Recognise that man? No, I thought not (well, maybe the few ardent West Ham fans amongst you might...). This man is Tony Carr, the current Director of Youth Development at West Ham United Football Club, and the man credited with producing talent that has earned West Ham up to £80m in transfer fees over the last 10 years, and a group of players forming the backbone of the England squad for this year's World Cup in South Africa.
Think Tony Carr, and these are some of the names you should be thinking... Frank Lampard, current England captain Rio Ferdinand, his predecessor John Terry, Jermaine Defoe... and others.
The other most well-known players of the list -Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Glen Johnson, along with the others already mentioned, have 345 international caps between them, and are all expected to be in Fabio Capello's squad for this summer.
You may hear more about Carr in the coming days, as he has been rewarded for his services to the East London club with a testimonial, featuring the players he has helped to nurture and turn into some of the biggest names in English football.
Think Tony Carr, and these are some of the names you should be thinking... Frank Lampard, current England captain Rio Ferdinand, his predecessor John Terry, Jermaine Defoe... and others.
The other most well-known players of the list -Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Glen Johnson, along with the others already mentioned, have 345 international caps between them, and are all expected to be in Fabio Capello's squad for this summer.
Carr's philosophy is not one as complicated and intricate as you may think, commenting: "The ethos of the football club has always been to produce the best local young talent that they can attract. Although it's getting tougher, we are still trying to maintain that ethos." The 61 year old Carr is known for his values of hard work, discipline and fun, and these are surely all things that have helped and aided the career of so many top class footballers.
Having joined the West Ham academy in 1966 as a young and upcoming striker, cleaning the boots of 1966 legends Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, his career was unfortunately ended due to a bad injury. His personal loss, though, was West Ham's gain, as he joined the club's staff as a youth coach in 1973.
One thing is for sure though. If England finally break their 44 year hoodoo this summer, Tony Carr could certainly play a big part.
One thing is for sure though. If England finally break their 44 year hoodoo this summer, Tony Carr could certainly play a big part.
i am a fan of this crouch :) just got back from his match and zola was the best player out of them all :p
ReplyDeletebut yeahh good read seems as so your pretty good at this writing stuff :)
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