West Ham’s Karren Brady believes Southampton and Tottenham should be congratulated.
Karren Brady
West Ham United vice-chairman Karren Brady has told The Sun that she thinks Southampton and Tottenham deserve praise and congratulations for their work developing English players.
England beat Lithuania 2-0 at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon, just days after a narrow 1-0 defeat away at Germany in midweek.
Gareth Southgate’s men are showing signs of improvement, with some exciting players available at his disposal thanks to two particular Premier League clubs.
Southampton were heavily represented both with current players Ryan Bertrand, James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond, and academy graduates now playing elsewhere, in Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw.
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur saw current stars Kyle Walker, Eric Dier and Dele Alli feature in Dortmund, with former academy graduate Jake Livemore – now with West Brom – starting in midfield.
With such strong representation from both clubs, West Ham United’s vice-chairman Karren Brady has told The Sun that both teams deserve praise for developing and nurturing young English players for the national team – much like West Ham did after England’s 1966 World Cup triumph.
“Only Hammers fans never tire of reminders that the core of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team came from West Ham,” said Brady. “And it’s a fact that many of the better national sides are structured around one club. In the first England team originated by Gareth Southgate against Germany, he goes one better and two clubs predominate.”
“Of the 16 players used, counting those with past and present connections, Spurs have four and Saints five. Both clubs must be congratulated. They have productive academies chiefly made up of English lads and while Southampton have had to sell several of their outstanding players, Tottenham are rich enough to hang on to theirs,” she added.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
Whilst both clubs do deserve great credit, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino deserves double the praise given his role in helping both clubs develop English players.
Shaw, Lallana and Ward-Prowse all worked under Pochettino at Southampton having come up through the ranks on the South Coast, whilst Walker, Dier and Alli have all become key players under him at Tottenham.
Add in the likes of Danny Rose, Harry Winks, Harry Kane, Calum Chambers and Nathaniel Clyne, who have also worked with Pochettino over the years, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that, whilst Pochettino is Argentinian, he is having a huge impact on the progression of English football – and Brady’s praise for Spurs and Southampton is a major pat on the back for Pochettino’s approach.
How important do you think Mauricio Pochettino is to English football?
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