Tim Sherwood, the former Tottenham manager, has expressed his frustration with the treatment of young players at Tottenham, particularly Japhet Tanganga and Oliver Skipp.
In a recent interview with Premier League Productions, Sherwood stated that young players should be given the same opportunities as the multi-million-pound players coming into the club.
Sherwood, who was instrumental in giving Harry Kane his chance to shine at Tottenham, has highlighted the importance of nurturing young talent.
He argues that young players, who are given the chance to prove themselves, often perform better than the average players brought in from abroad.
According to him, it is time for football academies to “wake up” and not block the pathways for young players.
“We are all for the best players in the world coming to the Premier League. We all want that because it makes our league better.
“But the mediocre players, who come into the Premier League, and are blocking up the pathway for our kids are not good enough. Them kids should be given the opportunity.
“Why should the £50, £70 and the £100 million player get more opportunities than the kid? Because they let you down as well. It’s time to wake up for them academies. Let’s not block up the pathways.
“Let’s nurture our young talent and give them the same chances as we are giving them multi-million-pound players that are coming into your football club. When they get into the team, they care more.”
“They (Spurs) need a wake-up call, that is their main player (Kane), who else is there? There isn’t one. Tanganga plays here and there. Oliver Skipp. They keep getting rid of good talent when they need a chance to play as that man (Harry Kane) had.”
Tim Sherwood joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 as an assistant coach to manager Harry Redknapp. He soon rose to the position of technical director and was tasked with leading the club’s Under-21 team in the first season of the competition.
Under Sherwood’s leadership, the team performed well, finishing top in both the group and elite stages before losing the league final to Manchester United.
In 2013, following the departure of André Villas-Boas, Sherwood was named interim head coach of Tottenham. And was soon officially named head coach and signed an 18-month contract that ran until the end of the 2014-15 season.
During this time, he led the team to a sixth-place finish in the league, earning a total of 69 points.
Sherwood’s managerial career at Tottenham was characterized by his willingness to give young players a chance, as he demonstrated by handing Harry Kane his first start ahead of more established players. – a move that paid off as Kane has since then gone to become one of the best strikers in the world and the club’s all time leading goal scorer with 267 goals.