Can West Ham’s class of 2009 really eclipse the old guard?

Football FanCast columnist Lewis Doe thinks Harry
Redknapp was right by saying the current youngsters at West Ham are not in the
same league as the ones during his spell at Upton Park. 

Under the management of Harry Redknapp, West Ham United produced some of the
finest English talent that this country has ever seen. Joe Cole, Michael
Carrick, Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand among others, all developed into
world-class prospects that went on to play for bigger clubs. 

These players have defined an era of English football and it is difficult to
see how the current crop of academy products at West Ham will even get close to
the same level. 

West Ham's current boss, Gianfranco Zola, is reaping the fruits of arguably
the best academy system in the country. The likes of Mark Noble, Freddie Sears,
James Tomkins and Jack Collison have all come through the ranks, but it is hard
to see how the class of 2009 will better the Redknapp era. 

As reported in the Mirror, Redknapp said: "The youngsters now will never be as great as the ones I produced. When
I was at West Ham, we produced six great kids that went on to play for England.
I was asked whether the current crop could compare with the ones I had and my
answer was 'no chance – never'." 

"It's great to see kids coming
through. Noble has a great attitude and is a good player who loves playing for
West Ham. Tomkins and Sears as well. They have good kids there. But comparing
them to the great generation of the 1990s, it's not possible – they were so
good, worldclass players, all of them." 

It will be difficult to draw serious comparions until the Zola generation
has been given enough time to brand their style of play on the current game.
Collison and Tomkins have both already played at international level, but
neither have enjoyed the success experienced by those born under
Redknapp. 

Zola stresses the basic logical points that apply to any youngster playing
at the highest level of the game. He said on the Sky Sports: "Maybe Harry has
more experience than me and can see forward more than me. But I believe
everyone owns their own destiny. I believe that if my players have the attitude
they can become important players. If they push themselves hard and believe in
what they do they will go beyond the limits that people are putting on them
now." 

There is no dancing around the fact that Redknapp was incredibly lucky to be
in charge of such a talented group of players. He is probably correct in his
prediction that there will never be another group like it.  

The signs for West Ham are positive. To
consistently churn out good players shows they are doing something right, but
to get a better crop than Redknapp's would be something quite phenomenal.