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Taking players from lower divisions

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Okay so i have read allot of sarcastic comments over the last few days about taking players from lower divisions. To save money, or one of the many other stupid spats that allot of the less patient fans are aiming at the owners. Comments such as saving money by buying French 2nd division players come to mind in the last 6 hours.

But if somebody could tell me why this is a bad idea. It would be very much appreciated.

I would much rather the club put together a top notch scouting network and found players of quality in lower divisions now when they are at their cheapest then attempting to sign those brilliant players now many years later.

Losing Phil Jones was sour. I feel it, i dare say the vast majority if not all the fans feel it too. But like it or not. It has given the club money to spend. My main issue with that money right now is that it be spent on new young talent and not splashed on some (late) 20 something who was good in the Danish league, who very well might become another Kalinic or Grabbi. (yes it still smarts)

Many people joke about Arsenal for not spending ‘proper’ money and constantly going out and buying young talent. The kind of talent that has for the large part put them in the top half of the table.

Yes they have purchased some big name players like Van Persie and Asharvin. But the vast majority of their team comes as a result of a good scouting network and decent (not huge) amounts of money being spent in the right places. This isn’t luck by the way. It is logical spending.

Let’s take a look at their team:

– Abou Diaby – £2 million. Deemed surplus to requirements at PSG and Arsenal pounced.

– Bacary Sagna – 4 years ago signed from Auxerre for a fee of £5m-£6m.

– Cesc Fabregas – Somewhere in the region of £1.5 million from Barcelona oweing to not being professionally contracted

– Thomas Vermaelen – 2 years ago costing somewhere in the region of £6m from Ajax. How much are we willing to spend if we lose Samba… Hell we cost spend that replacing Jones

– Robin van Persie – Signed at a young age in 2004. £2.5 million from Feyenoord

– Theo Walcott – £5 million raising to £9 million for a outstanding English talent. Again, if we invested in the right players after selling the likes of Jones, this would be doable.

– Denílson. £3.4m from São Paulo.

– Aaron Ramsey – £4.8m from Cardiff.

– Alex Song – £1m from Basia.

– Jack Wilshere – Free a product of having a good youth scouting network.

– Johan Djourou – Signed at a young age for a minimal fee from a Swiss team Étoile Carouge

– Kieran Gibbs – Pinched from the Wimbledon youth at a young age before they went bust. Youth scouts at work again.

– Marouane Chamakh – Free transfer from Bordeaux. You compile a list of good players who’s contracts are due to expire and then you pounce. When was the last time we did this on a low budget. Lars Jacobsen/Benjani. Incredible…

– Armand Traoré – Monaco youth for a minimal fee

– Nicklas Bendtner – Signed for a minimal fee from Kjøbenhavns Boldklub in very similar circumstances. Reminds me a bit of Martin Olsson’s signing. Both quality players. Both worth bundles. Tell me again. Why don’t we try this tactic more?

– Wojciech Szczesny – Again signed for a minimal fee via Legia Warszawa’s youth academy.

When you include the likes of Asharvin and the players i didn’t include. That is a Champions League team that beat us consistently on a yearly basis for not allot more then we got for Bentley, RSC and Phil Jones put together over what 6 years?!

Look at Tottenham’s second string. Just about all of the players i would have by the way in a heartbeat:

– Alan Hutton – Was class when signed for Rangers. £5 million

– Tom Huddlestone – £2.5 million from Derby County

– Aaron Lennon – £1m from Leeds!

– Kyle Naughton – £4.5m from Sheffield United!

– Giovani dos Santos – Around £4m from Barcelona.

– Niko Kranjcar – £2.5m from Pompey!

– Vedran Corluka – £5.5m from Man City.

– Danny Rose – Leeds United for £1m!

– Kyle Walker – Sheffield United for £4.5m

– Benoît Assou-Ekotto – £3.5m from Lens.

– Steven Pienaar – £3m Everton. Everton signed him for £2m from Dortmund.

The vast majority of players above would walk into our team right now. Hell they would walk right into our team most probably (the vast majority) when they were originally signed.

Look at our own team for goodness sakes.

– Martin Olsson – Högaborgs BK minimal fee

– Christopher Samba – Hertha Berlin

– Ryan Nelsen – D.C. United on a free.

– Steven N’Zonzi – Signed for £500,000 from Amiens SC

– David Hoilett – Plucked from Canada at the young age as a result of a good scouting network under Mark Hughes.

– Phil Jones – Got us up to £20m. As I said above.

So before people scoff at the logic of signing younger/experienced, cheaper players who they may not have heard of from supposedly smaller less recognisable teams. Think about what could be.

Certaily worked for Arsenal. Could work for us too!

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