Thursday 30 June 2016 07:13, UK
England's shock defeat to Iceland at Euro 2016 has ended the country's hopes of major tournament success yet again, but is there hope for the next generation of talent coming through? Those who know best insist the quality is there, writes Adam Bate…
There wasn't much appetite for optimism as Roy Hodgson and Martin Glenn addressed the media following England's elimination from Euro 2016. But the FA chief executive did mount a defence of the country's young talent.
"You've got to see St George's Park as a bit like a Premier League club opening an academy," said Glenn. "You start by putting the various coaches in place and you start to get performances happening but they're not going to break into the first-team straight away.
"We are punching our weight in development tournament games. The Toulon Tournament [that England won in May] was a good example and if you look at the Under-20s, the Under-19s and the Under-17s you can see progress and there are reasons to be cheerful."
Tales of golden generations emerging are nothing new but how true is it that England are on the right path? After all, there's far more to youth development than results.
And yet, former England Under-16 coach Kenny Swain insists this is a special time for the talent pool.
"I remember saying to [U21 manager] Gareth Southgate, 'You don't know how lucky you are because you're going to see some of the finest players England have ever had over the next few years'," Swain tells Sky Sports.
"I think the next few tournaments - the next World Cup and the Euros after that - we'll be seeing some of the best talent that we've ever been able to pick. I ought to be shouting this from the rooftops because I don't think people realise how good these players are."
I ought to be shouting this from the rooftops because I don't think people realise how good these players are.
England's Euro 2016 squad was their youngest ever at a major tournament so some of the talent is already well known. But Swain insists it's a rich seam. "There's an absolute stack of players like Raheem Sterling, Luke Shaw, Jack Butland, Ross Barkley," he adds.
"They were all identified by 16. Players such as Lewis Baker, Charlie Cook, Jordan Sinclair, Sheyi Ojo, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Dele Alli - they've all played at Under-16 level for England and been given an opportunity. Now if they don't flourish after that there'll be a reason."
Perhaps this strikes at the heart of the matter. Player development does not end at 16. Arguably, it is just the beginning. English football needs to find a way to ensure the progress continues to avoid what Glenn describes as "the gap" between youth and senior success.
Swain understands that challenge in his current role as the Premier League's head of club support. But he remains positive that the players are there. "I'm not saying they'll win this and that but they'll give us a better chance of being successful," he says.
"But the England manager and the England Under-21 manager over the next three or four years will have a glut of players of great talent to work with. I know, because we had them in all those years ago. The best is yet to come."
