Ex Liverpool star and football pundit Alan Hansen’s famous Match of the Day quote 'You cannot win anything with kids' is over twenty years old and has gone down in football folklore.
Hansen criticised then-Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson after his young side lost 3-1 to Aston Villa on the opening day of the 1995-96 season.
Fergie's team of youngsters included David Beckham, the Neville brothers, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt and as most football fans know all too well, the kids were able to wrestle the title back from Blackburn Rovers, and also win the FA Cup, securing the first of what was to be two consecutive double-winning seasons, a feat never before seen in English football.
The big clubs began to blood young players in the early rounds of the FA cup and let them compete every round in the League Cup as a way of gaining valuable competitive match experience.
Fergie’s great rival over the years , Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, has now suggested that Premier League teams can no longer expect to progress in the FA Cup by playing youth-team players especially against Championship sides.
The Gunners boss says he will name an experienced team for the fourth-round clash against Burnley on Saturday as he is keen not to lose a second consecutive game following defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League.
Wenger’s Arsenal team have won back-to-back FA Cup finals over the past two seasons, but suffered a humiliating and comprehensive 3-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup in October. "I will play quite an experienced team," he told reporters "We have learnt something this season, we went to Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup and got quite a severe defeat," he added. "We have to show we have learnt from that.”
"Second, we want to do well in the FA Cup and you don’t want to miss an opportunity when you play at home against a Championship team and you don’t win with kids any more unfortunately against the Championship teams. That’s it."
Last seasons FA Cup fourth round was arguably one of the most remarkable in the history of the competition, Premier League title holders Manchester City went out to Middlesbrough and eventual league title winners Chelsea were humbled by Bradford City.
Maybe Wenger is right that in this day and age it is too risky to chuck the kids in at the deep end and expect them to swim, but surely talent is what is most important not age. I know experience and an older cooler head is needed at times, but then the cockiness and willingness to try the impossible comes with youth.
Hansen's statement was to famously inspire a t-shirt slogan that became popular with the Old Trafford faithful. One thing is for sure is we are in for more treats and hopefully shocks in today’s FA Cup fourth round, maybe even more moments to inspire t-shirt slogans.
Source: DSG
