Kit has given another expose to the local paper and this time about his youth policy. In it he made clear that the next batch of young talent from the club’s academy still needs time to develop, saying: “There’s probably nobody close. There’s nobody on the verge of breaking in. Given time, hopefully they’ll become good enough for our first team squad. I think it’s important to have a strong academy. Since my time, we’ve had an excellent academy and it has produced players. The type of club we are, it’s important for us to have that link from the academy to the first team” So basically the last 18 months has been a disaster for the Academy; we’ve lost the last batch of youngsters (most have been released although a few are on loan) and are having to re-build from scratch. It will be at least 2 years before we’re likely to see any new young players making a breakthrough. The current batch of young players – Bettinelli, Grimmer, Burn, Kavanagh, LVC, Hyndman, (Roberts), Williams, Woodrow and Dembele – who are in and around the first team, were all from the batch before that; the one from 2 years ago. And what Kit had to say about them is far from encouraging. He told the paper, “I know all the young players very very well. I’ll pick the best team available for each given game. If that involves our young players then brilliant but it won’t always. I’m a big believer in young players and home grown players and I’d love to see several playing in our team but it’s important to make this into a winning run and getting the results We’ll have a fairly tight squad but because it’s tight people will get opportunities. We’ll be relying on people to be ready and take their chances. It’s tough for some of those young players. For some, there’ll be loan opportunities once we won’t be leaving ourselves short to get first team football on a regular basis. We need enough quality bodies for the first team here.” Source: http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fulham-boss-turn-youngsters-time-9964648? I don’t know how much of that thinking is down to Mike Rigg’s ‘bigger picture’. What I can’t help believing though is that all of that group – and indeed some of those who have gone – would be better players, and therefore better assets to the Club, if they had had a more gradual introduction to first team football and alongside experienced guys. Perhaps that’s where Rigg is going, perhaps not. Whatever, as things stand we’re on the verge of losing all of them for next to nothing. Hyndman is only one example, but a good one - ”A source close to the situation divulged on Tuesday afternoon that the 19-year-old [Emerson Hyndman] will be allowed to leave Craven Cottage for training-only stints with prospective buyers as the Championship season unfolds. It is in this manner that he can choose his next employer.” Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2015/09/01/usmnt-hyndman-stays-put-at-fulham-will-have-trials-to-determine-next-home/ It’s not just the last 18 months that have been tragic for the Academy then, it’s been the last 3 years!
To be fair having 8 players from the academy in the first team squad is pretty impressive especially when you add a ninth player who has just been sold for 8 million pounds. It's no secret that a couple of them are not happy with lack of playing time but even if we end up with four in the first team squad and the other four move on for a million or two each then realistically we should be pleased. I know everyone would like to see all our promising youngsters make it at Fulham but that's not how football works, what I would really love to see now is one of the youngsters make the first team and then over two to three seasons really develop into a top top player!
Kind of accept that Cookie, although with the 'new intake' how many will play in our next game? One? Wishful thinking on my part maybe but I can't help but wonder what might have been for the players in that group with different handling and in different circumstances. Not all Kit's fault by any means! My main point though is that they are all from the Academy of 2 years ago. No new youngsters have come through in that period and we are now having to re-build the Academy. Moreover, it will be 2 years before any of them are likely to make the grade.
Makes you think what was all the Khan 'We have a plan to take Fulham forward' used after the sacking of each manager. It seems to have gone from when Jol was in change having an old squad through Meulensteen who started to look at youngsters, Mad Magath who stripped us of all experience to play a young team, then to Symons who says they were never going to be ready. Talk about lunatics running the asylum.
