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ramadaone

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Posted

The Academy team that is

Just a bunch of young lads, no over paid big time charlies, and playing proper football on the deck.

Where does it all go wrong ?

Really no over paid charlie in an Academy team? At least we've got something right, not like all the other teams across the globe over paying their young lads etc.

We've scouted and brought in some seriously talented young lads under the noses of the bigger teams, if you think we're not paying over the odds for them even at that level you've got to kidding me.

Posted

I think the 'we've got a great youth set-up' argument is just a fallacy predicated on the assumption that being top of the academy league actually means anything - which it doesn't.

Since Heskey graduated to first team football in 95/96, we've seen two players* emerge with anything near Premiership quality - Stearman and King (who is untried at that level, and is arguably a Chelsea product anyway).

The fact that only two have emerged is not entirely down to 15 years of short-termism; its simply the fact that they (and therefore our set-up, scouts and coaches) aren't good enough. If they are good enough at 17/18, they would be in or around the first-team squad. Simple as. A league-topping academy team is white elephant; basically a team full of eighteen year-old nearlys and maybes, overgrown kids ready fall off the treadmill into the laps of Telford and Kettering.

When this tedious fawning over the youth team starts up, I always cite the England U21s as the archetypal team of underachievers - joint top-scorer ever for the Eng U21s? Francis Jeffers. Until recently, one of the top three most capped U-21s? David Prutton. That's what our youth team has always been - full of kids that didn't grow up quickly enough.

If we aren't going to rip it up and start again, we may as well not have an academy. Rudkin etc have been on a meal-ticket for too long - no first team manager would have survived for so long on so little output.

If you don't agree - show me clear, empirical evidence to the contrary. Where are the top-flight pros that we've let go......? **

Billy McKay? Lee Cox? Levi Porter? Luke O'Neill?

I wait with interest to see how Bolger and Parkes progress. Perhaps they aren't any worse than what we've got? But certainly no better.

Do me a favour. Get rid of the whole set-up and just recruit harder and better from the lower leagues.****

* Happy to be proved wrong on this brief headcount.

** Anyone who says Joe Mattock will be ignored and have all future opinions voided.

*** Ignore Schlupp - too soon to tell, and yet to score an 'important' goal for City. My nan could score against Derby.

**** I'm trolling a little bit. Maybe.

Posted

Crewe have amazing success with their academy. They give them a go at a very young age, instead of letting them fester in the youth teams. Yesterday Nick Powell, a fixture in the team this season, scored 2 fantastic goals from midfield and got an assist. He's scored a number already, and it's been reported that Prem clubs are already taking an interest. Their winner was scored by late substitute Max Clayton, another youngster, who's scored 4 goals so far. What do they have in common? They are both just 17.

People will say "it's only div 2" but, all things being equal, our academy should be able to attract players with greater potential. If our interest in the play-offs becomes untenable, and as long as we are safe from relegation, I would love to see some of our younger talents given a go from the bench.

We really must find a better way to progress players from our academy, or we might as well just let it fold, as has been suggested. Does anyone have any opinion on how this could be done, apart from stealing Crewe's academy setup?

Posted

Another win this morning for the lads against Fulham 3-0 so they remain top of the league

Fulham included 9 players that they have bought / paid compensation for so even at this level you can't buy the league

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