africa gave me the chance to watch one of my favourite players in the flesh. I didn’t miss the chance to gaze upon this United legend, as I took in every shimmy, every movement and every crisply placed pass.

For those living in the UK, this was a meaningless pre-season game; a way for United to increase their fan base. In all honesty, it was, but for me it was a chance to watch the team I’ve supported ever since I was a youngster, and it was one of the best days of my life. It didn’t matter that there were mainly youth team players in the team, as I wanted to watch Manchester United, the club. The players present didn’t really have a bearing on how excited I was for the game.

Many people started leaving early so they could avoid the traffic, but I made sure I stayed till the end. It wasn’t so I could get my money’s worth, but just so that I could take in every second of the match. So, this is my experience and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Hopefully this will be the start of my match going days, maybe even at Old Trafford in the not so distant future. To those who have the honour of doing it week in week out, treasure it as I would do anything to do what you do. So go to the United matches with pride, and keep the red flag flying high!

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