[Albion] Our youth players coming through (are we Ajax in disguise)

[Bakero]

This might sound pathetic, but I find that genuinely exciting.

Pathetic how?

 

[Gabbiano]

This might sound pathetic, but I find that genuinely exciting.

Jenks, Roberts and Longman in particular look very good for our U23s at the moment, and the U18s have been steamrolling all before them. If we can keep managing this conveyor properly, it will save the club millions.

I wonder if Rusk will soon find himself with offers from big 6 academies or from lower league clubs to be first team manager.

 

[Deleted member 2719]

The sense I've got is that we have no intention of being a Southampton. The cream of the academy, (at the moment White, Alzate, Connolly) we intend to keep and play.

Inevitably there will be a few, who have a good market value, but either aren't quite Premier League standard or don't fit into Potter's style or are we just have a massive surplus in that position. Then we'll look to sell, maybe for a few million to a decent Championship or foreign club, maybe for a few hundred thousand to a league one or two club. A few a year like that helps cover the costs of the academy.

You could also look at it in the sense of how much would we have to pay to get Alzate or Connolly on the open market if we signed them now? The set up costs then have probably been paid off already.

Totally agree.
The fact we kept hold of players like Dunky and to set a top 10 finish excites me.
Bloom really wants to kick on.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

Pathetic how?

I'm 66 and I feel I ought to be all flea-bitten and cynical and miserable...… not excited and proud of what my football club is doing!

 

[nwgull]

This might sound pathetic, but I find that genuinely exciting.

It is exciting! And that's with the academy and associated recruitment policy only running for 5 seasons.

If you want a laugh, have a look back at some of the posts from autumn 2014 that were whinging about £20-30 million having been spent on the training ground/academy when we were struggling under Sami. Alternatively, look at the posts from summer 2016, which I think was when we signed Connolly, Alzate and White, that were moaning about the recruitment department signing players for the dev squad and not concentrating on splashing the cash on vital 1st team additions.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

It is exciting! And that's with the academy and associated recruitment policy only running for 5 seasons.

If you want a laugh, have a look back at some of the posts from autumn 2014 that were whinging about £20-30 million having been spent on the training ground/academy when we were struggling under Sami. Alternatively, look at the posts from summer 2016, which I think was when we signed Connolly, Alzate and White, that were moaning about the recruitment department signing players for the dev squad and not concentrating on splashing the cash on vital 1st team additions.

I agree entirely. It is REALLY good to see real talent coming through.

 

[Bakero]

It is exciting! And that's with the academy and associated recruitment policy only running for 5 seasons.

If you want a laugh, have a look back at some of the posts from autumn 2014 that were whinging about £20-30 million having been spent on the training ground/academy when we were struggling under Sami. Alternatively, look at the posts from summer 2016, which I think was when we signed Connolly, Alzate and White, that were moaning about the recruitment department signing players for the dev squad and not concentrating on splashing the cash on vital 1st team additions.

You don't need to look back that far. I've seen people spouting off this year about the academy black hole.

 

[Swansman]

There is definitely room for some sort of Ajax type team in England.

Actually, it is probably about time. Most clubs in the UK, even the really big ones, have very weak academys. There is absolutely no reason why England, a 60+ million people country with the richest league in the world should not be able to produce more quality players than i.e. Holland or Portugal. Yet this is the case and its not changing quickly, if at all.

For a while in the mid 00s it seemed a lot of clubs were interested in closing that gap. If world class players en masse could be produced in France and Spain, then why not in England?

But at the time that debate were starting to take off, the PL got crowded with foreign owners who simply dont give a **** about the roots of the clubs or about the future of the English NT.

Sure, in recent years some teams have invested a lot of money but the education of coaches (England have a shit rep when it comes to that part), the massive change of personnel in youth and senior staffs and a lot of economic thinking makes it very difficult to produce capable players,

I think Bloom seems like a wise man and one of the reasons he picked Potter was likely seeing the great potential in producing young players. Young, promising English players means massive cash. It also means the club got a heart, like the dominant United side, or like Chelsea before they threw out Terry, or like Barcelona, Real and Milan at their peak. Or Ajax for that matter.

Its almost as if he has discovered a great secret: if you have players coming through your academy, they will also care about the club, which could be ever so important as the fancy dribbler imported from Brazil for brazillions of cash.

 

[BadFish]

This might sound pathetic, but I find that genuinely exciting.

With transfer inflation at such ridiculous levels I predict that youth systems are going to become more and more important. With the figures being spend currently it would take the GDP of a nation to fully overhaul a team. Spurs have obviously realised this, as have Arsenal who appear to be promoting from within in an attempt to solve their defensive problems (granted they will probably have to spend big to complete the process).

IMHO football becoming a battle of the academy is an exciting prospect that may level the playing field a little (obviously the big clubs will find away of flexing their financial muscle).

On the other hand I might be talking a load of tosh, either way, for us producing quality youngsters is vital for our future.

 

[GT49er]

You don't need to look back that far. I've seen people spouting off this year about the academy black hole.

To be fair, up until three or four months ago, it was.

 

[vagabond]

Surprised some don’t agree Connolly’s value is already in the £20 to £30 million range.

Put it this way, suppose we had him on loan from Man City right now. Given his impact and age we’d be quite happy to make it a permanent deal for £30m at this moment, no? So that’s his value.

Come on... Wan-Bissaka is worth £50m after 1 season and he’s not a forward.

 

[portlock seagull]

Surprised some don’t agree Connolly’s value is already in the £20 to £30 million range.

Put it this way, suppose we had him on loan from Man City right now. Given his impact and age we’d be quite happy to make it a permanent deal for £30m at this moment, no? So that’s his value.

Come on... Wan-Bissaka is worth £50m after 1 season and he’s not a forward.

Connolly is now worth at least 3% of Eire’s GDP. He’s 2 goals off meeting the Pope. 3 more and he gets to meet Bono

 

[GT49er]

Connolly is now worth at least 3% of Eire’s GDP. He’s 2 goals off meeting the Pope. 3 more and he gets to meet Bono

He's 19 years old. His only reaction to that would be, "Who?"

 

[BadFish]

Connolly is now worth at least 3% of Eire’s GDP. He’s 2 goals off meeting the Pope. 3 more and he gets to meet Bono

If he gets 4 can he NOT meet Bono

 

[Eeyore]

Jenks, Roberts and Longman in particular look very good for our U23s at the moment, and the U18s have been steamrolling all before them. If we can keep managing this conveyor properly, it will save the club millions.

I wonder if Rusk will soon find himself with offers from big 6 academies or from lower league clubs to be first team manager.

Rusk is already at one of the biggest six academies.

 

[Frankworthington]

To be fair, up until three or four months ago, it was.

Me too.When we signed Richards at the start of the season i was seriously under-whelmed.

How wrong i was.Connolly and Alzate look the real deal.

 

[Bry Nylon]

If/when we get relegated it is to be hoped that we won't be caught with our financial pants down like some clubs.

True. We wouldn't want our assets to get frozen.

 

[Da Man Clay]

To be fair, up until three or four months ago, it was.

Only if you were a bit daft. It’s been evident for at least the last year, if not longer, we were starting to see some good players come through.

 

[Megazone]

Connolly is now worth at least 3% of Eire’s GDP. He’s 2 goals off meeting the Pope. 3 more and he gets to meet Bono

So what's in it for Connolly?

 

[Gabbiano]

So what's in it for Connolly?

An opportunity to punch Bono.