Villa Academy dream team (managed by Bryan Jones)

[Dave]

Of that list only Cahill and Barry can be said to be great players with a record of achievement, and even then Barry isn't really our product.

I reckon Tommy Hitz's Bundesliga winners medal, half century of caps for Germany and starting the European Championship final for his country is a career he can be proud of.

[RussellC]

Our Academy is the dogs bollocks. As opposed to the first team which is just bo......

But isn't that a contradiction? If our Academy really was the Dogs Bollocks, then either the first team would be half decent, or we'd least have a load of cash in the bank, a la Southampton?

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

I did think of mentioning him too - he probably does warrant a mention on the achievement front, though his caps were won during a downturn in German national football. 

I didn't see any of his domestic career in Germany, so can only assume he turned into a much better player than he was at Villa.

[peter w]

Our Academy is the dogs bollocks. As opposed to the first team which is just bo......

But isn't that a contradiction? If our Academy really was the Dogs Bollocks, then either the first team would be half decent, or we'd least have a load of cash in the bank, a la Southampton?

Have they won the European Cup, the European cup, the European  Cup?

[LTA]

We have brought good young players through, but not everyone of them turns into a success.  I think one of the problems is that we've thrown a few of them straight into the first team, rather than going on loan to lesser clubs to gain experience. 

This fixation we had with buying young and hungry players and clearing off the old heads didn't help.

[Dave]

I did think of mentioning him too - he probably does warrant a mention on the achievement front, though his caps were won during a downturn in German national football. 

Not much of a downturn though - it still coincided with him playing for third place at a World Cup and in the European Championship final.

And it wouldn't be unfair to say that Cahill's England caps have definitely come during a downturn in English national football.