Where did our youth prospects go?

[robbiez666]

I woke up in the middle of the night yesterday and was reading through Deadbat's 15-16 report and it struck me just how many talented youth players we had then.

We had Adams, Brooks, DCL, Ramsdale and even the likes of Whiteman, Reed, Dimaio, and Khan. Not to mention Diego.

Today, the only player who looks anything like close to being ready at the level we're at is RND. Slater is a bit lower down in the pyramid.

We seem to have a lot of talented players at U-18 level but I wondered what happened to the generation between under 18s and U-23 of the last 4-5 seasons?

I remember we used to play stuff our development squad with U-18s, did that backfire on us?

It just seems strange when a club takes an intake in every year for the vast majority of them to quietly disappear.

 

[Chabuddy G]

I woke up in the middle of the night yesterday and was reading through Deadbat's 15-16 report and it struck me just how many talented youth players we had then.

We had Adams, Brooks, DCL, Ramsdale and even the likes of Whiteman, Reed, Dimaio, and Khan. Not to mention Diego.

Today, the only player who looks anything like close to being ready at the level we're at is RND. Slater is a bit lower down in the pyramid.

We seem to have a lot of talented players at U-18 level but I wondered what happened to the generation between under 18s and U-23 of the last 4-5 seasons?

I remember we used to play stuff our development squad with U-18s, did that backfire on us?

It just seems strange when a club takes an intake in every year for the vast majority of them to quietly disappear.

We’ve progressed so fast as a club it’s almost impossible for an academy to keep up. That seems to maybe be changing now.

 

[Gavlar]

I woke up in the middle of the night yesterday and was reading through Deadbat's 15-16 report and it struck me just how many talented youth players we had then.

We had Adams, Brooks, DCL, Ramsdale and even the likes of Whiteman, Reed, Dimaio, and Khan. Not to mention Diego.

Today, the only player who looks anything like close to being ready at the level we're at is RND. Slater is a bit lower down in the pyramid.

We seem to have a lot of talented players at U-18 level but I wondered what happened to the generation between under 18s and U-23 of the last 4-5 seasons?

I remember we used to play stuff our development squad with U-18s, did that backfire on us?

It just seems strange when a club takes an intake in every year for the vast majority of them to quietly disappear.

The best ones were flogged and the worse ones never really made it, aside from Louis Reed has had a modest lower league career so far.

 

[BettingBlade]

We’ve progressed so fast as a club it’s almost impossible for an academy to keep up. That seems to maybe be changing now.

I reckon this has been true for other areas as well as the academy. It’s not necessarily a bad thing because it shows how well we’ve done as a club but I think you could probably pinpoint that as one of the reasons for our current predicament as well imo.

 

[Snake]

The best ones were flogged and the worse ones never really made it, aside from Louis Reed has had a modest lower league career so far.

This.............................

Everton saw the potential and developed DCL into a top player. Adams is looking like he could be a half decent lower prem player. Brooks we sold for around £11.5m so I'm not knocking that. I still think he's too injury prone and lightweight to make it at the top level. As for the rest (inc Ramsdale unfortunately) they are just bread and butter players at best.

 

[BettingBlade]

This.............................

Everton saw the potential and developed DCL into a top player. Adams is looking like he could be a half decent lower prem player. Brooks we sold for around £11.5m so I'm not knocking that. I still think he's too injury prone and lightweight to make it at the top level. As for the rest (inc Ramsdale unfortunately) they are just bread and butter players at best.

I think if Brooks shakes the injuries he could be DCL level. Just hope the reputation of injuries doesn’t follow him throughout his career. You only have to look at McGoldrick to see that if a player can shake those injuries, he can go on an unbelievable run of form.

 

[robbiez666]

We’ve progressed so fast as a club it’s almost impossible for an academy to keep up. That seems to maybe be changing now.

Yeah, I guess so. It just feels so odd that I can't really think of any of the same generation of players as RND other than Slater and Smith

 

[Yogi]

I woke up in the middle of the night yesterday and was reading through Deadbat's 15-16 report and it struck me just how many talented youth players we had then.

We had Adams, Brooks, DCL, Ramsdale and even the likes of Whiteman, Reed, Dimaio, and Khan. Not to mention Diego.

Today, the only player who looks anything like close to being ready at the level we're at is RND. Slater is a bit lower down in the pyramid.

We seem to have a lot of talented players at U-18 level but I wondered what happened to the generation between under 18s and U-23 of the last 4-5 seasons?

I remember we used to play stuff our development squad with U-18s, did that backfire on us?

It just seems strange when a club takes an intake in every year for the vast majority of them to quietly disappear.

The next group so to speak was largely dismantled under Adkins deemed not good enough and moved on. The remaining players from that crop who were older were then moved on by wilder your Diego’s Terry Kennedy’s and CJ Hamilton’s for example. Then a younger group was promoted up the stand out player from that group was the young centrehalf who’s name escapes me but wilder moved him into the first team squad immediately on arrival and was talking him for a first team start and then came that absolutely disgusting tackle against Leeds he was out for 9 months never recovered and we moved him on to a Scottish championship club.

Then came another crop out of which RND looks to be at least a championship player and Tyler smith and Regan slater look to have futures in the pro game which isn’t a bad output for any crop of youngsters.

This current group looks good but most wont make it, some will have pro careers and very very few will ever wear the red and white in a meaningful way it’s just the way it is. For any generation of youth player to produce a large number of championship/prem players it has to be truly exceptional.

