Youngsters come first as Blades plot new direction

No matter the outcome at Old Trafford, how hard the Blades work to keep their young stars at the club could determine their destiny over the next few years.

It is John Pemberton’s job to persuade the likes of Harry Maguire, Jordan Slew and Callum McFadzean to continue their education at Bramall Lane and the Academy chief is eager for the club to reap the benefits long term.

The last Yorkshire team to reach a Youth Cup final – Middlesbrough in 2004 – went on to net the Riverside club more than £28m.

Sheffield United have already reaped £10m from the sale of Kyle Walker and Kyle Naughton two years ago.

But with this current crop, chairman Kevin McCabe and Academy manager Pemberton want to keep hold of their young stars as long as they possibly can.

Pemberton has a burning desire to prove wrong those who say coaches without management experience are not deserving of a chance to manage football clubs.

But for the immediate future, the youngsters come first for the former FA Cup finalist with Crystal Palace.

He wants the youth team’s footballing ethos that has been the hallmark of their cup run to be replicated in the first team as Sheffield United attempt to bounce back from relegation to League One.

“If you’re going to progress you have got to do something different,” he says. “Look at all the teams in the play-offs this year, they all play football.

“This club is tarnished with the way they play, a certain type of player they buy, and that’s a problem. I was part of it, I played for Dave Bassett. He went for players who had hearts as big as buckets.

“At Leeds United I became a better player because I played with good players.

“Hopefully, the fans appreciate what we are trying to do and that this club is ready for a change of direction.

“We’ve started the process in the Academy and, hopefully, we can take it right the way through. This philosophy has to go into the first team. If not, what’s the point in the Academy doing what it is doing?”

Among the strengths he believes will help the Blades bridge the gulf in class to Manchester United tonight, is a determination to play football that will help facilitate that sea change over the long term.

“Technically, our players can pass a ball, they’re not embarrassed with a ball at their feet,” he says. “And they don’t give in. We don’t have any big-time Charlies.

“The players have got a spirit and they want to play for this club. We probably just don’t have that strength in depth that United have got.

“This job is all about nurturing talent. One of the things the lads have struggled to deal with is the success.

“I spend a lot of time working with the parents, trying to implement things like discipline and nutrition. It’s no point them getting in the car to leave training with a diet plan tucked under their arm and going straight to McDonald’s.

“Parents have more time with these kids than we do. So we want the parents to be part of what we’re doing.”

If changing philosophies at Bramall Lane may be difficult, convincing chairmen that a depth of knowledge outside management positions is ample experience for the top jobs in football, is becoming a source of frustration for the 46-year-old.

“I have coached six-year-old kids, youth teams, development teams, reserve teams and I’ve worked with England Under-19s,” continues Pemberton, whose work with the youth team has been greatly appreciated by McCabe, a factor that may count against him if he were to enter the race for the vacant first-team manager’s job.

“If my forte is to work with young kids then so be it. But I would like to think I would make a difference at any level I would go into.

“What drives me insane is when people say of coaches ‘they’ve got no managerial experience’. But some first-team managers are experienced people who have worked at a lot of different levels and they’ve studied the game.

“Does somebody who has managed Lincoln for 12 months and been sacked, have more experiencee than someone like me who hasn’t managed but has been involved at certain levels? I think it’s nonsense.

“How much experience had Brendan Rogers had before he went to Watford? How much experience had Brian McDermott had when he went to Reading? How much experience did Gus Poyet have? He’s got loads after coaching at Leeds and Tottenham.

“They’ve got unbelievable experience and knowledge from working at different levels in the game. And now they’re sought after.

“I’m not crying out for someone to give me a chance. I’m just sick of people saying you don’t have any experience.

“It’s wrong to say because I’ve not managed at any level you’re not going to get a chance. So what clubs do is pass the same managers around. It’s just ridiculous.”

What Sheffield United need is continuity; of players, of staff, of principles.

The best thing to emerge from the FA Youth Cup run may be that Pemberton is the man to deliver that.