Some hope for a team here. What do you think?

So says Phil McNulty - interesting read here. Money quote about the youngest English star on show:

Wilshere is a slight figure and only made his reserve team debut in February, but the buzz surrounding him is already spreading beyond north London, and make no mistake Capello will know his name.

He has been likened to a young Liam Brady - praise indeed and an early sign of the weight of expectation on his shoulders.

Coaching at the top level in global futbol is an interesting thing. Some coaches have a knack for it from the start, others grow into the role and others never make it. I have been thinking a lot about coaching these past few weeks, in part due to the issues at Spurs but also as we see Jose Mourinho continue to build a strong side at Inter and Arsene Wenger to lead his young Gunners to victory over the wily old fox Fergie.

Looking around the top leagues in Europe it is hard to say what common traits these top coaches share - after all Cap, Scolari and Arsene don't seem to share a lot in common at first blush. I thought it would be easy to identify what common traits they have by listing the top group - here is what I cam up with:

Jose Mourinho, Sir Alex, Trap, Cap, Wenger, Big Phil, Rafa...who else?

That may be it - if you want to expand to the young coaches making a name for themselves you could argue for the inclusion of Klin, Carlos Q and even Jol. But that is about it.

SO what do they have in common - not a lot as far as I can tell. These top coaches have different styles, approaches to the game, temperaments and tactics.

So why are they so successful?
You tell me!

UPDATE: I should have asked whether their involvement in the game as players (or not) has any impact.

Young midfield prodigy John Bostock - just 16 - is on the bench for tonight's UEFA Cup clash against Dinamo Zagreb and Harry Redknapp insists he'd love to see more of our youngsters follow him onto the first-team stage.

The England youth international who made his Championship debut as a 15-year-old at Crystal Palace has already enjoyed a taste of first-team action here when he joined the squad for our pre-season training camp and featured in all three friendlies in Spain.

He has impressed new boss Harry in training and now gets his chance.
"John has terrific talent and I've been impressed with one or two of the other young lads so I'd like to get into a position if we could and the game is going our way to introduce one or two of these kids," said Harry.

"I'd love to get them on the pitch.

"John is a good young player with plenty of talent. We've seen plenty of good 16-year-olds and he certainly is a special young player, he has terrific ability but how far he goes will be up to him. It's how hard he and the other young kids want to work at their game

"He's a left footer. He is still learning the game and he's still learning where he will play. He's got a chance and whether he takes that chance will be up to him. Whether he makes the most of his ability depends on how hard he wants to work. He looks the type of lad who will want to work, but only time will tell.

"He's a nice kid, but he's one of several good kids here. This has been a club that has produced home-grown players over the years. Perryman, Hoddle were fantastic, so let's hope there are a few more coming out of this youth team now.

"I'm only just getting to know the kids, watching the reserves the other night, there were some lads I hadn't really seen too much of, a lot of them are new to me. I'm looking forward to seeing them, pushing them on into the reserve team as quick as we can and then from there, who knows?"

I was thrilled this weekend when my lads beat Liverpool 2-1 - we are showing a lot of heart to play to the final whistle. Pava, the game winner, made the point:

"I noticed as early as the 80th minute that Liverpool’s defenders were getting tired and losing concentration and we tried to capitalise. The fact that our team plays until the very last minute is good.

"The second half was wonderful. I am ready to play in games like that with Arsenal or Liverpool every day. That is real football. It is fantastic what happens in such matches in England. I feel a part of something important for everybody."

I wonder if this is Juande's fitness training combining with Harry's man management? Whatever it is - let's keep it going!

Ah well - no one is perfect Lewis. Congratulations anyway!