Since last season i have wondered what is the point of it? We just keep signing players and along with the current players they seem to do quite well but never once do they even look like getting a sniff for the 1st team. Michael Cain especially impressed in recent times but never even got mentioned for the first team. Surely after getting promoted we could have through him on for a couple of cameo appearances And then we have now signed Harry Panayioutou on a new contract. 2 years ago now he scored the winner on his debut in the final game of the season against Leeds and he has never been seen since. Which I find very strange, surely if he was close to the first team 2 years ago then he would have at least made a few appearances for the first team since but he has never even been given a squad number. Surely that would mean he hasn't progressed enough during the 2 years and now with the standard of football we up against higher why would you give him a contract? Tom Hopper is another one who make a cameo appearances 2 years ago but not played since but keeps getting new contract If they couldn't break into a championship side why would he break into a Premier League side? There is a lot of names in the development squad I personally I would be surprised if a few if any ever make an impression on the first team. So whats the point of the development squad? What are we actually developing them for? Because as far as I can tell it isn't the first team
Good points. A strange thing sometimes development squads. I must say I don´t really know how they work fully but you´d of thought the title would give it away. Development to me means. Get a player in, develop him & either play him (in the 1st team) or sell him on & make abit of cash. What I think you´ll find in these development squads is, you´ll get 1, may be 2, player(s) come out & make it, a few will get sold to lower lge teams & not be a known name & the rest just disappear into Sunday lge football.
Just like any other Leicester fans I love to see players come through our academy. I was delighted that Schlupp and Moore have signed new deals as I think they both can go far in the game but we always have these players in the academy who are highly rated but never get close to the first team. Just wondering what we actually aiming to do with them. Make them into footballers or make them into Leicester City players?
Sorry, I'm confused. Haven't Schlupp, Moore, King, Logan and Smith come from the Academy hence played for the developmental squad? That's not a bad turnaround, is it? We've also sold on a few I think. Most of the current developmental squad are only 19-20 (including the ones you mentioned), so plenty of time to make it through. It would have been nice to see some make cameos towards the end of the season. That said, we pretty much always had something to play for. Would you have liked us to miss the 100 point mark in a 4-0 defeat to Donny in order to give the kids a run-out? Remember how much stick Pearson got when he played under-strength teams in the league cup a couple of seasons ago.
Im not having a go at Pearson for not doing it. It could be a case of no one is either good enough or ready to step up The development league is quite a new thing and its different to the academy leagues that the players mentioned above came through. We just seem to collect average players and leave them in the development squad. What we really should be looking to do is send them out on loan Loan moves was the making of Jeff Schlupp and Liam Moore
See, I didn't realise that. It's the different terminologies that people use that confuse me. So just to be clear, by development squad, are we talking about the under-21s (the reserve team)? And the academy squad is the under 18s (and under 16s)?* Wouldn't the previously mentioned players have come through both squads? *This wikipedia page doesn't use the words "developmental" but the squad for the U-21s is the same as the lcfc website's developmental team. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leicester_City_F.C._Reserves_and_Academy
They get rid of the under 18s and combined it with the reserves. You allowed 3 outfield + a goalkeeper over the age of 21. Since it came in we have done really well but no one has pushed onto the first team. That makes me wonder whats wrong with the current structure
Whatever the terminology we seem to have a healthy pipeline coming through ... I see that Alex Sesay and Harry Paniyatou have signed new deals ... Sesay went out on loan last season and I think he could be one reason why we won't be bringing in another central defender any time soon ...
See as FF mentioned above there is some highly rated players there but we have heard about them for years. Why arent they even getting close to the first team?
But as I said, these guys are only 19 and 20, even if they have been around years. It usually takes an exceptional player to break through at that tender age (ie Heskey), and we obviously don't have that at the moment. Doesn't mean though that they won't ever break through. You need patience with youngsters but, even so, the sad reality is most won't make the grade - here at least. But one gem in a blue moon makes it all worthwhile.
