Tom Oldfield
Manchester United’s youth system shot to fame back in the early 1990s as Sir Alex Ferguson unleashed his fledglings on the Premier League. Success soon followed as United took the league by the scruff of the neck and marched relentlessly onwards, leading to the historic Treble in 1999.
But, besides the brilliance produced by the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and David Beckham, not to mention the Neville brothers and Nicky Butt, a few other points are worth remembering.
One of these is the noticeable absence of any young strikers coming through the ranks. While Giggs was tormenting full-backs; while Scholes was weaving pretty patterns with his passing in midfield; while Gary Neville was keeping wingers at bay…where were the strikers?
We have even seen Ben Foster, a superb young goalkeeper, burst through in recent years. This further illustrates the glaring lack of front men that have been produced by the United youth set-up.
And this leads me to Fraizer Campbell and the possibility of him changing this trend.
Campbell has been touted as a future star by Eric Harrison, the man who uncovered the likes of Giggs and Scholes, but the jury is still out on whether he can cut it at the highest level.
He is just 20 years of age but the United coaching set-up have monitored his progress very carefully.
He spent the 2006/07 season in Belgium with Royal Antwerp – United’s affiliate club. The whole experience was a vital part of his development as a player and he netted 21 goals in just 33 appearances. It is never easy to move to a new country and have an instant impact, yet Campbell did just that.
United were keen to examine the progress that the striker had made in Belgium and he participated in the club’s pre-season ahead of the 2007/08 campaign. An injury to Wayne Rooney in the team’s first Premier League fixture of the season against Reading and a three-match suspension for Cristiano Ronaldo saw Campbell pushed up the pecking order.
In fact, as a result of Rooney and Ronaldo being unavailable, the youngster earned his first United appearance. Campbell came off the bench in the second half of the Manchester derby but could not prevent the Reds losing 1-0.
However, with the big names making imminent returns, Sir Alex was aware that Campbell would not be getting many first team minutes at United. Therefore, in October he sent the youngster to Hull City to give him another taste of regular action. He could not possibly have imagined the impact that the striker would have.
Few people had tipped Hull to have a successful campaign. The club had finished 21st – one place above the drop zone – in the last campaign and preserving their Championship status seemed to be the key goal.
Yet the quality of their football was fantastic as they stunned a string of opponents and surged up the table. Campbell’s arrival was crucial for Hull. He added the vital commodities of pace and clinical finishing to a team that already possessed plenty of creativity and earned himself an England Under 21 call-up in the process.
The home fans were immediately won over as Campbell bagged a brace on his home debut against Barnsley. His movement caused panic for opposition defences, allowing others to exploit the gaps, and he formed a fearsome partnership with local hero Dean Windass.
The terms of the loan deal meant that Campbell was only due to remain at the KC Stadium until mid-January. But Hull manager Phil Brown worked desperately to make sure that the youngster stayed at the club until the end of the season.
And it paid dividends. The Tigers went very close to sealing automatic promotion, missing out narrowly on the last day to Stoke. But Campbell and company put that disappointment behind them and blasted their way into the Premier League through the playoffs.
Campbell’s tireless running helped Hull win their tie with Watford, setting up a playoff final against Bristol City at Wembley. It was an emotional day as Windass’ wonderstrike clinched victory and Campbell could reflect on his influential role in sealing promotion. He finished as the club’s top scorer with 15 goals, despite only arriving in October.
After the victory over Bristol City, Campbell told Sky Sports: ‘This is exactly why I came on loan. Coming to Hull has been the best move of my career and hopefully I can use this experience to make myself a better player.’
Now the question remains: does Campbell have a future at United?
He traveled with the club for the pre-season tour of South Africa but it is unclear currently as to what role he will play at Old Trafford this season.
Hull have made no secret of their interest in signing (or loaning) the striker but must wait to see whether Sir Alex deems Campbell surplus to requirements with Rooney, Carlos Tevez and possibly Dimitar Berbatov at his disposal.
It is an intriguing situation and United fans are divided over whether the striker should remain at the club or seek pastures new. Some feel that the Championship is the right level for him and that the top flight will prove too tough. Others believe he could finally be the striker from the United youth system to break into the first team.
Either way, Campbell has a huge season ahead of him. Whether he is wearing the shirt of United or Hull, expect to see him among the goals.
