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Author Topic: Reserves and Academy 2020-21  (Read 99161 times)

Online Brazilian Villain

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Re: Reserves and Academy 2020-21
« Reply #780 on: May 14, 2021, 10:23:20 PM »
Revan and Young as well, add in Sinisalo, Aaron Ramsey, JPB, Archer, Dom Revan and Bridge and there's easily half a squad of teenagers at the club who look like they'll get careers in the top couple of leagues. They won't all make it everyone knows how rare it is for a big group to come through but to have so many that look like they might at the same time is very impressive.

'Class of '22' as the media won't call them as we're not Newton Heath.

Offline andyh

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Re: Reserves and Academy 2020-21
« Reply #781 on: May 14, 2021, 10:55:50 PM »
Barry was superb, a very Grealish like performance. Chukwuemka just looks like he's playing miles below his standard. Also liked the big Asian lad in the middle.

Their right winger was excellent.
Some of black ones were good. Too much trouble to learn the Asian ones name ?
« Last Edit: May 14, 2021, 10:59:09 PM by andyh »

Offline BC Villain

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Re: Reserves and Academy 2020-21
« Reply #782 on: May 14, 2021, 11:12:59 PM »
Bogarde, Raikhy, Kesler, Chukwuemeka, Barry... these kids could save us an absolute fortune. Or another way of looking at it, we can spend even bigger elsewhere in the squad.

At the risk of sounding like a party-pooper, I can remember the excitement surrounding the team who won the Next Gen in 2013.  Yet only Jack has established himself at the highest level from that team.  Some of these lads look terrific, but the reality is that not every one of them will make it at Premier League level.  The advantage they have is they are part of an extremely well run club that's willing to invest in youth development.

Offline cdbearsfan

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Re: Reserves and Academy 2020-21
« Reply #783 on: May 14, 2021, 11:20:21 PM »
If you'd have said that 2013 team would produce one of the best players in the world we'd all have taken that and the same applies for this team. If we do even better and produce two or three players good enough to challenge near the top of the Premier League it would be brilliant. More than that and it would be the best youth intake in our history.

Online dave.woodhall

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Re: Reserves and Academy 2020-21
« Reply #784 on: May 15, 2021, 12:06:24 AM »
It's been reckoned that if you can get two players from a two-year cycle to make it at the level your senior team are playing at you're doing well.

Offline FrankyH

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Re: Reserves and Academy 2020-21
« Reply #785 on: May 15, 2021, 12:20:06 AM »

Offline N'ZMAV

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Re: Reserves and Academy 2020-21
« Reply #786 on: May 15, 2021, 06:46:59 AM »
Bogarde, Raikhy, Kesler, Chukwuemeka, Barry... these kids could save us an absolute fortune. Or another way of looking at it, we can spend even bigger elsewhere in the squad.
agreed - and on the another hand, they could make us an absolute fortune too.

Offline LukeJames

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Re: Reserves and Academy 2020-21
« Reply #787 on: May 15, 2021, 07:35:28 AM »
Barry was superb, a very Grealish like performance. Chukwuemka just looks like he's playing miles below his standard. Also liked the big Asian lad in the middle.

Their right winger was excellent.
Some of black ones were good. Too much trouble to learn the Asian ones name ?

Don't start with that bollocks.

Offline Mister E

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Re: Reserves and Academy 2020-21
« Reply #788 on: May 15, 2021, 08:54:58 AM »
I thoroughly enjoyed the game last night: lots to be proud of and lots to lead us to think that the future is bright.
Apart from the obvious 2, I thought Lindsley, Raikhy and Young were stand-outs, but they all played really well.

I remember being at the 1972 FA Youth Cup Final at VP, watching Phil Thompson's Liverpool side being between by a team contained Sir Brian, John Gidman, Bobby McDonald, Jake Findlay et al: we had a very good crop that year. The first 3 represented their country: Only Phil Thompson of the Livepool side went on to have a top-level career, I think..
I also watched the year of 2002 beat BlueScouse - also a Villa team of hopefuls.

Offline Smithy

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Re: Reserves and Academy 2020-21
« Reply #789 on: May 15, 2021, 09:08:26 AM »
It's been reckoned that if you can get two players from a two-year cycle to make it at the level your senior team are playing at you're doing well.

