Academy Contracts

[GrahamC]

Good news in well deserved contract extensions for Zak Vyner and Lloyd Kelly.

But I have to admit I'm completely bemused by further contract extensions for the goalkeepers Max O'Leary and Jojo Wollacott, neither are kids now, O'Leary is 21, I believe and unlike the 2 defenders, neither is remotely near first team contention, so can anyone else explain why with Lucic on the bench and a signing still rumoured, we need five goalkeepers?

[Kodjias Wrist]

1 minute ago, GrahamC said:

Good news in well deserved contract extensions for Zak Vyner and Lloyd Kelly.

But I have to admit I'm completely bemused by further contract extensions for the goalkeepers Max O'Leary and Jojo Wollacott, neither as kids now, O'Leary is 21, I believe and unlike the 2 defenders, neither is remotely near first team contention, so can anyone else explain why with Lucic on the bench and a signing still rumoured, we need five goalkeepers?

Maybe the coaching staff who see them everyday feel they have potential. Its a long old career for a keeper and these lads have ages to develop. Id be concerned if no progress was being made though.

[CheddarReds]

1 minute ago, GrahamC said:

Good news in well deserved contract extensions for Zak Vyner and Lloyd Kelly.

But I have to admit I'm completely bemused by further contract extensions for the goalkeepers Max O'Leary and Jojo Wollacott, neither as kids now, O'Leary is 21, I believe and unlike the 2 defenders, neither is remotely near first team contention, so can anyone else explain why with Lucic on the bench and a signing still rumoured, we need five goalkeepers?

Worth remembering that Goalkeepers don't hit their peak til later in their careers, keeping them on til 23(ish?) means we can get them another loan or two each hopefully and see if they can develop as we hope. O'Leary had a successful loan spell at Bath last season which probably helped him get a new contract.

[Phileas Fogg]

Relatively speaking their wages are probably tiny compared to the rest of the squad.

Relatively low risk keeping them on, especially as keepers develop a bit later.

[RumRed]

45 minutes ago, JonDolman said:

Great news. Lets hope we sort out some of the seniors now like Brownhill. Looking at this picture Vyner is supposed to be 5ft 11 and kelly 6ft 3. Seems like vyner is in fact a lot taller than that.

That font doesn't get any better does it?

[BCFC_Dan]

1 hour ago, GrahamC said:

so can anyone else explain why with Lucic on the bench and a signing still rumoured, we need five goalkeepers?

I don't imagine we do need five goalkeepers, but if we have a bunch of good* ones in the academy, why bin one off just because we have "enough"? Nobody knows at this age, and 21 is young for a goalkeeper, who will make it and who won't, so why gamble by choosing now? They don't cost much, relatively speaking, and can be loaned out to other clubs, giving City the chance to evaluate them without risking their own results and hopefully building good relationships with those other clubs too, which may be of benefit in the future.

Chelsea have hundreds of Academy players. Nearly all of them don't make it to their first team, but they do get loaned out, then sold on at a profit. Lukaku played for them once in the league, yet they sold him for £18m. Nathan Ake made a handful of first team appearances, now they've sold him for £20m.

Using the Academy to produce players for the first team is one benefit, but it can also be used to produce players for other clubs' at a profit. I'm not saying that either of these goalkeepers will go for millions, but they're still assets worth hanging on to regardless of whether they're "needed" or not.

 

* I have no idea if they're good or not. I presume they are, hence being offered contracts, but that depends on the judgement of the staff and is another matter.

[Nogbad the Bad]

Having 3 professional keepers all aged 21/22 definitely seems excessive.

Will they now judge the 2 U.18's keepers harder when it comes to offering them contracts with so many under 23 keepers now under contract? Or will we have 5 18-23 year old goalkeepers next year? I wonder how the 17/18 year old keepers view their chances of progression at AG?

It's a surprise City haven't decided who's more likely to make it out of the 2 home grown ones - Woolacott and O'leary have been around quite a while now, so maybe the club think both can make the grade at Championship level? 

If so, why sign Lucic at just a year older?

At what age would they make a decision to release a GK, it's all very well saying keepers mature later but that surely doesn't mean they should be given never ending apprenticeships while getting a professional wage. Smacks of indecisiveness.

A few questions for LJ and MA at the forthcoming Q&A perhaps.

[eastonboy]

1 hour ago, JonDolman said:

Great news. Lets hope we sort out some of the seniors now like Brownhill. Looking at this picture Vyner is supposed to be 5ft 11 and kelly 6ft 3. Seems like vyner is in fact a lot taller than that.

Kelly is standing on Lee Johnson

[GrahamC]

Thanks Nogbad, exactly the point I was making.

Also, none of these 3 have yet managed a loan spell at FL level whilst with us.

[pride of the west]

I can see the extensions to both the keepers being made with the thought of offloading Lucic at the end of the season if he doesn't make a breakthrough. 

As others have said they must be showing promise and they are too young  in GK terms to release just yet

[chipdawg]

Why is everyone getting their knickers in a twist about how many keepers we have on the books? There's no limit on the number of contracts we can have, the value of the contracts will be peanuts and it's not blocking anyone's path to the first team. I just can't understand why people see this as a problem for anyone other than the lads who in signing the contracts are committing to fight for a place. I expect to see at least one of them away on loan by the end of August, if not two

[shelts]

2 hours ago, GrahamC said:

Good news in well deserved contract extensions for Zak Vyner and Lloyd Kelly.

But I have to admit I'm completely bemused by further contract extensions for the goalkeepers Max O'Leary and Jojo Wollacott, neither are kids now, O'Leary is 21, I believe and unlike the 2 defenders, neither is remotely near first team contention, so can anyone else explain why with Lucic on the bench and a signing still rumoured, we need five goalkeepers?

Interesting point and one I'd not thought of . Not one of them on the bench . An odd one 

[BCFC Rich]

32 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Thanks Nogbad, exactly the point I was making.

Also, none of these 3 have yet managed a loan spell at FL level whilst with us.

I'd guess that's part of the issue if we'd managed to get them regular games in FL we'd have a better idea of how good they are. I would imagine we are in part warriors of letting them go until they have some league experience to show. 

[Gillies Downs Leeds]

Think Max will be back out on loan again soon, possibly league 2. Got a feeling JoJo will have to wait until January, for his mooted loan move to Bath City. As for Lucic I am not a fan personally, despite many saying his kicking is a strongpoint, on the 7 or 8 times I have seen him play I wouldn't say this was the case.

[EnderMB]

I imagine finding a loan deal for a keeper is much more difficult than for an outfield player, especially at this stage in the season. Very few teams don't have a first-team keeper, and unless there are any injuries I doubt they'd be willing to risk it all on a player unproven at FL level.

It's why I'd like to see the club look towards setting up some kind of affiliate deal with a club in another country. We've got connections in Sweden, so why not set up a link with a team that will allow us to send promising academy players on loan. It'll give our youngsters a hell of an experience, and they'll get competitive football.

[WhistleHappy]

I hear the young keepers all have Lansdown Savers Club Account's ... (thought that might be of 'interest'  )