Didn't Tom Hopper make it into the first team squad last season only to be ruled out with injury? I think the club is doing a fabulous job of bringing on these excellent young players. We can't rely on other clubs to do the work for us. Law of averages says that you will be lucky to introduce more than one player every couple of years. There is a reason the class of 92 is so famous, its hard to do.
But I'm not just talking about the current lot. George Taft was talked about for years but never got close, he has now been released. Joey Jones was highly rated and he signed for Woking today. Tom Parkes was also talked about for years and he is now in the conference There seems to be a big problem in this country with players going from promising players to delivering it. Nigel has signed a lot of young players since he came here but only really brought in Andy King and Liam Moore from our own academy and Max Gradel to a lesser degree. Sven gave Schlupp his chance It's not a pop at Nigel as you all know by now I have always been a big fan of Nigel. I'm just pointing out a fact. We not bringing through enough players for 1 reason or enough but it's the same with many teams not just us
I do know what you're saying; we hear good things about these players (apparently Arsenal and Liverpool were looking at Jones for instance) but then we release them. I think sometimes they come of age and we have to make a decision (are they ever likely to play for us? Some don't live up to their early promise), they want to play for a first team so ask to be released or it could be something "real life" such as their family moving out of town (they are youngsters after all)! Of those mentioned by Proud, Taft has signed for Burton so has made it at as a professional (assuming he'll play for the first team), and so has Parkes (at Bristol Rovers). 20 year-old Jones is at Woking in the Conference (likely to be profession, I think most of the Conference is these days). So in that respect, they've done alright. Regarding playing for us, I think we forget with all our moaning at times that we actually play at a very high standard. There's no way a club like ours can be self-sufficient in relying on youngsters. We'd be in League Two in no time. That's not to say our academy/developmental system is no good, any club at our level is the same. The big five can attract the very best youngsters, because that's who everyone wants to play for. Even so, they all still spent a fortune. On that point, I would question how effective some of the big five club's youth set-ups are. When Kerrea Gilbert played for us in League One, he looked a player. He was released shortly after by Arsenal and now plays for St. Albans. I have to question if he received the support and help to kick on after us, because, as part of a League One Championship winning side, it makes no sense that's he's now lost in the non-league system. It's a similar story with some of those Chelsea players we had. We've heard about Man Utd letting Pogba go during this WC (and we would suggest they made a similar, if less high profile, mistake with Drinkwater, and possibly James and De Laet too). I think they have too many youngsters, which they can't manage properly, and this is also a reason other club's developmental squads are seemingly less effective. What we currently have is a waterfall effect of clubs like ours taking the high quality off-casts of the big clubs (but, of course, they keep the very best for themselves), and clubs like Bristol Rovers and Burton taking our rejects (again, we keep the handful that do make it). It must be worthwhile, otherwise we won't do it!
... on a slightly different tangent ... Adam Lallana joins Liverpool for £27 million ... Toni Kroos joins Real Madrid for £20 million ... with that economic logic I can now confirm that I'm off to join QPR in a £2million deal with built in Saga break bonuses and all the Sanatogen I can drink ...
Part of the problem there. Because we're starved of England players when a decent player comes through he looks a world beater because there isn't many other English players to compare him against. Consequences of that is he gets over rated and over priced Toni Kroos was arguably the best player at the World Cup
Real Madrid have got a real bargain signing Kroos for £20m...and it's not often you say "Real Madrid" and "bargain" in the same sentence.
Just as we hosted a conference for other clubs on sports science last season, perhaps Southampton could host a developing young players conference, as they seem to produce a string of new talent year after year.
Kroos for £7million less than Lallana?! Just goes to show how overpriced English players are. I mean, I quite like Lallana, but he struggled to get into an England team that was knocked out of the World Cup with a solitary point, and was in League One barely 3 years ago. Kroos has now won both the World Cup and Champions League, and is a good 3 years younger than Lallana.
