Ex-Arsenal academy boss and Barcelona assistant Jonker says Premier League managers must show ‘guts’ and gamble on kids
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ANDRIES JONKER is desperate to see more English teams gamble on their academy products - but admits he doesn’t have the solution.
The Dutchman, 57, knows all about the pressures clubs are under after spending three years as Arsenal’s academy manager.
He worked with the likes of Joe Willock, Bukayo Saka and plenty more youngsters who are now enjoying first-team football at the Emirates or elsewhere.
But Jonker wants more faith placed in the players clubs have invested so much into.
Sitting down with SunSport at his current club Telsar, he said: “What we developed is unbelievable for English standards. Iwobi, Maitland-Niles, Nelson, Willock, Saka, McGuane, Smith Rowe. Come on, those are some nice players.
“It's very nice to see them get chances. In England those 92 clubs develop a huge amount of players. But where do they go? They do not play them.
“They escape to Holland and Germany. They develop themselves and then the English clubs think, 'Let's bring them back!' It's catastrophic.
“Why do Jadon Sancho and Reiss Nelson have to go out and back? I don't have the solution.
“I believe the English need coaches with the guts to give English boys a chance. But I understand. When you can buy a foreign star for £30million, you don't take a risk on an 18-year-old homegrown player.
“It is still possible to build a really good team based on your own academy.”
Jonker references Ajax, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, who all conquered Europe with most players from the local area.
He continued: “It is possible to buy a team and win the Champions League. Yes you can buy like Manchester City. They play for money and go.
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“But I strongly believe if you want to be successful in the longer period, you have to raise them yourself. That needs time but you can do it. Do you have the guts?
“England will always have the most money but to keep an eye out for your own talent would be very beneficial for English football.”
Part of the problem is the gulf between Premier League 2 matches in front of easily-pleased fans, and the intense, sometimes toxic, atmospheres in the Football League.
Jonker added: “Those matches are played for 200 people, never 15,000, there is no real pressure. It's not about the result, it's about development.
“Although it’s a relaxed environment at Telstar, we still want to win. If you don't perform, you won't play. We want to win, we have to win.”
WORK OF ARTETA
Jonker oversaw a redevelopment of Hale End during his Arsenal days but realised being in an office was not what he wanted.
With Mikel Arteta in charge, he is confident the club is in good hands, especially for the youngsters.
Jonker said: “It’s never a one-man show. The staff who worked with the boys daily were outstanding. In a short period, we did a really good job altogether.
“Arteta started his training career at Hale End. He said to me, 'Can I do something here?' His little boy was playing. He has an interest in young players.
“I always thought I would become a technical director but I found out whenever I’m in an office, after a few months I think, 'The sun is shining, the boys are outside, the balls are outside. Let me do that.'
“Big parts of the facilities at Hale End are my ID and came from my head. It is very nice to see it being developed but it is nicer to develop Marcus McGuane and Charlie Gilmour. Working with players is what I enjoy most.”
In the world of top football, some players think, 'As long as I get my salary, it's fine.' That's not the case here. When they get their salary, they cry!
Andries Jonker
By his own admission, Jonker was not a “top player” but few can produce a CV like his.
It was during his time as Louis van Gaal’s right-hand man that the Amsterdam-born coach worked with some of the best players in a generation, firstly with Barcelona for seven months from July 2002 and then Bayern Munich between 2009 and 2011.
He said: “It was Victor Valdes, Puyol, De Boer, Reiziger, Mendieta, Cocu, Xavi, Iniesta, Luis Enrique, Kluivert, Overmars.
“At Bayern, Butt, Lahm, Van Buyten, Demicheles, Badstuber, Contento, Alaba, Schweinsteiger, Muller, Tymoschchuk, Pranjic, Gomez, Olic, Klose, Ribery, Robben. Outstanding players.”
Thomas Muller has become a stalwart for Bayern and Germany over the past decade. But Jonker deserves so much credit.
At an open pre-season training camp in 2009, the Bayern players stayed on the pitch afterwards as the 7,000 fans ran on for autographs.
Jonker explained: “Muller is standing there. Nobody knows who he is, nobody is interested in him.
“I said, 'Go and take a shower. Make sure in one year, everybody wants your signature.'
“One year later, Thomas Muller is top scorer at the 2010 World Cup for the German national team.”
In that time, Jonker worked relentlessly with the forward, teaching him how to play on the right in Van Gaal’s front three.
Muller immediately understood and never went out of the team.
The manager added: “He has this quick vision. He's not the most skilful player but in his understanding and vision, phwoar such a good player.”
Jonker’s elite-level coaching career which includes nine years in various roles at the Dutch FA, though, is intertwined with spells at smaller professional Dutch clubs: Volendam, MVV, Willem II and now Telstar.
TELSTAR SHINING BRIGHT
At this stage of life, returning to the Netherlands suits him and he relishes the challenge of working with the smallest budget in the Dutch second division.
He rejected offers from around the world, from the Middle East to China to South America. But after experiencing life at the very peak of world club football, could Jonker be tempted back again?
Jonker said: “It's nice to be back here. It's simple. There's not many people around, nobody telling you what to do, no big media circus.
“If there is anything on my pathway even nicer than Telstar, I'm open but it must be a good project.
"There are clubs where I wouldn't go. It doesn't matter what they pay me, I won't go because I don't like it.
“After Barcelona, I am either going to work at the same level, which is almost impossible, or lower. After Telstar you can't go lower before amateur football. I just make the transitions and explain more.
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“In the world of top football, some players think, 'As long as I get my salary, it's fine.' That's not the case here. When they get their salary, they cry!
“One way or another, the real top and the bottom have the same dedication and motivation. In between, it's different.
“It's still about two goals, scoring, winning and losing. It's the same game but the worlds are completely different.”
Marcus McGuane fell out of love with football at Barcelona before Telstar loan
EXCLUSIVE By Joshua Jones
MARCUS McGUANE fell out of love with football during his time at Barcelona.
So he took himself to the team with the smallest budget in Holland’s second tier to rediscover his passion for it.
But while initially a loan from the five-time European champions to Telstar, a humble club in the north of the Netherlands, may seem a strange move, it was exactly what he needed.
Andries Jonker, who worked with McGuane during his three years as Arsenal academy manager, came to the rescue.
The Dutchman was named Telstar manager last summer, brought in fellow ex-Gunner Charlie Gilmour then handed McGuane his lifeline.