Dont expect too much from our Academy players

[WetFlannel]

so recent examples of failed youth products mean some promising youngsters will flop, if there good enough, then thats a bonus to our team, if there not, then they'll move on... theres always the chance of the next zidane coming through our academy

[ASH17LCFC]

But since Heskey, who have we had who's had a huge impact on the team ? The best player to come out are Academy in the last 20 years has been Crown Jules and villa fooked his career up.

[Webbo]

Just because Academy players make up nearly half of our first team, doesn't mean they're good enough. It might just mean they're the best we've got and looking at our current league position you could say that our best isn't good enough.

Sorry mate that doesn't make sense.

But since Heskey, who have we had who's had a huge impact on the team ? The best player to come out are Academy in the last 20 years has been Crown Jules and villa fooked his career up.

I think most people would say Weso's had an impact on the team.

[ASH17LCFC]

Sorry mate that doesn't make sense.

I think most people would say Weso's had an impact on the team.

I meant huge impact.

[WetFlannel]

try saying all this to Cannes... theyve probaly had so many rejects at youth level then guess who turns up... Zinedine Zidane. Not that im saying we could have someone of the stature, but just to show that one player can come along any 1 minute in 50 years maybe

[ASH17LCFC]

try saying all this to Cannes... theyve probaly had so many rejects at youth level then guess who turns up... Zinedine Zidane. Not that im saying we could have someone of the stature, but just to show that one player can come along any 1 minute in 50 years maybe

Do you know leicester turned away a young stanley matthews ? Also Arsenal turned down the chance to sign a young Rudd Gullit.

[Jonbluefox9]

But since Heskey, who have we had who's had a huge impact on the team ? The best player to come out are Academy in the last 20 years has been Crown Jules and villa fooked his career up.

Yep, and the best a club like us can hope for is to produce a Heskey every now and again who does a decent job for the club and then goes on to plough big money back into the club. If we produce an extremely talented youngster we won't be able to hold on to them for long anyway.

[Jonbluefox9]

Which bit doesn't make sense mate?

[Thracian]

Just because Academy players make up nearly half of our first team, doesn't mean they're good enough. It might just mean they're the best we've got and looking at our current league position you could say that our best isn't good enough.

That's a really interesting debate.

First of all I wouldn't say our current League position has much to do with the players at all seeing they've shown already this season that they can beat top half Premiership side Aston Villa, Championship leaders Watford, local rivals Forest and draw away to previously troublesome Plymouth and Crystal Palace.

And while they might not have been pretty I'd say that, for a team that has had to cope with two new managers already this season and a much thinner squad than was actually anticipated, that is quite commendable in many ways.

Especially as our League position might look slightly worse because we have still to play a game in hand on most of our competitors and a win would put us mid-table.

The team has also had to adapt not just to the two different regimes but to two totally different systems.

And through all this have our young ex-Academy shown any signs at all that they are weaker than the seniors around them? Not at all.

James Wesolowski is officially our third highest rated player this season but I think he's been our best outfielder and the team seems to have missed something since he's been out.

Joe Mattock had a memorable bad five minutes but has been highly rated by almost everyone since his return though he doesn't seem to be mentioned in the ratings.

Alan Sheehan is officially our ninth best player. He's had two bad games in nine, been on the losing side just once, scored two goals and made one.

Some question his ability but, again, I think he's been missed in various ways and one defeat in nine gives the big lie to any suggestion that he's in any way responsible for our League position. In fact Sheehan played in - and scored - in both of our two victories this season. That's how much he's been missed.

Richard Stearman has a strangely low supporter rating but looks a rejuvenated player this season (probably people wanting the new boy in his place) but he has not only made a lot of vital interceptions in defence but shown himself to be tireless in his willingness to push forward right to the end of every game.

Porter has been largely out of it and the only other Academy player to emerge with a serious first team chance is Andy King who gave a perfectly competent performance on his debut and earned well earned praise from his manager, first team coach and captain who I imagine are the last people to give credit if it's not due. I watched him carefully and think his rating didn't do him credit because he very rarely lost the ball despite consideable pressure.

It cannot be easy for any of the Academy lads coming from a passing side into Leicester's no frills outfit with so little established passing and moving so little good movement off the ball and so little focus on attack. All are used to attacking in numbers with movement all around them and someone to deliver proper free-kicks.

But far from thinking these people aren't good enough - I think there are much bigger question marks.

Like people who don't pass the ball quickly and calmly enough out of defence, who cannot see passes early enough in midfield and don't have the control to execute them anyway, people who fail to support fast enough or often enough, people who don't get into the penalty box enough and strikers who don't score enough goals or constantly fall over/lose control and therefore fail to keep enough of our moves going.

