As a lover of the beautiful game I do relish the beginning of the Premier league season. The new imports like Modric, Gomes, Deco and Dossena will give this season the flavor of a global league that is followed from Johannesburg to Bangkok. This evening I found this good article from Oliver Kay in the London Times in which he describes Rafa Benitez’s International youth movement as a future gold mine or a detriment to the development of the local lads.

“Would Jamie Carragher, a late developer, have made the grade at Liverpool if he had been coming through the ranks now? Probably not. Would Gary Ablett, a championship winner as a player at Anfield in 1988 and 1990 and doing an excellent job as the club’s reserve-team coach? Certainly not. If players such as Stephen Darby or Jay Spearing are to follow in their footsteps and become first-team players at Liverpool, they must overcome overwhelming odds. But, unless they are nurtured correctly, no young player is a safe bet, however talented.”

I see his point and would like to add that many of the teenage Steven Gerrard’s would improve against and along the Kristian Nemeth’s, and Carlos Vela’s. Or a natural talent like Steven Gerrard would not have been challenged to sometimes carry his team… I hope it is a gold mine not just for the team but for the league and not a virus.