Do we need a change in rules?

[Foxy]

It's no wonder England's progress with youngsters is limited is it?

Suddenly Walcott is a superstar from scoring 1 hat-trick, having left Southampton to sit in Arsenal reserves. Still at least he's had the odd game and his "status" means he's picked for England.

Something which seems to happen to many youngsters, big clubs snap them up from other academies, only for them to sit in further obscurity than if they'd have continued their development with their previous clubs.

The latest of ours, is Lee Askham, who is currently trying to secure a permanent deal at Manchester United.

What can we possibly do when clubs like Man U and Chelsea can afford to throw money at youngsters with us having little say in the matter?

Still, at least Askham hasn't nailed his colours to the mast just yet ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y091p2ep3w

 

[Greasy Chip Butty]

He's not that good anyway, could never get past me

 

[keenzy]

all good fancy tricks and what not, but hows he going to do when morgan is steaming at him?

 

[beightonblade]

Aye we do need a change in the rules not that one though.............
what we need is a rule change that no team is allowed to score against the Blades, cause we need all the help we can get !

Where a these loan players ?..............got lost ?.............or was it just Wobble Gob bollox ?

 

[Foxy]

Where a these loan players ?..............got lost ?.............or was it just Wobble Gob bollox ?

Two of them have had a change in circumstances.

We weren't helped by Cattermole on Saturday.

Apparently there are still a few "irons in the fire".

 

[metalblade]

Back on topic - if he's so good why isn't he in our first team squad.

 

[Come from away]

It would be helpful to have some rules to 'protect' our younger players to ensure that those who do the development get something out of it.

 

[Linz]

The thing with a lot of these kids is that they think they should be world beaters at 17 years old and that a move to a club like Manyoo will secure them that.

The reality is on the most part, that they are too small to play with fully grown men until they hit that growth spurt at about 19/20 years old. The lads in the reserves are pushing 20 but some of them still have a way to go before they can challenge physically with the men they are playing against.

If we want to keep him, knock him up to reserve level. He'll either get kicked around a bit and decide that youth teams are where he should be contented for a bit or he'll impress to the extent that he puts himself in the frame for a youth team place.

It's alright cocking about with kick ups... but it doesn't make you a world beater when it comes to a match.

 

[metalblade]

The choice is fairly simple stay with a championship club and push for a first team place or jump ship to a Premiership club and stagnate in the youth and reserve teams, anyone think we'll see Mellis running out for Chelski anytime soon NO and Askam won't be taking Ronaldo's shirt in the next few years either.

The reality is on the most part, that they are too small to play with fully grown men until they hit that growth spurt at about 19/20 years old. The lads in the reserves are pushing 20 but some of them still have a way to go before they can challenge physically with the men they are playing against.

I can't agree with that if your good enough your old enough but i can see where you coming from the emphasis now is on the physical rather than the technical attributes but still other clubs put lads of 17-18 into the first team last season Colin was playing a kid of 16 for Palace. I would say the reason for our academy players pushing 20 and still not breaking into the first team is down to a few things like the huge squad we've had over the last few years and because basically they are crap all we seem to produce is league 1 talent. If clubs like Ipswich can produce young kids good enough for the first team by the time they are 20 I don't see why we can't. Think about it we have 18 year olds man enough to be in Iraq or Afghanistan.

 

[Linz]

I can't agree with that if your good enough your old enough but i can see where you coming from the emphasis now is on the physical rather than the technical attributes but still other clubs put lads of 17-18 into the first team last season Colin was playing a kid of 16 for Palace.

All I can comment on is what I've seen from watching the youth and reserve teams at the Lane for the past few years. Whilst technically the players seem all there, players such as Kyle Naughton and Nicky Travis only recently seem to have the presence to keep the ball and do what they want with it without getting hacked in two.

In the FA youth cup a few years ago, the lads had an amazing run against kids of their own age. Put them in the reserves and they were subjected to a few batterings... not through want of trying or a lack of skill but simply because they were bossed out of the game.

I would like to see more of the younger lads played, but the minute they don't do something right, they'll be subjected to a slagging and this is more likely to happen if they're knocked off the ball all the time.

If the players have patience, then there's always the chance that they'll get a run in the team. But there's nothing we can do if they want to be getting first team football in the lower leagues or if a big club can afford to pay £2million on a youngster who might never properly develop. We definitely shouldn't play our academy players just for the sake of playing them.

It'd be interesting to see what Bladesmum says about the academy, seeing as Ben Starosta has been out on loan for a while now.