Liam Brady is a legend. Forget Henry and Bergkamp, this mercurial Irish midfielder was a genius. I was gutted the day he left the Arsenal for Italy. I interrupted an inter-railing holiday to see him play in Italy in a friendly; I fumed when he returned to London with Wham and scored against us at Upton Park minutes after we’d given him a standing ovation.

His goal at White Hart Lane when we thumped them 5-0 needs no introduction. One of the archetypal moments in a North London Derby. Given the part he played in my footballing education believe me I take no pleasure in writing the following paragraph.

He should be sacked.

He was appointed Head of Youth Development back in 1996 and David Dein famously said at the time he had the cushiest job in football. His ten year mission was to nurture and produce our future. Twelve years on and just what has rolled off the Arsenal production line overseen by Brady?

Ashley Cole! And he joined in 1997! Since then he has brought along players like David Bentley and Steve Sidwell only for them leave before getting a chance.

Instead his role has been usurped by Steve Rowley and his network of scouts snapping up schoolkids round the world. A policy that has seen us snare Cesc Fabregas and Carlos Vela it’s true but what about the much vaunted young players who come through the ranks?

Not only do the kids get shunted aside by the imports but along come players like Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott and Luke Freeman and that first team suddenly seems further and further away.

We are left pinning our hopes on Jack Wilshere. Poor kid.

You could say that Brady has failed in his duty as explained by Dein back then. But on the other hand, with the club laughing all the way to the bank after collecting on Bentley’s transfer to the Totts, perhaps he has proved his worth.

He gives players who aren’t really good enough an Arsenal education then the club sells them at a profit.

Jakarta Casual writes a blog on Premier League matters. It can be read here