The General C. Krulak Thread XV

[David_Nab]

With youth player's you have to factor in not just who makes the grade but who we sell on.A player might not make the grade at Villa but that doesn't mean that the time and effort both club and player have put in will go to waste.We have done pretty well IMO at selling on player's we have brought through the ranks which has helped us to invest in new players for instance the sales of Steve Davis and Luke Moore covered the purchase of Dunn.

[pablopicasso_10]

of the players mentioned by the general, i think that 3 of those will make it as first teamers or squad players (could be argued that all 3 are currently squad players)...

delfouneso, albrighton and clark... the rest, will be shipped out in the next few years.... 3 players from the academy at such a stage though, would be phenominal...

below them, i can only see gardner and possibly siegrist coming into first team contention...

[pauliewalnuts]

With youth player's you have to factor in not just who makes the grade but who we sell on.A player might not make the grade at Villa but that doesn't mean that the time and effort both club and player have put in will go to waste.We have done pretty well IMO at selling on player's we have brought through the ranks which has helped us to invest in new players for instance the sales of Steve Davis and Luke Moore covered the purchase of Dunn.

Good point. One player like Davis, or Cahill, sold at 5m must fund the acadamy for a decent spell of time.

[Concrete John]

Whether it's seen as a money making device or for the development of our own 1st team players, the Villa youth set up is very good and simply HAS to be taken as a positive.  Viewing it as anything other than that is just daft, IMO.   

[Mazrim]

Of course it is. And as I keep saying, its the best and most prudent avenue to success. If we have to rely on buying players its not only a bad business plan but we're not likely to get anywhere with clubs with lavish finances and more so called "prestige" trumping us for the players we'd need.
Dont try and beat them at their game, beat them at yours.

Its always better to produce your own and buy if you need to.

[Monty]

It is no coincidence that the two most consistently good teams in Europe over the past few years, Man Utd and Barcelona, are also two teams with two of the best youth systems in the world (Barca's is literally the best).

[dave.woodhall]

It is no coincidence that the two most consistently good teams in Europe over the past few years, Man Utd and Barcelona, are also two teams with two of the best youth systems in the world (Barca's is literally the best).

How many regular first teamers have Manchester United brought through over the past 14 years?

[VillaZogmariner]

It is no coincidence that the two most consistently good teams in Europe over the past few years, Man Utd and Barcelona, are also two teams with two of the best youth systems in the world (Barca's is literally the best).

How many regular first teamers have Manchester United brought through over the past 14 years?

Depends what you consider as regular Dave.

Off the top of my head I can only think of Brown and O'Shea. Does the 14 years also count Beckham, Scholes, Neville, Neville, and Butt though?

I see the point you are making though, they do seem to be considered as having an excellent youth set up, and promoters of youth, but it only really applied during that golden period 1995-1999.

[Monty]

It is no coincidence that the two most consistently good teams in Europe over the past few years, Man Utd and Barcelona, are also two teams with two of the best youth systems in the world (Barca's is literally the best).

How many regular first teamers have Manchester United brought through over the past 14 years?

Well I was speaking about their old golden generation and now this one coming through, but the point is taken.

[Villa'Zawg]

It is no coincidence that the two most consistently good teams in Europe over the past few years, Man Utd and Barcelona, are also two teams with two of the best youth systems in the world (Barca's is literally the best).

How many regular first teamers have Manchester United brought through over the past 14 years?

Depends what you consider as regular Dave.

Off the top of my head I can only think of Brown and O'Shea. Does the 14 years also count Beckham, Scholes, Neville, Neville, and Butt though?

I see the point you are making though, they do seem to be considered as having an excellent youth set up, and promoters of youth, but it only really applied during that golden period 1995-1999.

Gerard Pique 

[Concrete John]

Fletcher, O'Shea and Brown.  All decent enough PL players, but not of the quality where they'd go out and buy them in the market.

[JUAN PABLO]

Hi General,

I have a family of Chavs that live next door to me and make my life a misery wih their loud music, parties and drugs flowing..

when my 5 year old son proudly wears his villa shirt kicking a ball in the garden, they shout over the fence to him Villa wanker.

any chance of you nuking the house..

kind regards

[Mazrim]

Isn't that a bit excessive?

Simply have the general drop a kinetic energy munition (A bomb like a big piece of concrete dropped from high altitude) through their roof. It will localise the damage and allow you to keep your property intact.

[peter w]

Sorry tpo be off topic here but woith regards to that Man U youth glut of players in the mid - 90s, they were very lucky to have so many top players all together at the same time who mostly went on to play aqt international level, and were at the very top of their profession. The success or otherwise of that time cannot be used as a parallel as it was a one-off, and its got Man U to where they are today. If we have even one of the players the General mentioned coming through to be a regular it will have vindicated our youth set-up.

[dave.woodhall]

It is no coincidence that the two most consistently good teams in Europe over the past few years, Man Utd and Barcelona, are also two teams with two of the best youth systems in the world (Barca's is literally the best).

How many regular first teamers have Manchester United brought through over the past 14 years?

Well I was speaking about their old golden generation and now this one coming through, but the point is taken.

One of the great myths of football is that Manchester United have this conveyor belt of talent coming through their youth policy. In reality, since the 1995 lot (which was probably the best crop of kids any club has ever produced) they aren't up to much.

If you can bring through two who play for your first team or get sold to a club at that level every two years you've done well. In the past decade Villa have produced Gabby, Cahill, Steven Davis, Gardner, Ridgwell and arguably Luke Moore. Have I missed any out?