In a very real sense former Chelsea assistant boss Ray Wilkins has lived and breathed football for the last 35 years or so. Not only was he a key midfielder for the England National team during the ’80s but he has also been a vital figure for clubs like Chelsea, Manchester United, QPR, Rangers and Milan throughout a long and well-respected career. He retired from playing football at the end of the 96-97 season and was established as Fulham manager that same year.
In recent years he’s best known for his Chelsea connection but it’s fair to say that he’s been a part of the footballing world for a long time and as a result his opinions are always of note and are worth discussing.
In a recent interview with Yahoo Sport, when quizzed about England’s next generation of midfield talent, Wilkins chose to single out one man: Tom Cleverley.
“Tom Cleverley is the outstanding midfield talent. He was moving the ball very quickly with one-touch awareness, and he was doing exceptionally well before that nasty injury that he picked up. He has been the outstanding young midfield player this season .”
Is this fair comment? Who else is up there with Cleverley jostling it out for the position of best ‘young midfielder’ in the Premier League?
Those who’ve been watching Cleverley’s career closely wont put up much of an argument with Wilkins. It’s a testament to Tom’s affect on this United side that his injury has been the cause of a good deal of worry. There’s a similar situation at Arsenal who have been without their young midfielder Jack Wilshere and often failed to be as dynamic in midfield as they would hope.
Indeed, it strikes me that Wilshere and Cleverley are the two major talents of this new generation and provide something of a solice for England fans worried about the current state of the National side. As Jack has been injured for the entirety of this season, Wilkins is right to single Cleverley out for his contributions thus far this season. He has shown both maturity and ability beyond his age and will be a vital part of United’s midfield for years to come.
Other youngsters like Phil Jones (of whom Wilkins notes that “versatility is always helpful”) and Jack Rodwell deserve their mention (“a very talented young player who has the ability to perform box-to-box”) but it’s clear that Tom is the stand-out young performer this season.
But what’s your take? Who has caught your eye this season?
For more insight from Ray Wilkins and other leading managers plus exclusive Premier League highlights go to www.yahoo.co.uk/sport
Does it not make you mad that a reckless, vicious, tackler almost ended Cleverley’s career. God knows what permanent damage he has done to this United and future England bright star.
Sturridge has been excellent for Chelsea and without him, AVB’s job would be ten times harder, with the other strikers failing to turn up for Chelsea this season.
Welbeck was also excellent when he came on against Spain and injected immediate fear into a robust Spanish defence.
With Hart, Richards, Jones, Cleverley, Wilshire, Walcott, Sturridge, Welbeck – all coming through along with the few older players with creditability to their name (Lampard, Cole, Parker) I am genuinely very optimistic about Euro 2012.