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[Albion] Calde and the U18s



Guinness Boy

Tofu eating wokerati
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Jul 23, 2003
34,213
Up and Coming Sunny Portslade
As much as I don’t like to say this about a club legend, the 18s have won two all season and were just beaten 6-1 by a Norwich team who didn’t have a single point up to now.

Feels like a poor appointment. What say ye @AZ Gull ?
 




AZ Gull

@SeagullsAcademy Threads: @bhafcacademy
Oct 14, 2003
11,750
Chandler, AZ
As much as I don’t like to say this about a club legend, the 18s have won two all season and were just beaten 6-1 by a Norwich team who didn’t have a single point up to now.

Feels like a poor appointment. What say ye @AZ Gull ?
Let's face it - NOBODY on NSC (including you and me) has a clue how good Calderon is as a coach. However, that is why I was pretty bemused by this thread when it was rumoured (and then confirmed) that he was returning to Albion. In my mind, the person I want to be leading our U-18s is someone who is great at developing young talent, not just someone who used to play for us, has a nice face and whose farts smell of perfume. I thought that people may have learned a lesson from the Bruno shenanigans but I guess not.

The U-18s head coach position has been something of a revolving door recently; Calderon is the fifth person to hold the role in the last three-and-a-half seasons. Results are fairly meaningless at this level as, ultimately, the ONLY thing that matters is developing talent (ideally for the first team but, if not, for sale). However, losing 6-1 at home to a side who had previously lost all NINE league games is certainly not a good look.

The good news is, we might face Norwich again in the 4th round of the FA Youth Cup :facepalm: (they play Leeds in their 3rd round tie on Friday).

Anyway, if people want to discuss the U-18s ( :lol: ), there is a dedicated thread already - The 2023-24 1st-year scholars and U-18s match thread
 












Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
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Oct 8, 2003
50,210
Faversham
Yes it is and the people criticising on this thread haven’t got a clue what they are talking about.
Funnily I haven't seen one single post of the sort to which you allude.

Presumably those cheeky monkeys I have on ignore have done one of their legendary pile ins. :shrug:
 






Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Patron
Oct 8, 2003
50,210
Faversham
Nope. Only the OP asking the question. You haven’t missed anything.
Ah. So Dibdab is exaggerating? I have told people a million billion times to not exaggerate.
 


Sussax

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Aug 31, 2012
2,383
Brighton
Christ. Before this threads evolves to another pile on, on the OP. (For asking a valid question)

The u18s are stretched atm, but at what point do results speak for themselves?

Love Calde, but should the crop of u18s be beating Norwich and getting better (despite the call ups) results tis the question?
 


GT49er

Well-known member
Feb 1, 2009
46,757
Gloucester
Isn’t the focus on development rather than results?
Yes it is - but still a 6-1 defeat to a supposedly rubbish team doesn't look good on the face of it. Of course, our strongest U21 team is playing in the EFL or in the first team squad, so it's conceivable that the best U18s are playing for the U21s, thus weakening the U18s - but having said that, a team with 3(?) 16 year olds whupped our U21s last night, so age doesn't always count for that much.

However, as #AZGull points out, none of us know what's going on with the U18s - their matches aren't streamed, and as far as I know the public doesn't get in to watch the matches either (and this is not a criticism - I think that is the right policy with young players). The club - on the website at least - gives us precious little feedback on the U18s. Most of the information we do have comes from a well-known poster on NSC!
:thumbsup: that man - but even so, we don't really have enough information to discuss the performances of the U18s and their coach(es).
 




dazzer6666

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Mar 27, 2013
52,512
Burgess Hill
Christ. Before this threads evolves to another pile on, on the OP. (For asking a valid question)

The u18s are stretched atm, but at what point do results speak for themselves?

Love Calde, but should the crop of u18s be beating Norwich and getting better (despite the call ups) results tis the question?
No, because the academy doesn’t focus on results, but individual player development :shrug:
 








Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Patron
Oct 8, 2003
50,210
Faversham
Of course this specific result looks bad but our first team also lost 5-1 to Everton last year.
Precisely. And when the first team draws at home to Bumley, turning one's attentions to the under 18s result, as if this the the product of some sort of insidious 'jobs for the boys' scheme, and hence symptomatic of the rotten core of our shit club, is as unhelpful as giving an African nation hundreds of millions of quid to solve the problem of 'the boats'.
 


Sussax

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Aug 31, 2012
2,383
Brighton
Precisely. And when the first team draws at home to Bumley, turning one's attentions to the under 18s result, as if this the the product of some sort of insidious 'jobs for the boys' scheme, and hence symptomatic of the rotten core of our shit club, is as unhelpful as giving an African nation hundreds of millions of quid to solve the problem of 'the boats'.
That’s quite the leap.
 


dazzer6666

Well-known member
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Mar 27, 2013
52,512
Burgess Hill
And that’s great, but then at what point would you rather experience/development over results?
Always. Results outside of the first team are pretty much irrelevant imo………or at least lessen massively as you drop through the age grades. Good job the u16s results don’t get posted, we’d have whole threads on what a waste of money the academy is :lol:
 


AZ Gull

@SeagullsAcademy Threads: @bhafcacademy
Oct 14, 2003
11,750
Chandler, AZ
Loads of the u21’s and u18’s are in the first team squad due to injuries

That means loads of the u18’s are in the the u21 squad

That weakens the 18’s

...
The u18s are stretched atm, but at what point do results speak for themselves?
...

Actually, the U-18 squad isn't weakened. A couple of the second years were not involved today as they have started to be included in U-21 squads, but that is EXACTLY what should be happening (if it isn't, your development process isn't being effective). By mid-way through their second scholar year, there is not a whole lot of development that is going to come from continuing to play against (mostly) younger players. And I would expect by this stage, the club would have a pretty good idea whether that second-year is going to be offered a professional contract or be released.

No idea why it was such a poor result today but it can't be blamed on a lack of player availability.
 








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