Villa the potential English version of Barcelona!!

[taylorsworkrate]

Didn't Owen and Gerrard come through Liverpool's system whilst Houllier was there?

[oldtimernow]

This season really has a nightmare feel about it....the only bright thing that can be said about it is the fact that we have seen the kids get some useful experiences at a higher level.If they can remain hungry and develop into proper premier league players that will give me a great deal of satisfaction and the club a bright future.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Dreadful 'what if' fantasy article.

[Mazrim]

Piss take all you like but our youth set up is top class, improving and will eventually help to produce the best team in the land.
I honestly believe that.

[VillaZogmariner]

I found this about the 2002 Youth Cup winning side from a couple of years ago -

Villa's FA Youth Cup winning team not only achieved great glory back in May 2002 but went on to enjoy rewarding careers in the game.

Most of the Villa players involved in that two-leg final against Everton went on to make the grade professionally - a fitting testament to the club's youth academy and its coaching staff.

Everton's youngsters were less successful although a young striker called Wayne Rooney broke the mould joining Manchester United in a £20 million move in 2004.

WAYNE HENDERSON: Villa's goalkeeper whose stunning 33rd-minute reflex save denied Wayne Rooney and ensured Villa held on to their 4-2 aggregate lead. After leaving Villa he went to Brighton before being snapped up by Championship side Preston North End. He is their first choice keeper but, now 24, has missed most of this season with a back injury.

ANDREW WELLS: Released by Villa in 2003.

LIAM RIDGEWELL: Young central defender outplayed Wayne Rooney in the first leg and went to play regularly in Villa's first team. In the summer the former England Under 21 International became one of a rare breed to make move across the Second City joining Premier League rivals Blues in a £2.5 million deal.

RYAN AMOO: Joined Northampton Town in 2004 after leaving Villa and went on to date Celebrity Big Brother star Jade Goody. Currently with Lincoln City.

PETER WHITTINGHAM: "Whitts" flourished in the Villa first team making his debut in midfield against Newcastle in 2003. Now with Championship side Cardiff City and pursuing the FA Cup for real.

PETER HYNES: Now a lorry driver back in his native Ireland but enjoyed a career with Doncaster, Cheltenham and Tamworth upon leaving Villa.

COLIN MARSHALL: The 24-year-old has played for half-a-dozen Scottish clubs since leaving Villa and is now with Forfar.

STEVEN DAVIS: Became a fully-fledged Villa first-team player and attracted interest from a host of clubs including Manchester United before leaving for Fulham in a £4.5 million deal last season. The Northern Ireland International is on loan with Scottish Premier League side Rangers.

STEPHEN FOLEY: The Dublin born youngster went on to play in the 2005 FA Youth Cup with Villa only to suffer defeat at the hands of Middlesbrough before moving on to AFC Bournemouth.

LUKE MOORE: Together with brother Stefan was considered player of the tournament. Scored in the 4-1 first leg win at Goodison and made his Villa debut against Birmingham City in 2003. Still only 22 he was last night heading for West Bromwich Albion on loan with the view to a £3.5 million permanent deal at the end of this season.

STEFAN MOORE: The elder of the Moore brothers also scored in the vital first leg. Played 29 times for Villa's first team and was considered a major prospect but took his eye off his game and went on to play for Millwall and then QPR but was recently released.

JAMES O'CONNOR: Villa youngster went on to join Championship side Port Vale after impressing them during a loan spell.

MICHAEL HUSBANDS: Now 24, he enjoyed spells at several clubs upon leaving Villa including Hereford United, Bristol Rovers, Walsall and Macclesfield and now plays for Midlands side Telford United.

Now out of them players only really Ridgewell and Davis have gone on to make a career in top flight football, with Whittingham just outside.

So even out the current crop, if 2/3 manage to make it in top flight football, let alone at the Villa, then we'll have done very well indeed.

[Mazrim]

In and around that side were also Cahill, Gardner. Plus the only thing letting down the likes of Luke Moore is mental attitude, not talent. Which is also something we're getting better at.
But yes, only the cream rise to the top and it's often mental issues which hold some of the more talented players back from breaking through.
If we get two or three players from each crop that are good enough for Villa, that's an amazing percentage. And the ones that dont make it and are sold can still make good money to reinvest in the programme.

[Risso]

Piss take all you like but our youth set up is top class, improving and will eventually help to produce the best team in the land.
I honestly believe that.

