Sir Alex Ferguson has launched a scathing attack on the FA's academy system, claiming it has totally failed to produce the World Cup-winning talent which was promised. Eight years after the academy system was introduced, the Manchester United manager claims he has identified "countless flaws", many of which are forcing top clubs to look abroad for young talent.Chief among them is the "travelling time" rule which permits clubs to train players who live within an hour or 90 minutes drive of their academy centre depending on their age. Wednesday's FA Cup tie between Bolton and Arsenal at the Reebok Stadium featured just one potential England international - Kevin Nolan - among the 22 players who started the game. Clearly, such a situation has a detrimental long-term effect on the national side's chances of progression.
Yet Ferguson does not blame either Sam Allardyce or Arsene Wenger for exploiting the present rules to their advantage. He feels the onus is on the governing body to come up with some alternative strategy which would encourage clubs to develop more British players. "Arsene Wenger is very strong on French football and African players. Why should he not take advantage of that?" said Ferguson. "The problem is not Arsene Wenger, the problem is the system. Something has to be done about it because it is seriously in danger of falling apart.
"There are countless flaws. Some are not even being run properly now because clubs are just not able to afford it. "It costs us around £4million to run our academy yet because there is a restriction in travel Manchester United and particularly Arsenal have to look worldwide in order to get the best young players into the club.
"When the academies were set up, Howard Wilkinson said England would win the World Cup within 10 years. Well, they have been going eight now and I can't see it." Ferguson totally refutes the notion that the seam of English talent has dried up, insisting good players can always be found if clubs were allowed to look hard enough for it.
"You can find talent," he said. "There are very few natural footballers in the world. Most are produced by practice and you can see that in what the Brazilians do, or lads like Cristiano Ronaldo, who continues to practise long after training has finished. "We have to pay more attention to the issue of homegrown players. "There have been a number of theories flying about but the recommendations of having four or five British-produced players in your team is a sensible one."
UEFA have already started to address the problem by implementing a rule, opposed by Arsenal among others, which should see clubs include a minimum number of eight homegrown players in their squads by the 2008-09 campaign.
Ferguson said the backdrop of such an increase in foreign talent landing in the Premiership just makes the work of Steve Coppell at Reading all the more impressive. In guiding the Royals into the Premiership's top six, and an FA Cup fifth-round meeting with United at Old Trafford on Saturday, Coppell has relied on a nucleus of British and Irish-born players, many of whom, like Steve Sidwell, have been discarded by other clubs.
"Steve has made a marvellous contribution to the Premiership this year," said Ferguson. "What is very encouraging is that he has done it mostly with British-based players, which says a lot about the way he has gathered his squad together. "It is the duty of every manager to try to get the best team they can but at a time when there is a contentious issue over the number of foreigners in our league, he has done it in a way which is surprising people."
