I think the biggest flaw in FSG's plan is that they assume clubs will stay static now that each & every move will be included in the FFP. They think that once FFP kicks in we'll have the advantage but forget that a) clubs will continue to spend FFP or not, and if you think FFP will be enforced then please tell this to Zenit who has just splashed €70m on Hulk & Witsel and b) we'll find it hard to attract the best young players available because there will be a gap between us & the top clubs which makes it difficult to convince them to join us.
Spending is not merely about buying talent. Our ambitions do not lie in cementing a mid-table place with expensive, short-term quick fixes that will only contribute for a couple of years. Our emphasis will be on developing our own players using the skills of an increasingly impressive coaching team. Much thought and investment already have gone into developing a self-sustaining pool of youngsters imbued in the club's traditions.
This part worries me, it is great relying on the club's academy to produce it, but to do you have to be at least at a great position on & off the field for it to work. When Barcelona began their La Masia project, they were reigning European & Spanish champions under Cruyff, they also won the title again at the late 90s under Van Gaal and when they hit a bit of a rough patch, they weren't afraid to spend big money on the likes of Saviola, Mendieta, Gerard, etc and when these guys failed they didn't hide and say we're waiting for the likes of Messi & Iniesta to break through, they went out & brought Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Deco, Motta, Edmilson and had an offer accepted for Beckham although he refused to join them. Their success wasn't as constant as under Pep when the likes of Messi, Iniesta & Pique became stables in the side but they managed to get two La Ligas & a European cup in return. It's also worth noting that Barcelona's statues off the pitch in Spain meant that they can take a hit on the results on the pitch and still be able to buy players while being outside the CL because they could offer wages with the only club able to offer more than them in the league being Real Madrid.
The Mancs also did something similar in the mid 90s by depending on some young academy graduates but they made sure there were stars in the side by the time they became ready for full debuts, with the exception of Giggs who played when he was 18, Beckham didn't become a regular in the United side till the 95-96 season, Gary Neville became the 1st choice right back in the 94-95 season, same as his younger brother Phil, Nicky Butt & Paul Scholes also make their breakthrough into the senior squad the same season. In essence, all the Mr Alex Ferguson's Fledglings (or whatever the fuck they were called) didn't make their senior squad breakthrough until the squad was already strong & had already two titles under their belt.
I mentioned these two examples because ultimately these two clubs are what the owners should want to aim to be, we have got some great young talents coming and you can argue that the likes of Kelly, Shelvey & Sterling already made their breakthrough while there are others like Flanagan, Robinson, Ibe, Suso, Texeira, Morgan, Adrojan, Sama, Coady, Gulacsi and others in the reserves. The main difference between our situation with the other two clubs is that the Mancs & Barcelona integrated their youngsters while they were champions or being close at the top end of the table, while we are closer to a midtable team than a top one.
I'm afraid that integrating those youngsters into the 1st team, we first need to be competing and winning stuff and thus it becomes easier for them to make their breakthrough, as their mistakes won't be noticed and there won't be enough pressure on them to perform beyond their abilities. I'm afraid that if FSG expect that we can become a top class team by integrating youngsters without spending money for the short term success that we're not going to be the team they like to be as in order for us to successful in the long term we need to be successful in the short & medium term and that won't happen without spending money. Forget about Arsenal losing players they brought through their academies because they're not winning stuff, if FSG aren't careful, I'm afraid we'd become a club like Everton or West Ham
not in stature but in the sense that once a top young player makes a series of first team appearances and impresses, they'll demand to be sold to the other bigger clubs (as I mentioned previously FSG's plan assume football clubs stay static) and we'll have no other option but to sell them like what happened with Rooney, Rodwell, Lampard, Cole, Ferdinand and co.
