coreyL
New member
Not so sure...
Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊
Has our youth system every produced a really decent striker?
- Thread starter Lady Whistledown
- Start date
I'm sure he will but people seem to be overlooking that we are not an attractive club (until now). Comparing us with Leeds is ridiculous. Also, Sussex is hardly a hotbed of football is it?
Marcus Stewart?
and Dean Ashton
Probably makes up for you nicking Lallana from them then
(a great player, by the way)
Alledgedly Pardew is after Lallana. Hope so - weakens Saints, and pushes another certain left winger down the pecking order at SJP.
Jason Roberts too.
Look forward to seeing GB break through.
Leeds have a great academy. My 12 year old nephew (an Albion fan) is a goalkeeper there. My brother says the quality of the facilities and coaching is brilliant.
Spiros
Well-known member
When Wilkins was managing the youth setup the problem was less with the youth quality - progress in the youth cup showed that - but more with the fact that the club was so stretched financially that as soon as a half decent youth player showed up they were thrown into the struggling first team. Gatting scored absolutely hatfuls for youth and reserve teams but hardly any for a first team at the wrong end of the championship / league one and with virtually no service which probably destroyed his confidence. Strikers thrive on confidence. Having seen what Gus has done for El Abd and - to a lesser extent - Elphick it would have been interesting to see what he could have done with Gatting and Robinson especially when they were still at the 'raw talent' stage.
Barrel of Fun
Abort, retry, fail
Sorry if this has been mentioned previously, but I would imagine that competition for strikers/attacking players is greater. They raise a greater amount of revenue and are generally more expensive. So anyone with an ounce of talent will find their way up to academies in London or elsewhere.
Something that will be fixed (hopefully) once our facilities improve immeasurably.
Did Wilkins have a good success rate or did we rely on the youth setup as we could ill afford to buy half a team on top of the usual signings necessary? Or a mixture of both?
Something that will be fixed (hopefully) once our facilities improve immeasurably.
Did Wilkins have a good success rate or did we rely on the youth setup as we could ill afford to buy half a team on top of the usual signings necessary? Or a mixture of both?
Firstly the word Academy doesnt necessarily improve the quality of any club.
It is a qualification and facility lead process that differentiate the Centres.
Of course it might be argued that a higher grade qualified coach is more productive than a coach with a grade lower qualification, but that doesnt always follow.
There doesnt seem to be any limitations on a Centre of Excellence to train as often and fully access the resources that those clubs running an Academy can, especially now with our clubs supposedly competitive budget for this.
On the point about strikers.
I do think that maybe the scouting and trial process for strikers could be improved, but it would take a bit of imagination !!!
Most strikers main asset is composure and creating chances in and around the box, some only have this to offer and it can be easily quantified by the amount of goals they score and most local clubs have these stats for any canny scout.
So maybe a more tolerant approach to their weaknesses ahead of the normal 'indentification process' might help..
It is said that the current trial process at clubs, will generally assess touch and technique, all very noble, especially for midfielders, however I would be inclined to seek information who might be the main goalscorers throughout local youth football, cut them a little slack in other areas of their game and see if they might show their instinct and knack ahead of the normal attributes associated with a successful trial period.
After all, I am told that from Under 9's upwards they are unlikely to see a full sized goal or undertake many shooting or goalscoring drills, therefore it must be impossible for the club to assess this most important attribute.
Its not an exact art, but at least it would not exclude those youngsters scoring goals week in week out for their Sunday clubs, only to be excluded due to a weakness on another part of their play and without an opportunity to really show why they were invited in in the first place.
It is a qualification and facility lead process that differentiate the Centres.
Of course it might be argued that a higher grade qualified coach is more productive than a coach with a grade lower qualification, but that doesnt always follow.
There doesnt seem to be any limitations on a Centre of Excellence to train as often and fully access the resources that those clubs running an Academy can, especially now with our clubs supposedly competitive budget for this.
On the point about strikers.
I do think that maybe the scouting and trial process for strikers could be improved, but it would take a bit of imagination !!!
Most strikers main asset is composure and creating chances in and around the box, some only have this to offer and it can be easily quantified by the amount of goals they score and most local clubs have these stats for any canny scout.
So maybe a more tolerant approach to their weaknesses ahead of the normal 'indentification process' might help..
It is said that the current trial process at clubs, will generally assess touch and technique, all very noble, especially for midfielders, however I would be inclined to seek information who might be the main goalscorers throughout local youth football, cut them a little slack in other areas of their game and see if they might show their instinct and knack ahead of the normal attributes associated with a successful trial period.
After all, I am told that from Under 9's upwards they are unlikely to see a full sized goal or undertake many shooting or goalscoring drills, therefore it must be impossible for the club to assess this most important attribute.
Its not an exact art, but at least it would not exclude those youngsters scoring goals week in week out for their Sunday clubs, only to be excluded due to a weakness on another part of their play and without an opportunity to really show why they were invited in in the first place.
Blues Rock DJ
New member
Darren Freeman ?
honey boy zimba
Member
youth set up
agreed Big Gully ,heres the but ,in the Albion in the community set up we have Danny Cullip ,Guy Butters, Chippy ,Watto ECT it is amazing that these guys have played the game and have a wealth of experiece to pass on ,also they have all been through the system in different clubs and are no where near our youth set up .Badges mean nothing if havnt played the game , I dont think one coach at the cof e is a former pro Hinchlewood does not count he yesterdays man .Its time these boys were in the new set up cant see it though under hwood and Bragg
agreed Big Gully ,heres the but ,in the Albion in the community set up we have Danny Cullip ,Guy Butters, Chippy ,Watto ECT it is amazing that these guys have played the game and have a wealth of experiece to pass on ,also they have all been through the system in different clubs and are no where near our youth set up .Badges mean nothing if havnt played the game , I dont think one coach at the cof e is a former pro Hinchlewood does not count he yesterdays man .Its time these boys were in the new set up cant see it though under hwood and Bragg
dejavuatbtn
Well-known member
The nearest thing to a striker coming from the youth team was Tony Towner who scored around 24 goals as a winger in his time with us. He went on to become a bit of a legend at Rotherham.
Watto is on the physio / medical team, not the AITC.
The youth development side of things is under the control of John Stephenson and Luke Williams. Is Brown still here too?
The Spanish
Well-known member
ironically it was tony towner who played a large part in getting ifill to millwall.