Trevor Birch - Meeting with the Academy on Friday

[TonyAgana]

Personally I'd like to see our scouting network improve at identifying youngsters, lower league players with potential and overseas players, I think we could be alot better at this.

Not if that isn't what the manager is asking the scouting network to research.

 

[SwissBlade]

Why, at a time when we've been told we need to make cut backs, do we want the scouting network extended to foreign markets?

I understand the lower leagues, but surely foreign markets other than where we have Blades staff in Europe(Hungary, Belgium and Holland?) its better to focus on our strengths?

If you also look at the signings we've made and the players we've brought through, a lot of them have been youngsters

 

[shorehamview]

We could perhaps have a policy of no permanent signings over the age of 25, for want of a number to pluck out of the air. This might perhaps show that we are a forward thinking club, always willing to give youth a chance, and the only old players we sign would be short term loans. It's a strange step to be sure, but makes more sense than signing loan players left, right and centre.

 

[Nick Jansky]

If we were to start playing lads from the Academy on a regular basis, it could just halt, or at leat contain, what might otherwise be a big slump in attendances next season.

I remember the days when the side contained the likes of Mitch Ward, Dane Whitehouse, Carl Bradshaw, with the likes of Tony Battersby & John Reed knocking on the door of the first team.

OK it wasn't so long ago, but it was a very different era with hindsight. Since then, everybody became fixated with the Holy Grail of PL money, and look where that can lead....

If we put out a team of youngsters that the crowd can identify with, and get them playing attractive football without fear, I think we would achieve the cost cuts that we obviously need in the short term, whilst giving the fans something that they can identify with & really get behind. With a greater deal of acceptance if we are not challenging for automatic promotion.

Would require a different manager though, KB is definitely not the man for that.