If our owners can't or won't invest in playing staff, it's time to move to plan b. focus on youth system again. Thorp arch has been downgraded in recent years with less and less money being spent there annually. Surely gfh would be better to put their pennies into building from the bottom up. No reason why we can't unearth a couple of young gems each year. In four or five seasons could have a right good young squad. I think most of us would be more patient if we could see some proper development in that area
Eire Good shout. Even if they aren't here for the long term, the value of the club will be greater because of the foundations being built at TA
No I don't, but Leeds and catchment area offers a great opportunity for a club of our size to catch young players before scouts elsewhere nab them. I'm not sure of present setup, but do we even have any scouts keeping an eye out for potential youngsters. With the apparent facilities at Thorp Arch, we should have dozens of each age group down there being coached. After all, only real costs are paying some extra coaches and scouts. We're already paying the rent on the facility regardless of how many are there and surely club can only increase in value in those circumstances. Also possibility God forbid, these guys would have a resale value unlike what we now have
Great idea, but we tend to sell our players for near enough nothing! The young guns are doing extremely well at the moment, maybe GFH should focus on what Naylor has done to push them onto the next level. I would like to see someone come in who is not scared of blooding the likes of Dawson & giving Poleon some more game time rather than gamble on a loanee who is here to get there fitness up or play games for a team there not prepared to put there bollocks on the line for, because I guarantee every last one of Naylors squad would take one for the team. We need heart, fight, spirit & class, sod there age!
Eire the present set-up us like this: bates decided to run down the academy, you know the academy which was the first of its kind in the UK, and the place which saw a conveyor belt of players coming through and most of them have been plying their trade in the prem for years and also their country. The accommodation block was closed, the education wing closed and teachers and housekeepers sacked. The medical team were run down and a lot of the buildings mothballed. The academy director was snapped up by Man City and runs a replica operation for them which is producing good kids. The academies number 2 was also employed by Man City and he is responsible for scouting, recruitment and coaching for West Yorkshire. This guy has all the contacts for boys clubs and schools and gets first choice of all the best talent. Bates decided to make money and opted to charge parents for coaching their kids, instead of carrying on with the thing which was the blueprint for all top academies in this country. Criminal, short sighted, stupid and no wonder we don't have Leeds kids wearing Leeds tops anymore.
I realise all that Doc but surely not too late to kick start what worked for us in the O'Leary days. Of the cheap options available, this is the one that makes most sense and I suspect would satisfy most fans. I know personally I would have far more interest grabbling a flight over to see up and coming youngsters being introduced to our squad than any of the recent signings. Take for example, our loan signing from Everton, we should be well fit to breed the likes ourselves and not have to beg other clubs for them
Norwich only gave us money plus morison so that the 1 million paid goes towards our academy to create players for them!!!!
Eire bates sold young Luke Garbutt to Everton for over £1m, and we've seen or heard little of him since. he will have been in the same development squad as Barkley but not broke through yet. Would be nice to know how Luke's getting on though
Seen him regular to be fair left back and solid player. seen him play for england youth. HE is competing with Baines lol
I know TC cheers, but I went to Limerick years ago to watch the reserves play and vowed to keep my money next time for a trip to yorkshire instead.
Shaks After watching reserves a couple of week ago I can safely say they are far better to watch than the first team :/
I wish you'd take more care with article titles. I had assumed this was about Hull and hadn't bothered to read it until now.
As Wolfie says quite a lot these days, and I agree with him, the area to invest in is the fans B ut I completely agree tha tthe youth is the way to go, but not just any youth. I'm going to sound like a broke record here, but we need a plan of playing that will be long term, and runs through the clb from the kids all the way to the first team. But with the way the kids are playing at the mo, maybe that is what is actually being done, it's just it will take a few years for it to come to fruition - in the meantime we have to buy players for the first team. I do hoipe so, it's just that we don't see the end result yet on the main pitch - maybe in 4 years we will be awesome!
