The Academy lads ...

[Smug in Boots]

... do they become stale by being there too long and do the club know that?

The togetherness and team spirit really struck me at Everton and this is a group of players who barely know each other.

It dawned on me that players like Patterson, Neil, Rigg may become too entrenched in the club and stop pushing so hard once they've broken into the team ... did Watson realise that and that was why he wanted to start afresh? It may also be true that the club have become even more ruthless than we thought, in reality we sole four players who've become worth less than they were sold for. The joint fees for Stewart, Clarke, Jobe and Watson may all now be less than they were sold for.

Dan Neil should be PL standard by now and it makes me wonder about Harrison Jones and the other lads ...

... is selling them on, at the right time, better than persevering season after season.

I've no idea tbh, but I'm sure the club have a plan for every scenario.

 

[Gil T Azell]

... do they become stale by being there too long and do the club know that?

The togetherness and team spirit really struck me at Everton and this is a group of players who barely know each other.

It dawned on me that players like Patterson, Neil, Rigg may become too entrenched in the club and stop pushing so hard once they've broken into the team ... did Watson realise that and that was why he wanted to start afresh? It may also be true that the club have become even more ruthless than we thought, in reality we sole four players who've become worth less than they were sold for. The joint fees for Stewart, Clarke, Jobe and Watson may all now be less than they were sold for.

Dan Neil should be PL standard by now and it makes me wonder about Harrison Jones and the other lads ...

... is selling them on, at the right time, better than persevering season after season.

I've no idea tbh, but I'm sure the club have a plan for every scenario.

Like I said yesterday in the Prem you need to be ruthless. No room for sentiment if you want to survive or hopefully excel. If we lost the likes of Sadiki, Roefs, Diarra etc the club will stick with the plan and invest in new players. I cannot see the club promoting the academy lads into the 1st team unless they are showing exceptional form and skill.

 

[Evil Jimmy Krankie]

... do they become stale by being there too long and do the club know that?

The togetherness and team spirit really struck me at Everton and this is a group of players who barely know each other.

It dawned on me that players like Patterson, Neil, Rigg may become too entrenched in the club and stop pushing so hard once they've broken into the team ... did Watson realise that and that was why he wanted to start afresh? It may also be true that the club have become even more ruthless than we thought, in reality we sole four players who've become worth less than they were sold for. The joint fees for Stewart, Clarke, Jobe and Watson may all now be less than they were sold for.

Dan Neil should be PL standard by now and it makes me wonder about Harrison Jones and the other lads ...

... is selling them on, at the right time, better than persevering season after season.

I've no idea tbh, but I'm sure the club have a plan for every scenario.

I was thinking this about Watson the other day.
My personal take on it. Word gets around. Watsons agent probably knew or was aware of the ‘plan’ should SAFC get promoted. The plan being to buy the standard of player that we are seeing now. He possibly told Tommy and convinced him that his game time would likely be limited if he stayed. Now, if you go to Brighton who are interested Tommy then they’ll play you more.
I could be very very wrong and being married it has been known on occasion, but still plausible?

 

[rowley]

... do they become stale by being there too long and do the club know that?

The togetherness and team spirit really struck me at Everton and this is a group of players who barely know each other.

It dawned on me that players like Patterson, Neil, Rigg may become too entrenched in the club and stop pushing so hard once they've broken into the team ... did Watson realise that and that was why he wanted to start afresh? It may also be true that the club have become even more ruthless than we thought, in reality we sole four players who've become worth less than they were sold for. The joint fees for Stewart, Clarke, Jobe and Watson may all now be less than they were sold for.

Dan Neil should be PL standard by now and it makes me wonder about Harrison Jones and the other lads ...

... is selling them on, at the right time, better than persevering season after season.

I've no idea tbh, but I'm sure the club have a plan for every scenario.

I suppose it depends on the player's age, and the impression they are making on Regis and the rest of the staff.

Certainly Dan Neil (whose agent - presumably he is taking his advice - has cost him a very great deal of money which he will probably never get back now) should be more decisive about his future. He's 24 now, no longer a player in the making. For the younger lads, it's a matter of seeing the standards rise and meeting them. Some will and some won't. As long as they are all dealt with fairly, that's as much as any club can do.

Pleased it's not me making the decisions though , and instead people who seem to know what they are doing!

 

[rowley]

I was thinking this about Watson the other day.
My personal take on it. Word gets around. Watsons agent probably knew or was aware of the ‘plan’ should SAFC get promoted. The plan being to buy the standard of player that we are seeing now. He possibly told Tommy and convinced him that his game time would likely be limited if he stayed. Now, if you go to Brighton who are interested Tommy then they’ll play you more.
I could be very very wrong and being married it has been known on occasion, but still plausible?

Maybe.

But in Tommy's case, there was also the offer of a contract that would set him up. We couldn't offer that at the time, and in football you never know. About 20-25% of footballers retire through injury, old and young, so if Tommy gets a career ending injury now, he's sorted.

I think every player should sign that first "set you up" contract, Dan Neil being badly mistaken in not doing so IMO. After that, more will come if you play well enough, but it's just more money. I can see why Tommy moved, whatever other multiple factors might have been involved.

And I'm sure Tommy will have looked at Brighton and realise his playing time would probably be limited. But he is very young, still only 19 and talented.

 

[alcoauth]

There are probably a hundred factors that go into this but with hindsight I'm increasingly of the belief that the team we had last season was closer to a mid-table Championship team than a 4th placed one and that Reggie was able to maximise what the players had to get us completing with the likes of Leeds, Sheff Utd and Burnley.

Dan Neil right now is a good Championship player, like Patto, Cirkin, Mundle etc Hume and Ballard have successfully made the step but make no mistake they've been helped massively by the new recruits around them. 99% of footballers will never be good enough for the Premier League, there's no shame whatsoever if Dan Neil and Patto max out as good Championship players.

 

[C Montgomery Burns]

I think the club know far more about the players individually and about where they're at and what they're capable of than we even credit them with. I think it will be a case by case basis. If they believe a player can develop and get to the standard that they want them to be at, they'll work out the best way to get them there. Whether that's by loans, first team involvement, cup games, etc. it's up to the player to grasp that if possible. If the club don't think they'll do it they'll move them on in the best way to suit both parties. That could be loans, playing in development squads or being sold. If a player wants to move on I don't think they'll stop them so long as they get the right deal for the club. But in the end it's on that individual basis. Someone like Rigg probably has a high enough potential that they'll work on getting him to that level. He's talented but very young and I think right now he's not physically ready for the premiership. But those games he's played will probably help him mentally and hopefully he'll develop physically to be strong enough. If he doesn't he'll be moved on. Someone like Harrison Jones could be the same, he's still young and has potential. But he has to grasp his chance and develop otherwise he'll be moved on. I don't think it'll be a case of young players being kept on for years in the hope they develop then being released at 22 or 23 if they don't as we've done in the past, now I think they'll only hold onto the ones they genuinely think can make it and those that they don't will be moved on to make space for those who can. I think any drop of in attitude would be monitored, just as with physical and technical development. It's how the real elite academies, like Man City and Arsenal, work. Young players coming through there are generally top class, even if they don't make it to play for those two long term. We're only at the beginning of that process now.