At Crystal Palace, an emphasis has always been placed on the development of young footballers coming through the academy and eventually playing for the first team.
Crystal Palace fans will know better than anyone else outside of the club that young players are given an excellent opportunity to develop and gain valuable experience whilst wearing the red and blue shirt and the biggest current example of this is that of young right back Nathaniel Clyne.
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| Nathaniel Clyne |
It was on Saturday 18th October 2008 when Crystal Palace welcomed Barnsley to Selhurst Park for an evening kick-off live on Sky Sports. When the teams were announced prior to the game, the name of ‘Nathaniel Clyne’ was unknown to the majority of supporters but the then 17-year-old was given his first professional start and appearance by manager Neil Warnock in the 3-0 win. An assured performance from such an inexperienced individual in front of the television cameras saw his names man-of-the-match and he has never looked back since.
In just under two and a half years, Clyne has now made 99 appearances in a Crystal Palace shirt scoring once, away to Reading in the 2009-2010 season. Coming through the academy instantly saw the fans warm to Clyne and he has gone onto become a fans favourite with a large number of professional performance where he has shown levels of maturity beyond his age and what would have been expected by the management. This rise to stardom has also seen him play for England at under 19 level.
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| In action for England under 19's |
Despite this amazing achievement, Clyne has had his fair share of transfer rumours surrounding him during his rise from academy product to first team regular. When Crystal Palace entered administration in January 2010, Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers made a transfer bid which was accepted by the administrators who were in place. However, the youngster turned down this move due to being promised first team football at Crystal Palace, something he may not have got if he had moved too early in his career.
In a recent interview with the South London Press, Clyne said “Getting to 100 games is a big achievement for me. I didn’t expect to be making my debut at 17 and I’ve worked my way up from the academy to where I can look at myself as a first-team regular.”
And in another interview with the Guardian, he said "I have been at Palace through the academy, through the youth team and become a first team regular and I have got my rewards. I was offered moves to other clubs but being promised first team football here was the drive to stay at Palace and learn and try and improve game by game.”
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| Playing for Crystal Palace this season |
These quotes help to show just how much staying at Crystal Palace has helped with his development and, with a future move to the Premier League almost certain for the defender, he has gained more experience and first team football than the majority of players his age throughout the country. Also, the vast majority of Crystal Palace fans would not deny him of the chance of playing football at a higher level of football and will give their blessing to any future move due to him showing a level of commitment to the club which has seen him become a fans favourite and one of the most consistent performers at such a young age. Also, the majority of fans see him as a future England right back which shows just how successful the academy is and how well they are thought of.
So if there are any young players who are looking to become professional footballers, Nathaniel Clyne is one of the biggest examples as to why Crystal Palace are one of the best choices. The club has helped him to gain experience and set himself up for a long and successful career by taking his chances when they were presented to him. In a day and age where commitment is rare in football, this story helps to show how successful young players can become if they take time early in their careers to gain the experience needed to push on in the future and grow as a footballer.
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| Clyne after scoring his first professional goal against Reading |
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