Bell and the Academy.

[mozo]

5 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Jack Hunt

What's he complaining about?!

I'm sure he forgot one or two that came through and did alright but our past two years have been really exceptional. 

[Phileas Fogg]

What's also really interesting is how the youth development system has developed several different styles of forward in Semenyo/Conway/Bell.

Semenyo - strong, fast and explosive.

Conway - clever movement, natural goalscorer and great at linking play.

Bell - fast, excellent finisher and excellent to find with throughballs.

It seems that with all three examples, we've managed to find their strengths and hone them really well. 

In years gone by, it seems we mainly developed players who primarily had the core attributes of good fitness, work rate and attitude. Examples I'm thinking of here are Craig Woodman, Cole Skuse, Joe Morrell, Zak Vyner, Bobby Reid and Joe Bryan.

Obviously Reid and Bryan went on to develop into really good players with far more to their game, but the core attributes were what enabled them to be around first team football. 

Whilst I don't doubt all our youth products in the couple of seasons also have these core attributes, it seems all of them have a more than that, and all of them have big individual strengths.

Edited January 31, 2023 by Phileas Fogg

[downendcity]

On 30/01/2023 at 11:13, mozo said:

In the same way that Nige is very unlucky to be our manager at a time when we're having to drastically cut costs, he's also fortunate to have joined just as pur wonderkid has reached first team maturity, and a crop of strikers are ready too (not to mention all the others showing promise).

Undoubtedly Nige will be inspiring then to some extent and certainly giving them a culture that will enable their growth, but to have so much talent at City is just unusual. 

I was chatting to a Sheffield Wednesday fan who was baffled because he couldn't remember the last homegrown talent at Hillsborough. 

Nige, our coaches and other club and academy staff deserve credit for sure. I also imagine that other clubs have good set ups too without producing such a quantity of quality.

We should cherish this golden generation because it won't always be like this.

Yes, circumstances have had an effect, so that our financial plight has caused the introduction of many youngsters, because we were not in a position to buy in reinforcements. 

However, that argument might do Pearson a disservice, as it is quite possible that he was quickly able to see the ability and potential of players coming through the academy and realised that exposure to the first team was the only way to know if they really had what it takes. With some, like Towler, the answer was no and they have found a different level away from BCFC. For the many - Scott, Conway, Bell, Vyner, Pring - first team exposure has been the making of them.

Also, as mentioned by another poster, Pearson appears to have bought in to the club's philosophy, so is, and has  been, prepared to make decisions for the long term rather than short term benefit, despite the pressure performances and results have brought on him throughout his time in charge. Whether that is because of his experience, that he does not really "need" the job, or because of reassurance he has been given by the owner, we will probably never know, but perhaps should just be grateful .

For all of the success of the academy and the players that have come through the HPC over the last few years, had another ( any other?) manager taken over instead of Pearson, would we now be seeing Scott, Conway, Pring, Vyner and now Bell establishing themselves, or having established themselves as not only integral parts of the first team, but valuable parts of the team? It might be that the financial circumstances might have forced other managers to follow a similar course, but it does seem that our youngsters have trust and confidence in the manager in response to the trust and confidence he has in them.