Free Agents vs. Development

[WhiteJag]

For those I haven't interacted with, I'm new to FCC and to English football in general so forgive my ignorance.

In the NFL, it's widely known that a successful winning team is built through the draft, what seems to be the equivelent of the U21's, U18's, etc.  Could the same be said of English football clubs or do the successful teams shell out big money to bring in the talent from around the world?  I'm not expecting a black and white answer by any means, just trying to understand the dynamics of this league.

Thanks

WhiteJag

[Northern Cottager]

Most success is bought. The likes of Man City and Chelsea have spent fortunes on players, wages etc. Arsenal have spent decent amounts but promoted more up and coming players but haven't seen the same success ad Man City and others. Man United have always spent well.

Clubs like Southampton did very well with a mixture of their youth and some experience from outside.