Our Academy... What is the point?

18MFC76

Well-known member
I've thought it for a long time but this is one aspect of the club that really needs looking at. It must cost an absolute fortune to run the academy and for what? 99.9% of the kids in our academy don't get a look in. Yes there's the odd one (Tav, Fry etc) but on the whole it is massively underused.

If we had a first team full of top top players you would think fair enough but time after time our youngsters are being cast aside to make way for bang average experienced players who often cost the club silly money (Assombalonga and Saville prime examples).

Yesterday just summed the whole situation up for me. We have absolutely nothing to play for. Half of these first teamers are already on their holidays. Surely yesterday was the time to blood some of these youngsters? Now I'm not saying these youngsters are the answer, but how will we ever know if we don't give them a chance? At this stage of the season we should be getting the most highly rated players not just from the under 23's but from the under 18's and giving these lads a go. Who would you rather see at this stage of the season? A bang average first teamer going through the motions or a young kid with his big chance and everything to prove. It's a unique situation where there's also no crowd in. So they don't have the added pressure of playing in front of 20,000 people. To not take advantage of that situation is criminal for me and very very frustrating.

Why is Archer getting a game over Brynn? Why are Malley and Hackney getting overlooked when our midfield has been poor for weeks. There's a highly rated youngster in the Under 18's Kavanagh. Just give him a go! The kid was linked with top clubs so he must have something about him. He can not do any worse than Akpom, Assombalonga etc. To not bring Coburn on and opt for Assombalonga who Warnock has already said won't be here next season is baffling to say the least.

It just feels to me that we're getting this all wrong.
 
My criticism is of the whole organisation. When appointing a manager it should be a prerequisite that he is at least going to look at the players at younger levels and watch some of their games. There seems a massive gulf between the first team and the academy. Like I say if the first teamers are performing week in week out then fair enough but they're not. So to not take a closer look at what we've got coming through the ranks is strange.

Yesterday i blame Warnock, he had a great opportunity to take a look at these kids and he didn't take it. Why?
 
Fry / Spence / Coulson / Tav have all been pretty consistently involved (although spence came from Fulham). Wood played a few games.

Pears was first choice for a longtime. I'd say by many clubs standards that's a pretty decent amount? I would imagine an average champo club will maybe have 1 or 2 academy starting.
 
My criticism is of the whole organisation. When appointing a manager it should be a prerequisite that he is at least going to look at the players at younger levels and watch some of their games. There seems a massive gulf between the first team and the academy. Like I say if the first teamers are performing week in week out then fair enough but they're not. So to not take a closer look at what we've got coming through the ranks is strange.

Yesterday i blame Warnock, he had a great opportunity to take a look at these kids and he didn't take it. Why?
Ok fine. You say the whole organisation but then lay it at the managers door. I dont think the Academy is at fault. The U17 have just reached the PL Cup Final!
 
Fry / Spence / Coulson / Tav have all been pretty consistently involved (although spence came from Fulham). Wood played a few games.

Pears was first choice for a longtime. I'd say by many clubs standards that's a pretty decent amount? I would imagine an average champo club will maybe have 1 or 2 academy starting.

Fry and Tav are probably our two best players and should be the first names on the team sheet. Coulson hasn't really had much football this season despite showing massive promise the season before. Spence has been in and out and Pears was sold and replaced with someone who is a far worse goalkeeper.

I just think yesterday's game in particular has frustrated me. There should have a number of youngsters making their debuts in the first team yesterday. It was the perfect opportunity. Coburn has been on the bench for weeks and we've been watching the likes of Akpom and Assombalonga have no impact on the game. What are we waiting for? Give him a chance.
 
The Academy has always had a number of functions.

We, as fans, just want to see first team players produced for us and rightly so. Part of the Academy's remit is to produced professional footballers, and if that isnt with us then at other clubs and another part is to bring in funds for the club. Since it opened in 1998 in its current guise we have done that in spades with the likes of Downing, Johnson, Gibson etc going for big money.

Just 6 months ago the likes of Josh Coburn were a million miles away from being ready for a first team squad place. Hes had a brilliant season, and come on leaps and bounds with training with the first team. The likes of Josh and Kav need carefully managing though, and cant just be thrown in as it could work totally the other way.
 
"Because the majority are nowhere near ready for first team football yet".

How do we know that though? None of them have been given the opportunity. You cannot tell me a striker somewhere in our academy can't do a better job than Assombalonga. I'm sure we would get a bit of effort which is more than we're getting out of Assombalonga right now.

Like I say I just feel that at this stage of the season with nothing to play for it's a perfect opportunity to give highly rated kids a go but we're not doing it. Hopefully this will change in the remaining games.
 
Yes I am saying that. Like it or not Assombalonga has scored nearly 50 goals for us, albeit with all his faults and foibles. We dont have a striker in the Academy who could come in and do that now. Hopefully with the right nurturing and management we will have at some point in the near future.

The likes of NW and Craig Liddle will know a lot better when these kids are ready. Im as impatient as anyone to see them given a chance, and Im sure we'll see glimpses in the remaining games.
 
You say it could work totally the other way. But you could turn it around and say it could also be the making of them. It's about taking a gamble and giving kids an opportunity.
 
You can't just throw a bunch of kids to the lions as a protest against the senior players.

You have to think long term, I'm pretty sure I've read about Warnock watching and taking an interest in the u18s and 23s so I'm sure he's aware of what's what.

If/when tav & fry are sold they will cover the running costs of the academy for a long time. The problem is not the academy, the problem is the recruitment of senior players.
 
Yes I am saying that. Like it or not Assombalonga has scored nearly 50 goals for us, albeit with all his faults and foibles. We dont have a striker in the Academy who could come in and do that now. Hopefully with the right nurturing and management we will have at some point in the near future.

The likes of NW and Craig Liddle will know a lot better when these kids are ready. Im as impatient as anyone to see them given a chance, and Im sure we'll see glimpses in the remaining games.
I'm talking about the here and now. Not about what Assombalonga has done since he's been here. Right now he is going through the motions and does not look like scoring in a month of Sunday's. There is no way he should be getting picked over likes of Coburn right now.
 
You say it could work totally the other way. But you could turn it around and say it could also be the making of them. It's about taking a gamble and giving kids an opportunity.

Not always. Like I said, there are more people involved like Craig Liddle, who will know a lot more whether players are ready than any of us.

Coburn's a big lad, a great prospect, but I can just see now if he doesnt make an immediate impact. Its happened already with the likes of Sam Folarin earlier in the season.
 
Someone posted yesterday that it was good to see young players on the bench. I didn't understand that, and I still don't. If you have no intention of playing someone, then don't put him on the bench. All that achieved yesterday was pi****ng off a few good young players who sat and watched as Assombalonga, who hasn't cared for 2 seasons, goes on, wanders about for 20 minutes and walks off again.

If you put yourselves in that position - I'm going to put you on the bench, but you won't play - wouldn't that hack you off absolutely and completely? If it was me, I'd think "there's no point in being here. I'm not valued. They'd rather Assombalonga - who doesn't care a jot - than me. If I'm serious about wanting to be a footballer, I'm out of here".
 
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