05 Mar 2020 23:39:06
I see another one of our youngsters is being head hunted by man City and sum of Europe's top clubs want him, we must be doing something right at youth level because a lot clubs want our youngsters, it makes you think why can't they get into our 1st team squad it's a joke there's nothing better seeing a youngster break into our team or squad plus it could save us millions, what is the point in having youth teams academys if we're not going to use them we might aswell scrap them it's a joke youth is the way forward.
06 Mar 2020 16:03:41
Yeah, its been in circulation for a week now 4eva.
I think come the seasons end, there will be a lot of our youngsters having their contracts looked at and renewed.
I hope so anyway.
07 Mar 2020 00:29:23
4eva You are talking about 16 year olds .
07 Mar 2020 07:25:52
Age is a number doesn't matter how old or young it's if your good enough d82.
08 Mar 2020 20:06:25
How many of our youngsters over the last 10-15 years have gone on to play at the top level for anybody?
Clarke and Cahill are the only ones and both played in our first team.
The rest are all stuck in the championship or below (Robinson got the closest when Sheff Utd bought him but obviously didn't make the grade for them).
The youngsters who have been picked off by Arsenal, City and Liverpool previously are never heard of again so clearly not that great they'd make the step up.
The coaches obviously feel there is just too much missing from their individual games (look at Green, we all thought he could be great but just hasn't really developed) .
Maybe they also take into account our fans who will turn on the immediately when they have a bad game because we just don't have the personnel to carry them for a game or 2.
At the end of the day, if you're good enough, you're old enough only works if you are the first bit. What we have in the squad isn't great but any coach would make the move if a kid was genuinely better than the current options.
08 Mar 2020 21:53:37
Just realised I missed Albrighton out. That's a grand total of 3, all from before our fall from grace, Jack is the only one since then to make the grade.
Top youth sides take high levels of investment to produce 1 or 2 players capable of the step up. Chelsea and City's U23's cost more than some Championship teams.
09 Mar 2020 10:36:08
Admittedly Stevens came to Villa when he was 22 but he’s an example of a young player that wasn’t given adequate opportunities.
{Ed001's Note - he is certainly proving to be a big miss with Sheff Utd. He has been outstanding since signing for them. Good, technical player too, surprisingly good on the ball.}
09 Mar 2020 11:39:02
It would appear that the Villa owners intend investing heavily in the Academy which imho is the way forward. We can’t keep buying players, who are often well over priced and more often than not don’t come up to expectations. It’s simply unsustainable to continue like that.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I think that any investment in youth academy affairs is not considered in ffp accountability. If that is the case it’ would be a very smart move to go down that route.
{Ed002's Note - You are correct, the FFP accounts exclude academy and infrastructure costs plus other items which typically amount to much less of a cost.}
09 Mar 2020 15:41:29
Entirely correct Mark. That's exactly what esteemed Mr Purslow said at the Supporter Trust meeting a couple of weeks ago. Monies from HS2 have been invested in the new Academy infrastructure; the Academy has been totally restructured and Mark Harrison (described as a 'brilliant hire') is in the process of transforming the whole academy management structure. This all presumably comes under the umbrella of the club's 5-6 year plan to bring us back to where the owners and CP (and us fans) want us to be on a permanent basis.
09 Mar 2020 18:20:57
As pointed out Stevens wasn't an Academy player.
During his time he had Warnock, Bertrand and Cissokho ahead of him who were better options.
When he got a run he didn't really take it and it took him 3 years in the lower leagues to build up to the player he is.
Some players just don't fit some clubs also. He has a lot less pressure on him at Sheff Utd. Lowton was ok for us but he's thriving at Burnley.
Lee Hendrie was the other way, consistent for us but couldn't get a sniff elsewhere.
09 Mar 2020 18:19:01
I’m optimistic that this policy will pay dividends MD, it may take a few years to kick in, hope I’m still alive to see us reap the rewards.