From as far back as the early seventies, when Clyde Best became a regular in the West Ham team, former England international Alan Hudson has recognised the football talent produced in Bermuda.

A few years ago, when he was last in Bermuda, Hudson got another look at local talent when he saw the Bermuda team in action. Now he is on the Island again to pass on some vital tips to youngsters when he helps conduct a clinic next week at the National Stadium, along with former professionals Harry Redknapp and Frank Lampard.

This is the second year for the clinic. Just under 50 youngsters took part last year and organisers are expecting between 60 and 70 to sign up this year.

Last year, 11-year-old Adam Connolly received an invitation from Redknapp, the current West Ham manager, to attend the West Ham School of Excellence later this summer. If successful the talented midfielder will get the chance to progress through the Hammers' youth programme.

"The younger these kids get to England the better,'' Hudson stressed. "When I was over here last time I was very, very impressed with your national team and it's a shame that more of them can't go over at a younger age. "The longer they stay here the more they pick up, through no fault of their own, bad habits. Although he's not Bermudian, Dwight Yorke (Trinidad international at Aston Villa) reminds me of the kind of talent that comes from here.

"He went to England at an early age and now it's paying dividends. Now he is one of the best players they have.

"Someone took a chance and now he's turned out as good as anybody. I think if some managers came here and had a look at the local talent then they would take a chance.'' Hudson, then at Chelsea, remembers playing against Best during the 1970s. The two later faced each other in the North American Soccer League -- Best in Portland and Hudson in Seattle -- and then played indoor together for six months with the Cleveland Force in 1981 and soon became good friends.

Hudson is looking forward to seeing Best again. Best, appointed on Tuesday as the Bermuda Football Association's new Technical Director of Coaching, will also be at the clinics in between a coaching course put on by the BFA.

Foreigners help improve soccer Chelsea manager Ruud Gullit has signed a number of foreign players for his club and it paid off last month when they won the FA Cup. Hudson thinks such a move is good for the game.

"I really enjoyed playing in America for the simple reason that you were playing against so many different nationalities,'' said Hudson.

"That has been brought into the England game which can only be good. At the end of the day if Joe Public is paying good money to watch matches then they deserve to see the best.

"With the likes of Zola and Juninho they are some of the best talent in the world and if you are paying 50 ($75) to watch a match then you deserve to watch the best.'' Hudson was considered one of the best talents to emerge in England in the early 1970s, but players of his type were considered too much of a luxury for the England team, players like Stan Bowles, Charlie George and Frank Worthington, Tony Curry and even present manager Glenn Hoddle.

These days he is a jounalist in London, writing columns for the Sporting Life and the Evening Sentinel, based in Stokee-on-Trent. Hudson played for Chelsea for ten years before joining Stoke City for a then record fee of 250,000. Nowadays the asking price for even the average player is often in excess of 1 million.

"At the end of the day it doesn't reflect how good a player is,'' said Hudson, who points to England captain Alan Shearer as one player who has justified the world record fee of 15 million ($23 million) which Newcastle paid Blackburn last summer.

"He really has lived up to his fee,'' Hudson said. "The amazing thing about Shearer is he had a good Euro 96, otherwise he could have been bought before that competition for about 8 million.