No piss take, but I don't want us to become a bigger version of Crewe.  The way things are with money in the Premier League, even if we do produce a gem (say for example, Gary Gardner) then what's to stop City or Chelsea just waltzing in and snapping him up?  OK selling youngsters for big fees would fund the next crop, but is that really what we want?

[Mazrim]

No of course not. Selling our best young players is in complete contrast to a policy of developing a strong side by our own means. In that situation we would just refuse any offers. We have enough clout to. Of course, it would depend on who it was, how vital they are and what the deal was.

Crewe aren't trying to produce a team to compete at the hghest levels. We are.
It's the only way to compete for us. Otherwise we would have to compete with the likes of Man City, Man Utd, Chelsea and whoever for the best players and thats not likely to come off well for us is it?
So it leaves us one path and fortunately, its a path we're already paving handsomely.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

The 2002 Youth side were supposed to be our future, but there was so much dross.
Used to watch Ryan Amoo in the reserves, awful.

I've no doubt most of our youngsters will make it in the professional game, but for most it will be in the lower leagues.

It's very, very hard to produce your own players, so many factors are involved.
Can your talent evolve? Will you develop physically? Have you got the right attitude? Will you get a sustained opportunity?

One name - Stephen Cooke.
Many on here said he was the new Cowans, I honestly couldn't see the attraction.

[pablopicasso_10]

its already started with man utd and chelsea after jordan graham, who looks superb for a 15 year (although he turned 16 beginning of march i think)... grealish is another than is attracting attention, along with robinson... both of whom have been fast tracked ahead a couple of years...

although man utd were after delfouneso too, liverpool / inter after gardner, etc... we lost daniel sturridge to coventry years back...

some go, some dont, but one thing i am positive of, is that the current crop are very good, but in years to come, with the work that is being done with the academy, better quality players, with technical ability as standard will be coming through more often than not...

i think over the next 5-10 years these sorts of players will start coming through as standard... we have bannon, delfouneso, clark, albrighton, baker, and a couple below that, who at the moment, stand out because all of them have good technical ability... but the work being done by the academy, (ben petty for example, has 7 year olds doing nothing but pass and move, and all these young kids are comfortable on the ball with both feet), will bring through players like jack grealish and jordan graham, where they stand out even more with their technique and intelligent movement as standard, because they will also have the physical side to go along with it... graham for example is a beast for 15 years old... (thats not to say he will make it, he is an example of someone who looks like he has potential due to his comfort on the ball at the age of 15) only thing that will stop them is a poor attitude... but the quality of players will improve, and players like bannon, will not be seen as anything that special because they will have become the norm...

[Concrete John]

The thing with this is two best domestic examples of recent years are Man Utd and West Ham.  The difference between the two was that Man Utd brought their lot into a sucessful side (likes of Schmichael, Keane, Cantona) and then bought on top of it (Yorke, Cole, Stam).  West Ham didn't and the kids eventually got bought off by the big boys.

How successful we are with them and how long we keep them for is dependent on what we do alongside the emerging youth.

[Risso]

No of course not. Selling our best young players is in complete contrast to a policy of developing a strong side by our own means. In that situation we would just refuse any offers. We have enough clout to. Of course, it would depend on who it was, how vital they are and what the deal was.

Crewe aren't trying to produce a team to compete at the hghest levels. We are.
It's the only way to compete for us. Otherwise we would have to compete with the likes of Man City, Man Utd, Chelsea and whoever for the best players and thats not likely to come off well for us is it?
So it leaves us one path and fortunately, its a path we're already paving handsomely.

Unfortunately, when we've sold our best two players, two years running, it doesn't bode that well for holding onto people.  As things stand, we absolutely don't have the financial clout to refuse big offers.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Can't see Ashley, I say Ashley staying.

But i'd like all the proceeds to be spent on a replacement.

[Mazrim]

Our youth set up is barely recognisable to what it was in 2002 and it was good by standards then.
It's one area where we can genuinely say we are the best or at least one of. In England anyway. And what's more encouraging is that we've got our gaze fixed even more on 5 years down the line than we have now.

[pablopicasso_10]

although tbf risso, neither did liverpool or man utd when it came to torres and ronaldo respectively...

its unfortunate when players want to leave, but all we can do when that happens is to get the best deal for them...

although ideally, we would want to really make sure that they dont want to leave, but that is very difficult for a lot of teams, including the above...