Bristol City FC's Young Ones..

Copy of my post this morning on "The big Boys are sniffing" because It is relevant to both threads. I agree with Wizered, the future at Academy level is looking brighter than for many years.

We have an opportunity now to show the Under 21's that we are serious about our youth policy.
It would not be fair on others still fighting relegation if we fielded a very young and inexperienced team versus Crewe.
But assuming all are fit, I would include Bryan, Reid and Burns in the starting line up. With Batten, Morrell and Bishop on the bench.

For the Crawley game, there is a totally different scenario because neither team is now involved in the threat of the drop. My knowledge of the Academy boys is limited to what I read in match reports and postings on here about Batten and others.

I am also not party to SC's ideas on who out of the current first team squad he wants to be around next season. So with some guesswork on my part, here is how I would line up at Crawley. Current first team squad not mentioned below are assumed to be leaving us.

GK; Fielding (if fit. If not Richards)

Back 3; Osbourne, Jack Batten, Williams

Midfield 5; Burns, Reid, Wade Elliott (Pearson) Kelly (Joe Morrell) Bryan

Front 2; Baldock, Marley Bishop (JET)

Half time subs in brackets.
Other first team squad members not included but staying; Cunningham, Wagstaff, Moloney, El Abd (although IMO there is a strong possibility that he will not be here)

That squad of nineteen, would need three or four additions to be recruited during the summer. Unless of course there are others in the academy that I don't know of.

 

Its generic gumph. You will see similar pinned to a wall in the leisure centre in Redfield by BRFC, "Play through the thirds with purpose yada ... " Its meaningless if all aspects of the club do not follow it.

The parts on playing philosophy are uneven, the XI, or certain individuals do not do play that way.

Its interesting to a degree, as an aim, but it hardly sits alongside Spanish development model. Spanish clubs lay out the dna on ball retention, ball control, use of ball in tight spaces, setting the temp of the game and intelligent defence. Those are values rigidly stuck to year after year.

City could be doing something else next week. month or season depending on which way the wind blows.

 

A great academy is pointless if you don't use it. It's like having a great chef in your house, but cooking your own meals with ingredients you bought from Tesco.

I'm very excited about our academy, and although I've only attended one recent game I firmly believe that our setup is quite good for our league. However, we're not even selling these players! Most of them will probably go for free or a tiny fee to another academy where they'll have a better chance of playing.

 

Watford had it right (before their foreign takeover)
Their Acadamy had a route to the first team - parents saw that happened at Watford and therefore encouraged their kids to go there.
They have now gone the other way with their legions of Italian loan imports - can't help feeling they have gone down the wrong route

 

That is just words lifted from coaching manuals and the same thing is said at non league clubs and some kids clubs.

With a cat 2 academy its throwing money away if players coming through are not in the first team and with John Pelling joining City to run the academy. It looks like it joins up it doesn't if Mr Cotterill just wants more to " freshen things up" instead of giving homegrown players time on the pitch.

 

Greg Varey Judo Coach ... El Abh could stay at the club as a coach when his contracts up then.

 

The words on that site could be taken from the FA's four cornered model. They are. It is generic gumph. The person there who is interesting is Carlos Anton. I would like to see City move away from the not so successful FA model and towards a foreign approach e.g. Spanish Fidelity concept.

A Bristol boys club recently provided five lads out of a squad of sixteen to BCFC's academy. How they do that and how they a reach that standard with so few should be explored by Bristol City for development stages below academy level.

 

We are a cynical set of supporters because BCFC have left us down too often in the past.
But assuming that the Lansdown family is in it for the long term, the Academy that is now in place and with future development, will bring big benefits to our club.
I'd like to come back in twenty years time from the place where we all end up and I really do believe I would see a thriving and successful BCFC.

PS I'll sit back for now and wait for the howls of derision!

 

The club is set out to develop players in a manner it has not been able to before. It is good that it is identifying principles, although the teams "way", the clubs way is not really defined. This could thrive, but if one individual in charge of the XI decides different it collapses.

Using the Germans and Spanish once again sorry they set out the strategy long term, and players signed, every Manager / Coach appointed fits into the "way", it is no quick fixes, followed by another, followed by switching to something else which is what City do.

A couple of El Abd's and Flints and the long term strategy fails to exist.

 

It's not even about being cynical. Bar Louis Carey, we don't have a single player that came through our academy. Until GJ came knocking for a few of our players we didn't even really send our talented players anywhere. A lot of the talented youngsters from five years ago are playing in regional leagues for teams like Weston-super-mare and Clevedon Town.

I don't care what they say. Words are cheap, and money is cheap for someone with plenty of it. What I want is evidence that our investment will result in first-team players or large transfer fees, and so far there is none.

 

A plus on that one buddy

 

Your words it's no QUICK fix, and seeing as we only became Cat 2 fairly recently, let's give it a few years before condemning the academy.

You go on about the Spanish, German and Dutch system, we've appointed a Spanish coach so why not be patient and see what becomes of it.

 

Models I refer to have a symbiotic nature from kids training, development centres, academy, youth teams to XI. City "could" be making a great leap here if there really is a long term plan being laid out.

Implementation is now, not years. The ideals have to be laid out and coaches act accordingly. Its pointless to create players of a certain ilk then the Managers signs can't really play lamp posts.

 

Signing players in the transfer market is not and never will be a precise science. There will always be very visible mistakes at first team level simply because this is the area of the football club which is constantly in the public eye. The "lamp post" you refer to had a bad start to his time at City along with the rest of the squad. He did show some improvement although whether in the long term he and some other signings will be suitable for us remains unanswered at present.
The same errors at junior level will be made but will go unnoticed.

Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will City's Academy be the finished article for some time yet. In fact it should never be the finished article, as it must continually evolve to embrace new trends.

I appreciate that we will all see the happenings at our club in different light to each other, but your continual negativity at everything the club tries to do is beginning to grate. Even a confirmed "half full" moaner like me can see that those who run our clubhaving made some horrible mistakes in the past few years, are at least trying to rebuild not only the antiquated stadium, but also the inner structure of the club to take us forward to a more sustainable future than we have had before.

The five pillars are a good guide to how the owner, directors and majority of supporters want to go, but while the pillar of youth and preferred age of signings has taken a blow this season, this was solely to preserve our League One status. Should the club have stuck to it and descended to League Two?

I, on behalf of all City fans, say no. I assume you will disagree.

 

If it grates do not read it.

The club have already swayed from those pillars and refer to five points of something now ...

Transfers Keith Burt has not been involved in transfers due to Steve Cotterill wanting more control. Managers always look at the short term which is why a director of football etc was a good idea. The academy could be the cusp of something positive, but it cannot function properly if one person in the Head coach / Manager and his assistant decide on a musical chair approach.

Stadium rebuild ... "We will consult at every step". One year on a professional football club has not produced one detailed render of the stadium design. You would get that from a two bob architect anywhere.

As somebody who is involved in local coaching I listen to local coaches who send their kids to BCFC. They have concerns on exit policy for players [children - no explanation being given!!] being dropped after a year. lack of continuity, BCFC being unfriendly, the Head Coach not having a reputation for developing, and on it goes.

I do not applaud City for much of what they do because they are mugging people off. In my job failure gets the sack. Endemic poor performance at every level is the norm at City except the likes of Amy Knighton head of the Community Trust, and even there she is being sent to Botswanna v staying in Bristol where she will do far more good.

BCFC above all have forgotten what the FC is.

Whispers are that a fan srep may join the board .. I hope this will help them do that say instead of make it all up as they go along , and worse. Bristol City are small time because they make it so.