That would be doing ridiculously well. You would hope that by the time these lads are ready to be first-team players, they're going to have to displace players in a team that's challenging for European places.  That's a VERY high bar.  Man City won it last year, and I think it's only Liam Delap who's had so much as a sniff of a first-team appearance since then.

I think a lot of our current youth side will have careers as professional footballers (at least similar to the 7 or 8 from our 2001 winning side), but if we get two from this team to become regular first-team players for us (at the very top end of the league) I'll be absolutely delighted!

I wonder if there are any stats out there about which academy produces the most professionals across the leagues?

Offline cdward

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Re: Reserves and Academy 2020-21
« Reply #790 on: May 15, 2021, 10:46:24 AM »
Great to see Grealish and McGinn in attendance at the game. Shows how the club is really pulling in the right direction.
Just one question, who are the Little brothers? The commentators were talking about the Revans, the Gardners the Moores, and the Little brothers?

Offline malckennedy

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Re: Reserves and Academy 2020-21
« Reply #791 on: May 15, 2021, 10:53:59 AM »
Great to see Grealish and McGinn in attendance at the game. Shows how the club is really pulling in the right direction.
Just one question, who are the Little brothers? The commentators were talking about the Revans, the Gardners the Moores, and the Little brothers?

Brian and Alan.

Offline Mister E

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Re: Reserves and Academy 2020-21
« Reply #792 on: May 15, 2021, 10:58:11 AM »
Great to see Grealish and McGinn in attendance at the game. Shows how the club is really pulling in the right direction.
Just one question, who are the Little brothers? The commentators were talking about the Revans, the Gardners the Moores, and the Little brothers?
Brian and Alan.
Both played in the 1972 FA Youth Cup Final.
Alan was less God-like than Brian.

Offline Rotterdam

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Re: Reserves and Academy 2020-21
« Reply #793 on: May 15, 2021, 11:05:37 AM »
Last night was interesting for me...there were a lot of names knocking around. First to arrive was Sir Brian Little followed by some of the first team coaching staff and U23 group. Neil Cuttler, Boateng, Mark Delaney. All came over to the WBA ‘area’ and said ‘hello’. Big Sam landed with Sammy Lee. Obviously they all seem to know each other...social distancing out of the window.
Deans and JT were next in, again they came over to welcome everyone. Both very affable. Delano enjoyed me working at WBA, but supporting Villa, ‘win win for you tonight’.
The best was yet to come for me as I had a few minutes with Jack and SJM at half time, both really good lads. They enjoyed seeing my young lads in Villa kits with ‘Grealish’ and ‘McGinn’ on the back. SJM particularly enjoyed ‘the wee man’. Jack commented that he hadn’t focused much on education while in the Academy system...SJM said ‘you can tell’. I have to admit, I was a bit start struck.

The game was dominated by Villa and Big Sam commentated for anyone round him throughout the whole game. He particularly liked ‘the 10’ for Villa and his runs forward.

Smithy is correct with the success rate, if one or two make the first team regularly in the next couple of years, we would have done well. The rest will make a decent fist of it in the lower leagues.
A lot of lower league clubs see kids graduate to the first team, the issue Cat 2 or 3 players have is if they are released its very difficult to be picked up and you return to grassroots. At Cat 1 clubs, if you are released there’s a chance you’ll be picked up by a lower level club. What i have learnt in the last 6 months is it is a brutally tough business. Kids are offered 2 and 3 year contracts, others are told ‘no thanks’ and although help and support is offered, they are naturally devastated. We had two who simply disengaged from training and education when told. It’s like splitting up from your first girlfriend...the love of your life.
Agents are also heavily involved, demanding better contracts and signing fees (for a 17/18 year old). They also promise the lads the earth, ‘you’ve been released by XXX, no problem, I’ve got you a trial period at West Ham, Watford, Palace...’. One of our boys is expecting to fly to the US for trials at Inter Miami, because his agent has said ‘they’re interested’. The boy has barely played during his two year scholarship, a sub appearance here and there.
It’s tough. For every Captain Jack, there are hundreds on the other side of the fence.
 

Offline Dante Lavelli

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Re: Reserves and Academy 2020-21
« Reply #794 on: May 15, 2021, 11:11:01 AM »
Off topic, but Chelsea’s transfer ban has probably set them up for the next few years.  Mount and Reece are established in their first team with Tammy, Christiansen, Gilmor also in and around the first team.  I doubt they’d have got their chance if Frank could’ve signed a mountain of players in his first season too.

 


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