Despite young midfield starlet Paul Pogba recently signing a new deal at for The Red Devils, Manchester United lost Ravel Morrison earlier this year (although his departure from Old Trafford is more complex than it seems) leading many to suggest Man Utd have failed to reporduce and retain the successes from the now revered 'Class of '92.' A stellar group of players that included David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and even Robbie Savage!! They soon joined the squad with two other Manchester United youth products Ryan Giggs and Lee Sharpe.
While the Morrison and Pogba situation seemed to rock the defending champions and with Danny Welbeck and young defender Ezekiel Fryers also seemingly holding out on contracts, many have pointed fingers at Manchester United's academy for having failed to reproduce the quality of the 'Class of '92.' Despite this Darren Fletcher, Jonny Evans and the recently departed John O'Shea and Wes Brown have all had solid careers since making the step up from the academy. While none of these are the superstars some would expect, they are strong squad players in a team known more for it's team spirit than individual performances.
However, these are not the only graduates at Old Trafford and the Premier League and European football is littered with former academy prospects who have established themselves with their respected clubs. Let's have a look at a few of them.
Club: Bolton Wanderers
Tom's accurate valuation: £3,500,000
Eagles left Old Trafford in 2008 after several loan spells with Watford (twice), Sheffield Wednesday and NEC Nijmegen in Holland. The English midfielder featured sparingly in the Premier League but was among the scorers in the 4-2 victory over Everton in 2007, helping secure United the title. It was reported that Sir Alex Ferguson had inserted a buy-back clause in Eagles' contract when he was sold to Burnley, over fears of the inconsistencies of Nani and the possible departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. The clause was never exercised and Eagles remained at Burnley until he joined his former manager manager, Owen Coyle, upon his £3 million transfer to Bolton at the beginning of this season.
Club: Newcastle United
Tom's accurate valuation: £4,000,000
Simpson never got much of an opportunity at Old Trafford as Gary Neville, Wes Brown and John O'Shea and later Fabio and Rafael were all above him in the pecking order. He only made 3 Premier League appearances in a period that also saw him go on loan to several Premier League clubs, including Sunderland, Blackburn and Newcastle, the latter made permanent in the January transfer window in a deal rumoured to be around £750,000. He was hugely impressive in Newcastle's promotion from the Championship and has continued his good form since their return to the Premier League. He is currently enjoying his finest season yet and has started every game. The form of Kyle Walker and Glen Johnson mean that is unlikely he will receive a call-up for Euro 2012 but there is still time in the season and injuries may account for surprises.
David Jones
Club: Wigan Athletic
Tom's accurate valuation: £1,000,000
An exceptionally impressive loan at NEC Nijmegen saw Jones sign a new contract at Old Trafford upon his return. However, the arrival of Michael Carrick saw his first team opportunities limited. After an initial loan spell, Jones joined Derby County for £1,000,000 where he enjoyed a promising start which sparked Sir Alex Ferguson to suggest he'd sold Jones to cheaply. His momentum at Derby began to dip and he rarely featured in their dismal Premier League campaign in 2008. He moved to Wolves in 2008 for a reported £1.25 million where he remained until joining Wigan Athletic at the beginning of this season after his contract expired at the Midlands club.
Fraizer Campbell
Club: Sunderland
Tom's accurate valuation: £2,000,000
Fraizer Campbell has had a torrid time with injuries over the past three seasons and has only managed 38 appearances for Sunderland since joining in 2009. The young forward was thrust into the limelight after a hugely successful season in the Championship with Hull City, scoring 15 goals. Following Hull's promotion to the Premier League they made a £7 million offer (a club record) for Campbell who opted to join Tottenham on loan as part of the deal for Dimitar Berbatov. He was rarely used at Spurs and turned down another offer from Hull at the end of the season. Campbell joined Sunderland for £3.5 million (possibly rising to £6 million) in 2009 but successive anterior cruciate ligament injuries have blighted his time on Wearside. Since his return in early 2012 he has netted twice and even received a call up for England's friendly against Holland. His approximate value has suffered due to his injuries.
