When England were knocked out of the World Cup semi-final by Brazil in the summer questions were asked about the lack of young talent in our national team. With the likes of Beckham, Campbell, Butt, Scholes and Gary Neville all edging towards their late 20s it was difficult to see where the next generation of rising stars was going to come from.
However, six months is a long time in football and the turn of the year has brought with it a new optimism on the back of the emergence of some potentially top-class English talent. Apart from the Everton diehards and those people closely linked to the game, few people would have heard of Wayne Rooney last June, but in half a season the 17-year-old has already established himself as one of our brightest talents for many years.
Watching the two Worthington Cup semi-finals this week gave me even more reason to feel positive about the future. In the match between Manchester United and Blackburn I was mightily impressed with the performance of 17-year-old Blackburn defender Jay McEveley. Although naturally a centre half, McEveley has made his five first team starts as an emergency left back. And on Tuesday night he not only came out on top in the duel against England captain David Beckham but also made a miraculous last minute goal line clearance from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to deny Sir Alex Ferguson's men a first leg lead.
A Scottish grandfather gives McEveley the option to play international football north or south of the border but, happily for England coach Sven Goran Eriksson, approaches from the Scots have already been turned down. Ironically McEveley played alongside Rooney in Everton's youth team but left to join Blackburn on his 16th birthday after the Toffees stalled on making a decision on a new contract offer.
In the second semi final between Sheffield United and Liverpool two more highly promising English youngsters scored the game's three goals. While established internationals Michael Owen and Emile Heskey watched the match from the Liverpool bench, it was 20-year-old Ian Mellor who gave the Reds the lead in just his third start for the Anfield giants. Having excelled on Sunday against Manchester City, the club who released him as a boy, Mellor retained his place for the trip to Bramhall Lane and received a standing ovation from the Liverpool fans when he was replaced by Owen after 70 minutes.
However, it was 19-year-old Michael Tonge who grabbed the headlines after his two goals won the game for the Blades and it surely won't be long before his silky skills are gracing the Premiership. While Tonge still has a long way to go in the game he has the potential to follow in the footsteps of David Platt and Peter Beardsley who were also shown the door at Old Trafford but went on to play for the national team.
It can be argued that the introduction of the transfer window has, in some ways, forced clubs to turn to youth. That certainly seemed to be the case at Leeds United. With manager Terry Venables under pressure and struggling to find the winning formula at Elland Road the former England boss did not have the option of a "quick fix" dip into the transfer market. Instead he put his faith in 16-year-old striker James Milner who broke Wayne Rooney's short-lived record as the youngest ever Premiership goalscorer with a strike in the game against Sunderland on Boxing Day. Milner then followed that up with a brilliant goal against Chelsea three days later.
Over the years there have been many young players who have failed to reach their potential so it is important that these players are nurtured and are not placed under too much pressure too early in their young careers. In the journey of the life of a professional footballer there are many pitfalls and dangers and the casualty rate is high, but in Graeme Souness, David Moyes, Terry Venables and Neil Warnock these talented teenagers are lucky to have club managers who know how to handle the rise of such sibling stars.
That said, one can't help but bring up the old adage -"If you're good enough you're old enough". I for one will be surprised if Wayne Rooney is not capped by England at senior level by the end of 2003. Don't forget that when Michael Owen waltzed round the Argentinean defence to score in the World Cup in 1998 he was just 18 years old. Indeed, who could forget 40 years earlier a young 17-year-old called Pele was celebrating after scoring in a World Cup Final for Brazil.
