Serious question because getting concerned. Last 2 seasons have been shyte so we release a lot of kids, including 2 we only just signed like Billy Whitehouse etc. New management, lots of investment, massive plans, huge signings who were just for the development squad. New coaching set up and our old guy goes down south to set up a new academy and infrastructure. Was he any good or are we glad he left? In all seriousness I am not close enough to it but played six lost 4 and only beaten Crew & Bolton by a single goal. We've been slapped daft for the most and today we were battered by Huddersfield 3-2 I understand that the new system of development squads is a huge jump, but we just went through 2 seasons of mediocrity and it seems we are just as bad this season too. From having a conveyor belt of talent under Paul Hart and Wilko to importing so called talent, importing coaching staff?..... Or do I need to be patient?
I think we just signed a load of cheap foreign lads in the hope one of them becomes good. I think it is going to take a long time for the next batch to come through.
we need to be patient with our Academy, there's been major surgery and it's not going to suddenly blossom ... the club as a whole has taken a new direction, and the results will come ... first thing to understand is that we've loaded our U23s with a clutch of foreign kids, and moving to a new country and a different footballing culture takes time to adjust to ... with respect, our current league for the U23s has the likes of Crewe and Bolton in it, so lots of physical "let's kick lumps out of these continental lads" mentality there it's not as if Leeds have just signed a bunch of kids for the hell of it, they have been carefully selected ... look, as a youngster you don't get into Real Madrid or Barcelona's youth setups unless you have something special about you to start with ... some of the kids we've signed come very highly rated and were wanted by other clubs, so not exactly cast-offs ... clubs like Barcelona can only offer a small percentage of their youth graduates a full-time contract, so just because a good young 'un has been released it doesn't mean he's trash ... La Liga is swimming in players that have grown up at Real Madrid and Barcelona it's a sound policy at Leeds, and it's only but a heartbeat into it's first year ... signing good youngsters and getting them into English football early makes sense, so that when they mature and get into the senior team it's not a shock for them ... we can only judge the success of the new approach in three years time, until then we just need to remain patient while the new kids learn that there's no harm in putting your foot in on a windswept park in Lancashire in front of two people ... it's a far cry for them from the amazing youth stadia in Spain with the sun on their backs, but that's why they're here, to learn and hopefully grow into valuable assets for Leeds
I was hoping someone would speak up for the system so thanks Billy. I knew the system was changing when the new owners advertised for families who were willing to have a kid in their houses as a lodger. Lots of hoops to jump through but being a housekeeper for a foreign kid is in fact being a surrogate parent. I thought the idea was great seeing as Lucy Ward was last housekeeper we had, but thats all gone. Thought Chippy may have fancied himself as a surrogate dad ..... saying nothing as results would have been dire with kids with suicidal tendencies. Oh wait is that what the problem is, Chippy have you got the Gomez kid in your gaff? I can wait but it would be nice if the club, especially the new coach came out and said hey folks we will be brilliant soon, just watch what happens
True - Barcelona have 300 places in their academy (called La Masia), they also have further academies in the USA, Australia, China, Africa and Qatar. If deemed not good enough to get one of the 300 places, players are often sent to one of these academies to progress, if deemed not good enough for that either, they are sent packing which enables clubs like Leeds to try their luck - doubt very much if any of them will get much game time at professional level!!
I've not had a chance to go see the u23s this season, but watched them quite a lot the last couple of seasons. Biggest problem we had was in promoting too many kids to the first team squad, believe it or not. We ended playing u18s to fill the gap before we went out & bought the Whitehouses etc. And it showed! Didn't seem to work bringing in older players, somehow. Most of the lads came through the academy together & I'm guessing the newer, older guys didny quite fit in as well as we'd have liked them to. The best team I saw last season was Charlton, and it was men v boys. They were all giants, and most of our team were midgets. I acknowledge and agree with the comments above, and particularly with Billy's comment about waiting for them all to bed in, which will take years, not weeks. Another point worth mentioning is that we don't seem hell-bent on winning with the u23s. The team is chopped & changed all the time, & kids are played in various positions. It's as if we are more interested in finding out what a kid can do than playing a settled team to beat all & sundry. I rather like that approach. Suspect we might have had that approach for some time. Remember, Harte was a winger & Spewell was a LB before they were switched in the ... erm, reserves or whatever it was called then.
great point Jocko ... at Ajax, for example, kids are taught every position so they can learn how to think like an opposition player coming at them, and more importantly they can easily play a fluid formation ... Cruyff brought this thinking to Barcelona, helping them to embrace "Total Football" which basically means players can fill in various positions ... the Harte example is good, because when he got beyond the halfway line he thought like a winger, becoming an extra offensive weapon with his crosses take a look at Dani Alves who joined Sevilla as a youngster from Brazil ... he became one of the best right-backs in the world not just because of his defensive abilities but because of his attacking abilities ... he was taught how to transition from defence to offence, to be comfortable getting down the line and even into the opposition's box because there would be someone filling in behind him with ease ... now we have that Sevilla culture helping to build our Academy, and with Radz committed to a long term vision it's very exciting we have signed some very talented youngsters, and I've no doubt there will be another Saiz in there for sure ... for now let's not get hung up on results ... as Jock says, Charlton's U23s were huge men against our 18 year old kids, but it's where those Charlton hulks are in three years' time that matters, and I doubt many of them will be playing as high as the Championship Radz is God
