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Do we though? Dom was straight into the first team squad, so was Branthwaite. Gibson wasn't but he's not really made the step up to the first team squad, and that's going to happen, but in recent years that's not a great return. We've won various B leagues under Unsworth but that hasn't translated to breakthroughs to the first team. Unsworths gone, koppite Kev is in, I await with bated breath. We need to start generating our own talent, the purchasing model has failed.I mean we already do that, kind of.
We paid a lot for Lewis Gibson, Dom, Branflakes.
Tarkowski is fine, it's not some sort of coup as some posters would have us believe. It is not a transformative signing. It's just fine (and expensive).We’re not in the position to throw an up and coming kid in that defence. If they were good enough to transform it then it doesn’t matter what scouting team we have, we ain’t beating the top clubs to them. We did it with Stones but even as good as he now is, I don’t think a 19 year old Stones is what this defence needs right now.
Just as Leicester needed Jonny Evans and then Fofana could slot next to him, we desperately needed a senior CB who could stay fit and organise that back line. Tarkowski does that. So now we can either get a bit more out of Mina next to him, try whichever of Godfrey Holgate Branthwaite works best with him, or if we bring in a younger CB they’re playing next to a decent player rather than a train wreck like Michael Keane
The Tarkowski deal was not a bad one at all.
I honestly dont think we have ever stopped trying to generate our own talent.Do we though? Dom was straight into the first team squad, so was Branthwaite. Gibson wasn't but he's not really made the step up to the first team squad, and that's going to happen, but in recent years that's not a great return. We've won various B leagues under Unsworth but that hasn't translated to breakthroughs to the first team. Unsworths gone, koppite Kev is in, I await with bated breath. We need to start generating our own talent, the purchasing model has failed.
Do we though? Dom was straight into the first team squad, so was Branthwaite. Gibson wasn't but he's not really made the step up to the first team squad, and that's going to happen, but in recent years that's not a great return. We've won various B leagues under Unsworth but that hasn't translated to breakthroughs to the first team. Unsworths gone, koppite Kev is in, I await with bated breath. We need to start generating our own talent, the purchasing model has failed.
Someone or some group of people let Unsworth prioritise utterly meaningless trophies, whilst playing individuals who were never, ever going to make it into the first team, rather than developing raw but promising talent, the bulk of whom would also not have made it but maybe, just maybe, might have, for years. We're not serious about youth development, if we were we would have stepped in years ago.I honestly dont think we have ever stopped trying to generate our own talent.
I mean look at the top clubs, how many have academy players in their first 11?
Foden, TAA, Kane, im sure theres loads others, but its not like we ever stopped or any club.
But yeah, at times it felt like Unsworth only cared about Unsworth, might be harsh, might be true.
We compete with some top, top clubs in our catchment area.
It just proves koeman was a joke when he played him there lost me thenPlayers have broken through, they’ve just not kicked on.
Davies was a teenager ranked in that stupid golden boy award, picked to train with England, keeping the likes of Klaasen Schneiderlin Delph Gomes out the team at different points. He’s drastically declined since then but was that the academy’s fault?
Gordon is in the first team and one of our best players.
Is it the academy’s fault that Thierry Small wanted to go and get a contract at Southampton?
Even now Lundstram Dowell Forshaw Barkley are all playing at decent levels, not good enough to push us on but they’ve made careers in the top flight.
We’ve got another batch of young players right now: Dobbin, Simms, Pryce, Welch, Onyango who knows if any will be good enough to make it but its highly unlikely for clubs to have a constant conveyor belt of talent coming through. Even at Barcelona after the Iniesta Messi Xavi generation, they’ve had to wait a long time to get Pedri and Gavi, sometimes it is just dependent on generational talent. Same at United, they had the 92 class, then Lingard and Pogba and that’s been it really.
The good kids will come through the academy if they’re there, they always have, its what happens after that in the first team that worries me. Koeman had DCL at right wing back after all.
Davies and Gordon is a pitiful return in the space of, what, 5, 6, 7 years?Players have broken through, they’ve just not kicked on.
Davies was a teenager ranked in that stupid golden boy award, picked to train with England, keeping the likes of Klaasen Schneiderlin Delph Gomes out the team at different points. He’s drastically declined since then but was that the academy’s fault?
Gordon is in the first team and one of our best players.
Is it the academy’s fault that Thierry Small wanted to go and get a contract at Southampton?
Even now Lundstram Dowell Forshaw Barkley are all playing at decent levels, not good enough to push us on but they’ve made careers in the top flight.
We’ve got another batch of young players right now: Dobbin, Simms, Pryce, Welch, Onyango who knows if any will be good enough to make it but its highly unlikely for clubs to have a constant conveyor belt of talent coming through. Even at Barcelona after the Iniesta Messi Xavi generation, they’ve had to wait a long time to get Pedri and Gavi, sometimes it is just dependent on generational talent. Same at United, they had the 92 class, then Lingard and Pogba and that’s been it really.
The good kids will come through the academy if they’re there, they always have, its what happens after that in the first team that worries me. Koeman had DCL at right wing back after all.
But we had players who won a World Cup with England.Someone or some group of people let Unsworth prioritise utterly meaningless trophies, whilst playing individuals who were never, ever going to make it into the first team, rather than developing raw but promising talent, the bulk of whom would also not have made it but maybe, just maybe, might have, for years. We're not serious about youth development, if we were we would have stepped in years ago.
Anybody who thinks you can get half a team from their youth system is delusional. However, one first team player every two or three years doesn't seem unreasonable to me. Teams like Southampton, who like it or not are now our direct competitors, seem to manage it. We are now at least five years away from buying our way up the table again, given our finances, so we need to be more creative and take more risksBut we had players who won a World Cup with England.
I just think its easy to point fingers, but youth development is a hard thing to do.
People think you can just go "Lets produce our own players" and it happens.
I blame the class of 92.
Do they manage it tho?Anybody who thinks you can get half a team from their youth system is delusional. However, one first team player every two or three years doesn't seem unreasonable to me. Teams like Southampton, who like it or not are now our direct competitors, seem to manage it. We are now at least five years away from buying our way up the table again, given our finances, so we need to be more creative and take more risks
Ben White, Luke Shaw, Callum Chambers, Matt Targett. You might say that is just OK, but that's five players with solid PL careers in 7 or 8 years that have either made a difference to Southampton or have earned them decent fees. We can't run the Chelsea or Man City model, 20 odd players out on loan, I get that, but we can do better. We should always be trying to do better. We'll probably just keep trying to sign Watford and Burnley players for 8 figures and give them high 5 figure or 6 figure salaries per week.Do they manage it tho?
Ward Prowse and ????
Moyes has been scrimping and saving though. This is his big blowout. A bunch of players have also just left.Ye it’s very unlike the dildo brothers. Reading a bit of West Ham Twitter some aren’t getting too excited by the bids yet and won’t believe till they’ve signed, leaking bids to the media though seems to be their thing.