 

[robbiez666]

I also wonder whether, if we do go down, we'd be interested in bringing Whiteman Back. He seems to be having a good season.

 

[robbiez666]

The next group so to speak was largely dismantled under Adkins deemed not good enough and moved on. The remaining players from that crop who were older were then moved on by wilder your Diego’s Terry Kennedy’s and CJ Hamilton’s for example. Then a younger group was promoted up the stand out player from that group was the young centrehalf who’s name escapes me but wilder moved him into the first team squad immediately on arrival and was talking him for a first team start and then came that absolutely disgusting tackle against Leeds he was out for 9 months never recovered and we moved him on to a Scottish championship club.

Then came another crop out of which RND looks to be at least a championship player and Tyler smith and Regan slater look to have futures in the pro game which isn’t a bad output for any crop of youngsters.

This current group looks good but most wont make it, some will have pro careers and very very few will ever wear the red and white in a meaningful way it’s just the way it is. For any generation of youth player to produce a large number of championship/prem players it has to be truly exceptional.

I completely forgot about Semple

 

[Yogi]

I completely forgot about Semple

That’s the one such a shame because damn he looked good. Another one that’s just popped into my head remembering how semple used to school George hirst is we had our own George hurst who I think went back down south to Oxford city as we couldn’t provide him with the level of education to match his ambition as I seem to remember him being a seriously bright kid. He was the lad whose dad directed the tv show vikings.

 

[Yogi]

I also wonder whether, if we do go down, we'd be interested in bringing Whiteman Back. He seems to be having a good season.

I’d like to see us try and make him into a Basham type player he certainly has the physicality to for it and quite a similar game.

 

[Wards]

I don’t think the revolving door policy at Shirecliffe helped but it finally seems to be getting its act together now. Obviously it’s much easier to attract better talent when your in the PL rather than L1 too, even if the ‘pathway’ becomes significant narrower.

 

[Bergen Blade]

I’d like to see us try and make him into a Basham type player he certainly has the physicality to for it and quite a similar game.

Better passer and has a good shot. Considered one of the best midfielders in League One. I don't think he'll play in that division for much longer.

 

[COYB1988]

Hopefully we hold onto antwoine hackford as he looks like he will be the next DCL

 

[Bladeinleeds]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Looking back there’s no way we would have sold Adam’s, DCL or ramsdale for what we did. But it did help pay for some of our promotion pushes.

for every young player like DCL that makes it there’s a slew that we sell at the right time.

I do think it’s time we made an effort to get the academy producing again. I’d rather spent millions trying to develop and have one less summer signing to be honest

 

[EddieColquhoun]

Yeah, I guess so. It just feels so odd that I can't really think of any of the same generation of players as RND other than Slater and Smith

Ball_Sup (Phil) might be able to help.
Oli Greaves was doing well until he had a bad injury and now he's without a club. Jordan Doherty is at Tampa Bay. Jordan Hallam is at Scunthorpe. Harvey Gilmour is at Stockport.
Eastwood, Dewhurst, Graham and Parkhouse are all out on loan and hardly playing.
CW was obviously not happy with the set-up and has changed the personnel.

 

[Bladesman]

The crap ones got let go and the good ones got sold.

Same as always.

 

[Deadbat]

We are the only academy in the Prem League that is not Category 1. The only club. Even Burnley and Leeds have now got it. We have facilities and coaching that is prob more lower Champ/league 1. We won't attract the better players at youth level sadly. We might be better than Weds etc (See 3-0 hammering at u18s) but most other Prem League teams have national and international scouting even at youth level that blows ours away. We are fishing in a small pond at the moment.

Until we are Cat 1 with better facilities and invest way more we aren't going to see the type of talent come through we would want. We may get the odd one of course. Most Prem teams have 10-12 development players on loan at champ/lg 1/European clubs.

We have RND and then Slater and Smith who can't get in the Hull and Swindon sides.

This side of the club is a long way behind even average Prem clubs.

 

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

That’s the one such a shame because damn he looked good. Another one that’s just popped into my head remembering how semple used to school George hirst is we had our own George hurst who I think went back down south to Oxford city as we couldn’t provide him with the level of education to match his ambition as I seem to remember him being a seriously bright kid. He was the lad whose dad directed the tv show vikings.

Wasn't that Horatio?

 

[Yogi]

Wasn't that Horatio?

Yep my mistake.

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

The next group so to speak was largely dismantled under Adkins deemed not good enough and moved on. The remaining players from that crop who were older were then moved on by wilder your Diego’s Terry Kennedy’s and CJ Hamilton’s for example. Then a younger group was promoted up the stand out player from that group was the young centrehalf who’s name escapes me but wilder moved him into the first team squad immediately on arrival and was talking him for a first team start and then came that absolutely disgusting tackle against Leeds he was out for 9 months never recovered and we moved him on to a Scottish championship club.

Then came another crop out of which RND looks to be at least a championship player and Tyler smith and Regan slater look to have futures in the pro game which isn’t a bad output for any crop of youngsters.

This current group looks good but most wont make it, some will have pro careers and very very few will ever wear the red and white in a meaningful way it’s just the way it is. For any generation of youth player to produce a large number of championship/prem players it has to be truly exceptional.

Callum Semple

Edit - sorry didn't read far enough down the thread to see that had already been answered

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

Deadbat makes the main point. Our First Team are playing in their Top Tier - the Premier League. Our Academy are playing at their Third Tier - U18/U23 Professional Development League.