Both England under 21s and England under 20s failed to make it out of their group stages in their respective tournament’s this summer.
It is no secret that in recent years sport in United Kingdom, primarily England, has not been to a standard where we can compete against a number of other nations.
We have seen our national football side knocked out either at the quarter-final stage or before in four of the last five World Cups that England have qualified for.
Likewise this summer both our under 21s and under 20s succumbed to the pressure of playing for themselves and not the country in a major tournament as both were knocked out in the group stage.
It is fair to say that the Football Association have tried to develop the new prospects of the game, but their measures just have not gone far enough. Many of them are having one or two good games lower down the leagues before being snapped up by top Premier League clubs, who do not utilise their potential.
One name that stands out is former Crystal Palace midfielder John Bostock, who signed a lucrative deal with Tottenham Hotspur when he was 16-years-old.
Where is he now?
Nowhere. In fact he was released by Spurs this summer after his contract with the club came to an end.
More recently he has been plying his trade with MLS side Toronto after spending time on loan at Swindon Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Hull City and Brentford.
In fact Bostock has never played a competitive match for the White Hart Lane side.
There are, however, many more players in the English game that have disappeared from the face of the earth after securing that dream move to a top Premier League club.
Now. I believe that if English sport’s wanted to develop their youth players and give them and future nations’ success in future tournaments could be aided by the introduction of a draft system, which is similarly used in a wide array of American sports – most notably for me hockey.
The NHL draft has been taking place since 1967 and has produced some quality players over the years that have gone on to achieve great success in the sport.
The Pittsburgh Penguins currently have four players in their team that they picked via the draft system in the past 13 years.
Captain Sydney Crosby was the number one pick in 2005, whilst Evgeni Malkin was the second choice pick the year before.
In 2003, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was the first choice pick whilst defender Brooks Orpik also came through the system in 2000.
Likewise the Philadelphia Flyers, the main rivals of the Penguins, have also utilised the draft system to their advantage in recent years with captain Claude Giroux being the number 22 pick in 2006.
The system works by allowing the teams that have not  been that successful the previous season getting the first pick of the best upcoming young players who have a bright future in the sport.
The 2013 draft took place earlier this week and watching it made me think that allowing teams to pick the best upcoming players rather than having to battle it out with cash like they currently do.
This alternative way could provide more competition in the lower English leagues and if team’s utilise the system correctly they could climb the ladder without the outside investment of foreign billionaires.
Transfer fees should still apply for the more established players that have played the game professional for one club or another, otherwise it would mean Jim White would be surplus to requirements on Sky Sports News.
With money being such an influence in the sport it cannot be completely ripped out of the game but if transfer fees for these foreign imports continue to escalate like they are then the grass roots football development in England is never going to improve any time soon.
Words: Adam Grice
Photo: Getty Images
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