Off Topic: The Bias for Home-Grown Players

Like the cult of "positive football", another bias I do not understand is the one in favor of growing your own players. Many seem to feel that teams who use players that came up through their youth system are morally superior to those who trade for players.

Not only do I not understand the argument in favor this, it seems quite reprehensible to me. Why should teams be showing preference to players that come through their youth system as opposed to those from elsewhere? It certainly isn't a players fault if they grow up in a different city or even a different country, which will limit the likelihood that they come through the youth system of <<your favorite team>>.

Similarly, why should there be a bias against players who develop later in life? The example of Edin Dzeko is apt. Not only did he grow up in another country (Bosnia) but in a system where his attributes were seen as a hinderance rather than a help. It wasn't until he secured a transfer to another league that got a real chance to prove his worth and develop.

My best guess is that people like growing players because it tends to correlate with stability: a player that comes up through the youth system of your team is likely to stay at your team for a long time. But then, let's concentrate on stability and not on growing players. And stability simply means that teams should try to acquire players that are just starting out at the top level and keep them for a long time. This can be done without any particular preference for home-grown players.

For teams, growing players is really an investment opportunity. If the youth team can turn out a strong percentage of players who go on to play at the top levels (either at that team or elsewhere), then the team will make money.

However, growing players is not even the only investment opportunity for teams. Having great scouts is another. Sir Alex has demonstrated this, trading for the likes of Wayne Rooney, Christiano Ronaldo, Chicharito, etc. while they were still early in their careers.

But of course, there is no particular reason why this type of investment has to go together with running a top-level football club. There could just as well be clubs that focus in developing players and have no professional team at all. Similarly, there could be professional teams without youth clubs. They could focus on making money by selling tickets and winning football matches. Indeed, if that is the only way the club makes money, they are, if anything, more likely to focus on results.