Aston Villa Reserves/Academy games & information

[Percy McCarthy]

That would be the one someone mentioned earlier in the thread, Lyden was it?

Fair play to you coming all that way for a Next Gen game Fred. See you both Saturday?

EDIT; yes, Jordan Lyden. Shame it's not John.

[ADVILLAFAN]

Thought Burke had a great game, clearly MOM. Scored his goal very nicely and after that every time we did a great pass it was him putting it through.

Drennan took the 2nd well too. Thought Grealish was quite good.

Our right-back struggled a bit.

Yep Burke had a very good game, put some lovely balls through their defence, shows he has an eye for a pass.  He did however miss a glorious opportunity to score.  The right back I think I heard them say is actually a right midfielder who was filling in so perhaps he can have some leeway.  The other player he caught the eye was the No.4, an aussie (forget his name) who slotted into midfield and knitted it all together with ease and composure.

Lyden I think.

[FourOaksVillan]

Yes - number 4 on Wednesday was Jordan Lyden

[villajk]

        

Dear Pauline
I’m delighted to inform you of the Club’s achievement in securing Category One status for our Academy following an independent audit of club youth development programmes, which forms part of the Barclays Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP).

This is an accolade we can truly be proud of, especially as the Aston Villa Academy emerged No.1 out of every Academy in the country. It is a reflection on the dedication, support and commitment and also the investment in the Academy by the Chairman, Randy Lerner, chief executive Paul Faulkner, the many staff members and support staff and indeed the Club itself. The absolute effort of everyone involved has culminated in this distinction.

The independent audit delved into such criteria as productivity rates, coaching provisions, quality of facilities and education and welfare provisions. The audit conferred upon clubs a Category status of ‘One’ to ‘Four’ – ‘One’ being the most elite. The benefits of securing this status are manifold but the central funding by the Premier League – greater than ever before in youth development programmes and totalling £300million across the country – is significant.

Just as significant, too, is the fact that under the new rules the Club will be able to recruit any player aged 14 and upwards from anywhere in the country. This will be in addition to local talent we recruit, who will join a distinguished group including Gabby Agbonlahor, Mark Walters, Tony Daley, Darius Vassell, Nathan Delfouneso and many others. The full-time education component will enable us to school young players and provide a greater amount of coaching hours to enable them to develop into really elite players.

From 1998, the year that the Premier League’s Academy system was established, through to the 2010-11 season, some 145 players came through the Aston Villa Academy. Of these, 51.7% have played in the Premier League, the Football League or a top league overseas or remained in the Academy. Some 17.2% have played in the Premier League alone and 26.2% in the Football League or a top European league. In the same period we have helped to produce 15 full internationals, as well as many more underage internationals, all of which is testament to the investment we, as a Club, have made in the development of young players.

While we have achieved considerable success at Reserve and Youth team level – and we are progressing well again in this season’s NextGen Series – the most important element will always remain the development of individuals to become Premier League players. We need only look to players who are flourishing presently in our first team squad – Gabby, Ciaran Clark, Andy Weimann, Barry Bannan, Marc Albrighton, Chris Herd, Gary Gardner and Nathan Baker. Naturally, our aim and indeed our challenge will be to maintain and improve when we can our production record and to assist the first team manager with young players coming through the system. We try to do things the right way at Aston Villa and our Academy is a vibrant symbol of the values we espouse.

The continuity and dedication of the staff here is a vital ingredient and the sustained support by the Chairman, chief executive, full-time staff, part-time staff, coaches, physios and support staff has been paramount. The new system will create greater access to players and we will remain fully committed to creating the right environment in which they can strive to excel. Clubs have had to produce facilities the quality of which are far beyond all expectation and belief, even only 10 years ago, with swimming pools, hydrotherapy pools, the highest standard of pitches, etc, now considered essential requirements. The Bodymoor Training Ground embodies these standards overall and it is with immense pleasure that I can relate to you how our Academy continues to lead the way into what we all hope will be a bright and productive future for the Club.

Yours faithfully,



                    This email has been sent to all season ticket holders who have registered their email address with the club.
If you would like to register your email address to receive future mailings, please call 0800 612 0970.
If you do not wish to receive emails of this nature, please unsubscribe.

[Percy McCarthy]

Best in the land, along with our anti-racism policy and our corporate facilities. Well done to everyone who has contributed.

The people running the club have had some stick lately, but they're getting an awful lot right for which they should be congratulated.

The best thing is, some of our graduates are really starting to show signs of real quality. I fucking love this club.

[Brend'Watkins]

I wonder how many other clubs in the country have this Category One status?  Having the pick of the best current 14 year olds from anywhere in the UK is quite encouraging.

[Legion]

The coaching team in charge of the U-11s are abysmal.

[rjp]

It's definitely something to be proud of but there is a darker side to this.  This article for example starts out very well.  The noses have been assessed at category 2.  However it goes on to quote chairmen from lower leagues saying that this is a ploy from the big clubs to allow them to cherry pick the best youngsters at a fraction of the price they'd have to pay at the moment.  There's also some suggestions that it could make academies at lower level clubs uneconomical and that some clubs will do away with them.  I'm all for doing everything we can to increase our competitiveness but I'm not comfortable if that means pushing smaller clubs to the wall.  If it's more than just scaremongering from these chairmen then I think it's an example of very short term thinking from the Premier League.

[Mazrim]

The coaching team in charge of the U-11s are abysmal.

Why? Based on what?

[Legion]

Based on the fact that I go and watch them every Sunday.

[Mazrim]

And so what makes you think they are abysmal? I'm not arguing with you as I don't watch them, just looking for more detailed explanation.

[Legion]

The lack of any actual coaching or instructions during the game. The lack of interest shown. The use of mobile telephones for text messaging when the game is in progress. The lack of development shown by the players. The players not being told what they are doing right/wrong.

[Legion]

On a more positive note, when Ben Petty and Mark Delaney were more actively involved with them last season they were the bees-knees.

[Mazrim]

That sounds a bit rubbish to be honest. Maybe the club should be told?

[Legion]

And so what makes you think they are abysmal? I'm not arguing with you as I don't watch them, just looking for more detailed explanation.

Just re-read what I wrote in a rush earlier today. Apologies if I came across as being an arse.