Gerard Pique
Club: Barcelona
Tom's accurate valuation: £27,500,000 (€50,000,000 release clause)
Many regard Ferguson allowing Pique to leave Manchester United as a huge mistake but to the manger's credit, Pique looked shaky in the Premier League. Barcelona paid £5 million for the services of the centre back who had been loaned to Real Zaragoza the season before. Much like Francesc Fabregas, Pique always desired to return to Barcelona and with Jonny Evans showing more potential at the time, Ferguson allowed the Spaniard to return to his Catalan beginnings. However, the statistics speak for themselves and two Champions League medals and a World Cup winners medal suggest he Pique looked back. Some have remarked that Pique's role at centre back is much easier behind a midfield of Xavi, Fabregas and Iniesta who rarely loose the ball. Pique quickly took his opportunities at Barcelona and has forged a strong partnership with Carles Puyol.
Giuseppe Rossi
Club: Villarreal
Tom's accurate valuation: £35,000,000
Rossi has become a smash hit in Spain since his move from Manchester and has consistently been linked with moves to Real Madrid, Internazionale and Barcelona. Despite his relative success at Old Trafford, it would have been near impossible for Rossi to reach his peak had he stayed in Manchester. With Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Cristiano Ronaldo and later Carlos Tevez all above Rossi in the Old Trafford pecking order, his development would have been significantly stunted. Rumours of a buy-back clause are apparently untrue and it remains to be seen whether he will stay at El Madrigal next season. A cruciate ligament has curtailed his 2012 and may see him ruled out of Italy's Euro 2012 squad.
Kieran Richardson
Club: Sunderland
Tom's accurate valuation: £6,000,000
Richardson joined Sunderland in 2007 for £5,500,000 after making 41 league appearances for The Red Devils. He was disliked by many of the Old Trafford faithful for his attitude that was at times questionable. He broke into the first team after a successful loan spell at Bryan Robson's West Brom which saw them avoid relegation. These impressive displays were later rewarded with his first England cap in which he scored a brace against the USA. On his return to Old Trafford he did have some good games for Utd in his favoured left wing position but also deputising Gabriel Heinze at left back. At Sunderland, he has played in both of these positions as well as a support striker. Under Martin O'Neill, Richardson has performed well and helped propel Sunderland up the table.
Phil Bardsley
Club: Sunderland
Tom's accurate valuation: £3,500,000
Bardsley could only manage 8 league appearances for United after his step up from the academy, where he had been since the age of 8. An own goal against Southampton in one of his first games set up a succession of loan spells Royal Antwerp, Burnley, Glasgow Rangers, Aston Villa and Sheffield United before a move to Sunderland for approximately £850,000. Last season he scored 3 league goals, all long range efforts as he continues to battle with former United players, John O'Shea, Wes Brown, Kieran Richardson as well as Wayne Bridge for position of full back.
Ryan Shawcross
Club: Stoke City
Tom's accurate valuation:£12,000,000
Shawcross never managed a Premier League game for Manchester United but has become a first team starter for Stoke since his £2,000,000 move in 2008. Sir Alex Ferguson insisted in a first refusal clause in Shawcross's contract who is now captain of the Potters. Stoke have established themselves as Premier League regulars since their promotion from the Championship and Shawcross has been an ever present feature. The defender is eligible to play for both England and Wales but has not featured for either team at a senior level.
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake
Club: Wolves
Tom's accurate valuation:£2,000,000
An injury while playing for the Man Utd reserves saw Ebanks-Blake fracture his leg, stunting his development and despite never featuring in the Premier League he was named as a substitute for several Champions League games. An impressive loan spell at Royal Antwerp paved the way for a £300,000 move to Plymouth where he was a fan favourite scoring 21 goals in a season and a half. A move to Wolves, where his impressive scoring rate continued, led to him receiving the Championship Golden Boot in 2009. Since Wolves' return to the Premier League Ebanks-Blake has struggled to maintain a first team berth thanks to the potentially lethal strike duo of Steven Fletcher and Kevin Doyle and has only scored a single goal this campaign.
To suggest that Manchester United's youth program is failing is incorrect. The 'Class of '92' was an anomaly that is rarely seen. Barcelona's current crop of players could also be called an anomaly. Leo Messi, Francesc Fabregas, Pedro, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique have all come from similar age groups but this kind of crop rarely appears.
There are several other former Manchester United academy products have secured Premier League or Championship clubs, such as.
Darron Gibson - Everton
Danny Higginbotham - Stoke
Jonathan Spector - Birmingham
Lee Martin - Ipswich Town
Craig Cathcart - Blackpool
David Gray - Preston North End
Paul McShane - Hull City
Man Utd's current academy boasts more players. Tom Cleverly has recently made the step up with Danny Welbeck while Pogba, Fryers and Ryan Tunnicliffe are expected to make a significant impact in the next few seasons.
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