Premier League: Ruud Gullit blames top EPL clubs for Dutch struggles
By Cay North
The Netherlands is having problems producing quality national team players, and team legend Ruud Gullit attributes it to the Premier League.
It’s no secret that the Dutch national team isn’t what it used to be. They made it to the final of the 2010 World Cup and finished third in 2014, but suffered a sharp drop-off and failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup in Russia.
There’s a number of things that their failures could be blamed on, but youth is certainly one of the larger factors. The nation just doesn’t produce as many top prospects as they did in the past, and it’s showing in their results. But why are their youth players not what they were before?
Legendary former player and current Netherlands assistant Ruud Gullit spoke with Sky Sports and blames the lack of playing time that young Dutch players get in the Premier League. He claims that the top clubs in England want to win right away, and don’t develop young players through giving them time in the first team.
When young Dutch players go to the Premier League, they don’t make it into the first team right away and this hurts their careers. Gullit also said that when players are sent to lower league clubs to get playing time, they don’t benefit from learning from the best.
"“I’ve played with Johan Cruyff and I learnt a lot from him. I don’t learn when I’m on the bench or if I go to a lower club with inferior players. So, if I go to the ‘big six’ and I am not playing with them, how do I become good?” – Ruud Gullit"
He used Nathan Ake as an example, as Ake started his career off at Chelsea and moved to Bournemouth after not finding playing time. Ake now has 25 league appearances for Bournemouth, compared to only 7 for Chelsea.
According to Gullit, a young player that joins a club like West Ham has more chances to play than one who goes to a top six club. Another example that Gullit referred to was Tottenham’s Mousa Dembele, who grew his skills at smaller clubs Willem II and AZ Alkmaar instead of joining top side Ajax early in his career.
With the best Premier League clubs relying more on expensive stars instead of promising prospects, Gullit’s advice is becoming more and more relevant for all young players, not just Dutch ones.
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Many dislike the way that the game has shifted away from developing young talent, but like it or not, that’s the style that’s here to stay. Young players from the Netherlands and everywhere else will have to decide whether they want to adapt to it, or risk being relegated to the bench.