Fair points but it does highlight that if you look at things objectively and relatively then we're better at it (or at the very least, no worse) than the majority. It can sometimes be easy to lose sight of that when we get so wrapped up in our club.
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EFC_FRANCIS
Player Valuation: £35m
Yeah I don't think it's a very good stat at all really. United are high because they threw their season away by February. Saints have one great player who they bought in the summer, I'd imagine wolves has a large % made up by 40 million pound signing Fabio Silva whilst Leeds is probably made up by Gelhardt and Greenwood because of their injuries.
Truth is that unless you're truly unbelievable as a teenager no club is giving you game time barring a massive crisis
catcherintherye
Player Valuation: £80m
Yes. I mean what you get is that young players across the league dont get many opportunities. But of a pretty low bar, we are one of the better teams.
Our issue for me is not how many 17/18/19 year olds get league minutes for us, but more do those players improve enough through to age 22/23.
The positive spin is that three homegrown teenagers made their PL debuts last season , plus Simms who I think was 20 when he got his first PL mins. Prior to this we had Gordon and a long gap back to Beningime for teenage debuts . This is from memory I’m sure some one will pick me up if I’m wrong , but it highlights the change in focus in the past few years particularly u18s getting moved up early to the u23s . It doesn’t mean they are all going to be good enough play in the PL but it allows them to differentiate between say the likes of Price and Butterfield, get an early look at Whitaker and Welch. And hopefully sends out the message to the promising youngsters that opportunities are there if you’re good enough.
EFC_FRANCIS
Player Valuation: £35m
PL2 is reverting back to a U21s league rather than a U23s. Changes are highly unlikely to affect us given our age groups last year.
I know we have a fair few who are playing up a level or two. But I ask myself the question if this change could mean a harder culling in the youth set up, generally. Could be positive....
EFC_FRANCIS
Player Valuation: £35m
I don't think it will affect the culling quite as much as you're now allowed to field more over-age players than before. So it doesn't seem like too much of a material change.
EFC_FRANCIS
Player Valuation: £35m
Thierry Small wearing 11 for England's 18s. I have won at last.
Zatara
Player Valuation: £100m
Youre saying "currently" but were undergoing a revamp of the youth system.
Its a conservative 3-5 year approach.
Any thoughts or insights into what happened with our new superstar this season just gone — Francis Okoronkow?
The kid had a real purple patch, scoring 6 in 7 games when he finally started playing at the end of November... then faded by the end of January and ultimately disappeared in early March, never to be seen or heard of again???
The kid had a real purple patch, scoring 6 in 7 games when he finally started playing at the end of November... then faded by the end of January and ultimately disappeared in early March, never to be seen or heard of again???
Richard Alex
Player Valuation: £8m
Did Southampton pay us compensation for him
I know we wanted 5 million but its gone quiet on that.
What was the outcome if any?
Yes, we wanted £5m and Southampton offered £1.5m. It was rumoured to be going to tribunal, but surely that would be settled by now?
I can't find any reports of it, so I reckon they must have come to some compromise agreement.
Okoronkwo was injured not long after making his u23 debut , and never appeared again , he fell into the black hole that is our communications department for injured youngsters,