Don't get me wrong. I feel that EVERYONE has made a worthwhile contribution to our cause in difficult circumstances - but the real reason we've had such a disappointing start has nothing to do with our young players' ability and reliability.

It is because of people who should have known better signing too many players, many of them sub-standard, and the monstrous upheaval that made those irresponsible actions even worse.

And through it all our young players have just got on competently with their jobs.

Instead of having their ability questioned they should be congratulated. each and every one, for doing so much to keep us from embarrassing ourselves and for helping taking us to the last 16 of the Cup, against a team we lost to at home last season.

In fact there's quite a few results already which were better than last years.

We've lost twice this season in nine games yet lost twice in the first two matches last season and the fact we've drawn so many is down to tactics and lack of adventure rather than any lack of ability.

Just two or three class players - and not in positions currently occupied by ex-academy players - and we'd be a decent side. We could build soundly from there. We don't want another boat load of just anybody's.

We need to shed some.

[Jonbluefox9]

That's a really interesting debate.

First of all I wouldn't say our current League position has much to do with the players at all seeing they've shown already this season that they can beat top half Premiership side Aston Villa, Championship leaders Watford, local rivals Forest and draw away to previously troublesome Plymouth and Crystal Palace.

And while they might not have been pretty I'd say that, for a team that has had to come with two new managers already this season and a much thinner squad than was actually anticipated, that is quite commendable in many ways.

Especially as our League position might look slightly worse because we have still to play a game in hand on most of our competitors and a win would put us mid-table.

The team has also had to adapt not just to the two different regimes but to two totally different systems.

And through all this have our young ex-Academy shown any signs at all that they are weaker than the seniors around them? Not at all.

James Wesolowski is officially our third highest rated player this season but I think he's been our best outfielder and the team seems to have missed something since he's been out.

Joe Mattock had a memorable bad five minutes but has been highly rated by almost everyone since his return though he doesn't seem to be mentioned in the ratings.

Alan Sheehan is officially our ninth best player. He's had two bad games in nine, been on the losing side just once, scored two goals and made one.

Some question his ability but, again, I think he's been missed in various ways and one defeat in nine gives the big lie to any suggestion that he's in any way responsible for our League position. In fact Sheehan played in - and scored - in both of our two victories this season. That's how much he's been missed.

Richard Stearman has a strangely low supporter rating but looks a rejuvenated player this season (probably people wanting the new boy in his place) but he has not only made a lot of vital interceptions in defence but shown himself to be tireless in his willingness to push forward right to the end of every game.

Porter has been largely out of it and the only other Academy player to emerge with a serious first team chance is Andy King who gave a perfectly competent performance on his debut and earned well earned praise from his manager, first team coach and captain who I imagine are the last people to give credit if it's not due. I watched him carefully and think his rating didn't do him credit because he very rarely lost the ball despite consideable pressure.

It cannot be easy for any of the Academy lads coming from a passing side into Leicester's no frills outfit with so little established passing and moving so little good movement off the ball and so little focus on attack. All are used to attacking in numbers with movement all around them and someone to deliver proper free-kicks.

But far from thinking these people aren't good enough - I think there are much bigger question marks.

Like people who don't pass the ball quickly and calmly enough out of defence, who cannot see passes early enough in midfield and don't have the control to execute them anyway, people who fail to support fast enough or often enough, people who don't get into the penalty box enough and strikers who don't score enough goals or constantly fall over/lose control and therefore fail to keep enough of our moves going.

Don't get me wrong. I feel that EVERYONE has made a worthwhile contribution to our cause in difficult circumstances - but the real reason we've had such a disappointing start has nothing to do with our young players' ability and reliability.

It is because of people who should have known better signing too many players, many of them sub-standard, and the monstrous upheaval that made those irresponsible actions even worse.

And through it all our young players have just got on competently with their jobs.

Instead of having their ability questioned they should be congratulated. each and every one, for doing so much to keep us from embarrassing ourselves and for helping taking us to the last 16 of the Cup, against a team we lost to at home last season.

In fact there's quite a few results already which were better than last years.

We lost twice this season in nine games yet lost twice in the first two matches last season and the fact we've drawn so many is down to tactics and lack of adventure rather than any lack of ability. Just two or three class players - and not in positions currently occupied by ex-academy players - and we'd be a decent side. We could build soundly from there. We don't want another boat load of just anybody's.

We need to shed some.

I was playing devil's advocate to be honest but fair play for the detailed argument.