AndrewTN Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Ok so we've brought a number of kids through the acadamy over recent years and some of them have turned out pretty decent...lots have left though and recently of course we have the Matty H saga and we all know the return we got on that. Additionally the results on the pitch for the academy have not been that great. I was just mulling it over and wonder if an academy at our level is worthwhile? I mean lets look at some Premiership team....acadamians at the likes of Liverpool, Man Ure & Arse are learning their trade from some of the best coaches in the biz, they live, eat and breath football and have the likes of Gerrard, Giggs, Viera & co as their role models setting the benchmark....these kids take their jobs seriously and dream of success. Our boys get to look up to the likes of Doherty, Phillips, Coles & our dearly departed Peacock, Thorpe, Hutchings etc who, allegedly, find ways to raise their performances on a saturday night on the town. I know a couple of instances where a couple of the acadamy kids were identified out boozing but a lot of them are not so well known so there may be more instances they just haven't been spotted. I won't harp on about the drinking culture around the UK and pro sports again and I know it happens with other clubs around the country but it seems to be constantly raising it's head with our players. Until our players start acting like professional athletes we are destined to be a crappy little 3rd division club. 2 players with a professional approach in a squad of 20 is not going to make up the difference. I'm not knocking the academy as I think it's a great thing but my concern is that in today's football world we are not going to see the kind of return from it that we should expect. If even the better players such as Matty H & Liam Rosenior are allowed to leave for next to nothing what is the point in continuing it. We are stuck in the vicious cycle of 3rd div football that nobody really wants to be a part of but nobody seems to want to push themselves to get out of. We all know that had we been promoted then Matty H would not have been looking at moving to Preston. We are bringing players through the academy and they are getting their chance of 1st team football from age 18/19 then due to the Bosman rules they are fed up with 3rd division football and repeated play off failure by the time their contracts run out at age 23/24 and walk away for next to nothing. We are not grooming Beckhams that can be sold for some good bank to help the club out financially and we are not seeing players come through that are helping improve the team to a winning/promotion contending team. I thought for the longest time that the Academy was the best thing to happen to us but now I'm not so sure it will even work in today's crazy sport for a club in our position. Thoughts anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewTN Posted January 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Sorry...didn't see this was already being debated under another thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slave to the rhythm Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Sorry...didn't see this was already being debated under another thread. ← You can hardly describe the mud-slinging and name-calling which is going on in the other thread as a debate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy234 Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Judging by last nights result for the under 18s in the FA Youth cup, losing 3-1 to Leyton Orient, it does make you wonder, not a good reflection on the academy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edson Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Judging by last nights result for the under 18s in the FA Youth cup, losing 3-1 to Leyton Orient, it does make you wonder, not a good reflection on the academy. ← Yeah, a team were knocked out of a cup competition by inferior opposition on a wet and blustery winter's night away from home. Unheard of, and I trust we'll never see this sort of thing again in football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich-TWSC- Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Yeah, a team were knocked out of a cup competition by inferior opposition on a wet and blustery winter's night away from home. Unheard of, and I trust we'll never see this sort of thing again in football. ← Hehehehe I pretty much said that in the other thread! So I agree with edson! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nibor Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Hehehehe I pretty much said that in the other thread! So I agree with edson! ← Wonder what the weather is like in Exeter? Nibor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham b Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Yeah, a team were knocked out of a cup competition by inferior opposition on a wet and blustery winter's night away from home. Unheard of, and I trust we'll never see this sort of thing again in football. ← You obviously were at a different game to me then Edson! Leyton was dry but cold....... and the problem was that the opposition was anything other than inferior. Also I'm not taking a game in isolation. Our Academy results have been the most unsuccesful in the land for the last two seasons and we are on course for a repeat performance this year. If the club is not concerned by this then the attitude can only be described as complacent in the extreme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edson Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 You obviously were at a different game to me then Edson! Leyton was dry but cold....... and the problem was that the opposition was anything other than inferior. Also I'm not taking a game in isolation. Our Academy results have been the most unsuccesful in the land for the last two seasons and we are on course for a repeat performance this year. If the club is not concerned by this then the attitude can only be described as complacent in the extreme. ← Yes, I was. Sorry, I asumed the weather there was the same as it was here yesterday. I'll stand by my 'blustery' though, as I can't believe Leyton escaped that. My point was, one result in isolation was being used as a reason to rubbish the Academy products. Your point about the overall results of the Academy team is obviously far more of a genuine concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
England Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 The problem with the academy is the same as the first team squad - lack of ability with the coaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedZepperin Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 The problem with the academy is the same as the first team squad - lack of ability with the coaches. ← How would you rank the quality of Bristol City's current coaching set-up? a) The best we have ever had. b) Par for the course. c) Slightly below average. d) Very worrying. e) Can't for the life of me understand why they got a round of applause at the AGM (sympathy, perhaps?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tunley Legend Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 The problem with the academy is the same as the first team squad - lack of ability with the coaches. ← Spot on. We do not seem to bring on kids with the right mental attitude or ability to perform above a certain level. The youngster with the best (on pitch) attitude we have is Lita who started in Chelsea's academy, not ours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAGILLA Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 An Academy is a superb asset for any football club whatever division they are in and one that should be supported as much as possible. Unfortunately, the City academy seems to be (consistently) failing to live up to its potential. A cursory glance at this season's results so far make pretty poor reading. The Under 18s have:- P18 W1 D5 L12 F21 A38 goal difference-17 Fair enough, there are some 'big' clubs in there, Arsenal, Chelsea etc but there are also two clubs whose senior sides are in the same division as us - Wednesday and the MK Dons and at least four other sides [Reading, Coventry, Watford and Cardiff] who I would hope City would consider themselves to be on a par with resources-wise. The statistics should make better reading than they do. The problem? Coaching not good enough perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedZepperin Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 The problem? Coaching not good enough perhaps? ← Bad weather, apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAGILLA Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Bad weather, apparently. ← What? Not 'blustery' perchance? [i'm sure a wise sage once said "It's the same for both sides." ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedZepperin Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 What? Not 'blustery' perchance? ] ← "Blustery" for some of the games we lost, "jolly nippy" for some of the others and "a bit on the parky side" for the rest. Dreadful luck weather-wise, all round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAGILLA Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 "Blustery" for some of the games we lost, "jolly nippy" for some of the others and "a bit on the parky side" for the rest. Dreadful luck weather-wise, all round. ← RZ, you're a blinkin' genius! Here we've been, all these months and weeks discussing, debating, cogitating, arguing over the Academy's problems and continued lack of success and there it was staring us in the face all the time! How can the young 'uns at the Academy thrive when they are forced to play in these absolutely typical weather conditions for this time of year? I've completed a quick search on the Net of a possible 'perfect' location for the Academy - Baja in Mexico. Know as the 'San Diego of Mexico' it boasts a daily mean average temperature of 70 degrees; is one of the three most cloud free areas on earth; has an average rainfall of less than 9 inches per year and major storms and hurricanes are virtually non-existent! No more wet, blustery winter nights there then! Problem solved!! I'll suggest it on the 'Ask SteveL' forum and find out what the relocation costs might be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedZepperin Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 RZ, you're a blinkin' genius! Steady! I've completed a quick search on the Net of a possible 'perfect' location for the Academy - Baja in Mexico. Know as the 'San Diego of Mexico' it boasts a daily mean average temperature of 70 degrees; is one of the three most cloud free areas on earth; has an average rainfall of less than 9 inches per year and major storms and hurricanes are virtually non-existent! No more wet, blustery winter nights there then! Problem solved!! Sounds absolutely balmy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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