Andy Smith being sold actually represents pretty good business. We didn't pay for him and I think people assume that because it isn't at KLP or Bowen levels of money, that it's disappointing somehow. He cost us nothing and we made six figures by selling him. If we can produce one a season that is sold on for that much or more, it represents a very good production rate.
Regarding the immediate requirements I think Toast’s post highlights them. Some points are vague but it does highlight In fairness on pathways. “Investment” wasn’t the right term. As the ideal scenario you’ve outlined is pretty much what I would like. It is about ethos and culture and I suppose there’s a mental investment as well some financial. I do get that the road to success is littered with players that fail. But increasing our odds on having more homegrown talent not just in the squad but in the league is a good thing. I personally don’t think it’s worth brushing aside just because a large percentage fail
Absolutely. Coyle and Ashbee are likely to be the next two. I've no doubt being a Cat1 will help attract a higher level of talent from a bigger pond but its not as if the academy isn't functioning right now and there are far more pressing things to spend money and time on.
It’s the way clubs should run. Bring 2-4 youth players into the first team each season , sell 2 and repeat
Players who have come into and succeeded in their first team. Just looking at their current squad they have 6 making appearances all academy graduates. My point being they were non league a few years ago, is the suggestion that they've just got lucky and a few efl quality players have popped along? Do pl clubs like Everton just get lucky that they manage to find players like dcl who do well for them (for a while) in the pl, or perhaps does their investment in their academy pay off? Ours is producing talent but to suggest klp and greaves popped through as brilliant players regardless of the academy quality is just silly.
I've always felt its pretty lazy and short sighted for any club/manager not to insist an Academy player is on the bench.
Klp would have came through regardless of academy quality Hes one in a few hundred million But i get your point Its like what england and the fa did in the mid 2000s And its reaping rewards now Won the last two u21 euros etc But i think the legacy of our 3 prem promotions is disgusting The allams did the bare minimum for the academy
I don't necessarily agree on klp, similar with Bowen. I don't think he was going to be a success regardless, it's just easy to think that because of where they've got to. But yes over time, increased investment and resources used on youth development will bear fruit. Not every year and not always at pl level, but the more you invest the higher quality players you will develop.
The higher resources also gives you a bigger reach to find potential young players And i disagree I think klp has so much talent, he would have ended in the prem It wasnt due to our coaching or not due to Hes jus a phenom Same with bowen
thats missing my point thats a tale as old as time in this country unfortunately regards to size but im saying he would have made it in whatever academy if he was allowed to flourish we didnt have some special secret
Did he play for England u15’s etc No he didn’t So he wasn’t that special Give some credit to our academy They gave him the conditions to flourish and he took that
not discrediting the academy, jut saying hes such a talented player, he would have made it, hes that much of a rarity
It's been said for a long time that we have one of the largest catchment areas for clubs as we're the only professional club in our county. I haven't checked but the only other I can think of that has just the one club is Cornwall and their biggest club (Truro City) are in the National League, nor are they even professional. We need to maximise that. We shouldn't be losing out to Leeds, Middlesbrough and Sheffield clubs, or even York, Scunthorpe or Grimsby. I taught Charlie Hatton when he was in Year 4, who is now in the U18s of Grimsby Town. He was born and raised in Hull but was in Grimsby's set up because City weren't interested in him (too small). Brightest lad in his year, humble and will make it as a pro at some point. But lads like that passed us by in previous years because we had a rather dated way of bringing players in at that level. I checked back to see which of the U21s who made it to the cup final against West Ham went pro (players in bold play for professional clubs now). Rory Watson - York City Brian Lenihan - retired Josh Tymon - Swansea City Max Clark - Gillingham Harvey Rodgers - Grimsby Town Ben Clappison - retired and works for the civil service (last played for Pickering Town) Tyler Hamilton - without a club since leaving North Ferriby in 2021 Robbie McKenzie - Gillingham Ben Hinchcliffe - Beverley Town Greg Olley - Gateshead Jarrod Bowen - West Ham and England Johnny Saltmer - Last played for Buxton in 2021, now a model Adam Curry - retired, now manages a plumbing company near Ennerdale Will Annan - Bridlington Town Dan Batty - York City Josh Clackstone - Alfreton Town So our academy does produce a fair amount of professionals, especially for Gillingham apparently.
thats a really good number of pros actually its easy to forget, just how insanely high the level to play in the prem is that pros at league 2 level is a success, even though it usually means no real profit
I've played at semi-pro level in my younger days and it's frightening to think that Rory Watson is closer to somebody like Donnarumma in terms of ability than I am to Rory Watson. Also, more than half that team going on to be professionals just shows how good that cohort was. Subsequent ones haven't spawned anything like as much talent, though I guess you'd have to check back in a few years as its probably unfair to use 20/20 hindsight on one group without the luxury of using it on another.
its like that basketball players quote, the ' bad ' pros are closer to the messis and co than we are to them
You forgot to mention Lincoln who also scout heavily in this area. The fact is City can only take on so many so Grimsby, Lincoln, Scunny etc will also fish in this pond because its better than their own. Leeds will take who they want because they're a far bigger club than us and many will have their heads turned. Tommy Coyles lad has gone to Huddersfield aged 10 so it's even further afield on occasions. We appear to be doing what we can as a club. There are satellite sessions/academies. After I passed my UEFA C I thought about applying for a role I saw the club advertise which I think was running the satellite one in Kirklees but I was advised to wait for something else which was coming up at another club. They're a great idea and without knowing tons about them I guess it costs the club a t shirt and a tracksuit to get decent players in other areas under their watch.
with unlimited funds, youd have every single kid who likes football, and then filter down and down and down until you find the extremely good ones but thats not realistic obviously so you need to try and find as many as possible personally, i think the uk system needs to become similar to the german one, i think most spanish are the same too where school is included in the academies so when 99% dont make it, theyre not ruined as such
It just wouldn't work even with billions to spend on scouting. Yeah, you would get plenty of good kids but they develop at different ages. You would need to be signing hundreds of kids at every age group and turning them over like cattle. At under 10s alone I've seen tons of very good boys. Really strong little players. The chances are all of them will end up being brickies, accountants and drug dealers. That's not to say they will have lots of fun on the way but the standard to get to even u10s at Hull City is incredible.
