Making Use Of The Academy

[publandlord]

We have all seen the latest balance sheet and the sorry tale it tells, accumulated losses of £35 million, a loss of 11.8 million last year and 6.5 million the year before. We now have a bigger squad than last year 3 Premier League loanees and even if we are lucky enough to offload 10 players in the window that would only save around £4 million in a full year, so £2million until the next accounts are due. So it looks like another 8figure loss next year too. This just cant go on as this level of losses would be difficult to sustain even in the Premier League.

WE have to change track as we don't have the fan base of the other larger clubs in this division. The new stadium will help but it wont wipe away these sort of debts.

Less than 10 years ago we had a fully functioning academy half our first team players came through it, we didnt have a huge squad, and we didnt lose huge amounts of money.

We have Carey, Skuse and Ribiero from the academy now but where are the likes of Matty Hill, Liam Rosenior, Lita, Cotteril etc etc all players who have played in the Championship and higher

Academy players no longer seem to have a chance in our current set up. We have teams from junior school level through to under 18, our current under 18s are doing well playing against top Premier League youngsters, what happens when are youngsters leave the academy?? and why dont they make it into the first team??

Well currently we have no reserve team (friendlies only) I can understand why we left the last reserve league beating the likes of Exeter reserves 10-0 each week isnt going to help anybody..

Instead we send young players to Stockport, Cheltenham, Aldershot etc. This will toughen them up playing in league 1 or 2 but its hardly likely to improve their skills is it? We cant control what position they play, tactics employed nor can we control what they get up to off the park. Is it any wonder our yougers never seem to progress into the first team now.

What do we need to do:

Get into a strong reserve league like the football combination or the central league, be prepared to play home games at Newbury / oxford (or Worcester for the central league) just to get a toe hold in these leagues. Stop playing our fringe professionals in reserve games keep the places for emerging talent.

If we do have to buy in - buy players like Adomah who are cheap and wont demand silly wages (Coppell may have walked out on us but I challenge anyone to find a better value for money signing than Albert - maybe the Irish lads could be equally good if they ever got a chance to play regular football)

Appoint a single person reporting straight into Lansdown to coordinate all youth development and make them responsible to produce players ready for the first team

Slim down the current first team squad as soon as possible (easier said than done) but we need to be ruthless and get rid of all but our best players to free up the blocks to youth team progression

S****horpe Blackpool Doncaster operate like this we could do if there was the will from the top

This strategy will take a long time to start producing young players again I hope we don't go bust first

[_Bristol-City_]

Think we av bobby, aaron holloway, scott wilson, and a few others coming through..

[Donald]

I think man at the top of the academys rolw needs looking at, during johnson's reign, youth wasn't important......instead bringing in youngsters like Calvin andrew and nick wright.....who were useless and likely no better than our own players....

That said, those that have left have done nothing since.

Ribs, Wilson have a good future but after thAt who knows.......

Edwards and holloway are highly rated..............but we have heard that before.....Marvin "non-league" Brown and Tristian "Sunday league" Plummer