Unearthing the next big thing

U23 Academy football vs National League - who wins in the endless debate?

Rarmani Edmonds-Green. Luke Woolfenden. Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu. Brandon Hanlan. Wes Foderingham. Reeco Hackett-Fairchild. Alfie Doughty. What do these names have in common? 

Each one of them was a promising Football League academy talent when they arrived at Bromley on loan. And, subsequently, they’ve all forged successful careers at a higher level. Wes Foderingham is perhaps the standout performer, having represented Glasgow Rangers with distinction in the Scottish Premier League.

With so many examples of Bromley being a successful finishing school for promising talent, it rather begs a question. Why don’t more EFL/PL clubs utilise the National League in preference to U23s football?

Premier League 2 notwithstanding, a narrative exists that U23 football lacks rigour and focuses too much on style over substance. 

Whether that’s true or not, I’ve lost track of the number of conversations I’ve had with players who relished the opportunity to hone their skills in an ultra-competitive ‘men's league’. 

Would Alfie Doughty have made his exponential rise from Charlton Athletic to Stoke City if he didn’t cut his teeth at Bromley in 2019? Before his arrival, Doughty hadn’t played a league game for Charlton. When he returned from his loan spell, he went on to play twenty-nine games in the Championship before moving to Stoke City.

With this in mind, I took in my first preseason game on Wednesday: Bromley vs. Tottenham Hotspur U21s. 

Last season, Tottenham’s elite youth team finished seventh in Division 1 of Premier League 2, so it's no surprise that they looked a talented side on the night.

In Nile John, Kion Etete, Jamie Bowden, and Malachi Fagan-Walcott, Tottenham were fielding players who were on loan to clubs in either the English Football League or Scottish Championship last season. Tyrell Ashcroft was recently recruited from Reading’s first team, and Charlie Sayers, their starting centre-back, was plucked from National League Southend United in December last year.

Given it was only Bromley’s second pre-season game, third if you include a behind-closed-doors friendly, it was no surprise to see Andy Woodman field two different sides and use the match as a glorified fitness session. Even in that respect, there was no overwhelming gap in quality between the two teams.

In the second half, Bromley substitute Reece Hannam, a new loan arrival from Premier League Crystal Palace, showed his Tottenham peers what they could, or perhaps should, be doing. Like them, Reece spent last season in Division 1 of Premier League 2. He, however, has jumped at the chance to join Bromley and tough it out in the National League this season.

For Tottenham players like Marcel Lavinier, Kallum Cesay, and the night’s double-goal hero Romaine Mundle, the question is: what is the lure of Premier League 2 in preference to a ‘men's league’?

Picture: Tottenham Hotspur twitter

Is it that you can tell people you play for Tottenham Hotspur? Is it a genuine belief that it’s the best way to develop their game? Is there a certain snobbery about League 2 and the National League? 

I caught up with Bromley manager Andy Woodman post-match to get his take on the academy system and its relevance to the National League. Having worked with academy players at West Ham, Charlton, Newcastle, Arsenal and Crystal Palace, he has more insight than most at this level.

For Andy, the challenge is clear. No one can doubt the physical prowess of the elite academy players. However, for all but a special few, they will be denied the opportunity to feature at the highest level of the game.

In view of this stark reality, are agents helping or hindering their clients’ progress by keeping them in U23 football? 

Nineteen-year-old Romaine Mundle deservedly took the plaudits on Wednesday for his double salvo, but a quick review of his career so far shows he played eighteen games in Premier League 2 last season. Given Antonio Conte’s spending spree at Spurs, it’s unlikely that he’ll be any closer to Tottenham’s first team when he turns twenty next April.

Will another full season of PL2 be the best thing for him?

Bromley and the National League may be below his final destination, but how many years of progress might he waste by not testing himself outside of the comfortable academy waters?

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