[Archived] Academy?

[American]

Den, I'd like to see a list of "solid" premiership strikers who lit the top flight up before 21. Even when Bellamy was Derbs' age he was only scoring 6 in 34 for Coventry. I know he's not a striker, but wasn't Beckham even going on loan when he was Derbs' age?

(The interesting thing is that I'm trying to think of Premiership strikers who are with the club they came up with and am having trouble.)

[Flopsy]

Owen and Rooney?

[American]

By solid I mean not superstars, but 5-10 goals a season players.

[dik dastardly]

Good win for the youth team this morning. They beat Man Utd 2-1 having been 1-0 down in the first minute. Goals from O'keefe (i think) and Raf de Vita secured the 3 points that keep Rovers 3rd in their league.

[Lee]

Yes it was O'Keefe with the glancing header.

If anyone is concerned about our Academy, there's no-one from United's that'll make their way through on today's showing, none of them are above 5'5" either!

[Bobby G]

How is De Vita rated? Is he more highly rated than Derbyshire? What are the expectations of him?

[Fife Rover]

Aye, well, they aren't Spanish are they?

I'm afraid I'd have to call that a 0-0 draw. WE haven't brought through anyone who has become a first team REGULAR either.

Yet. I have high hopes for Derbyshire and I do wish Hughes would give Gallagher a fair crack. Emerton was rubbish for 4 seasons before this one yet still kept getting picked week in week out. imagine how far Gallagher would have progressed given that kind of run.

What were Duff and Dunn then?

[92er]

What were Duff and Dunn then?

They were prior to the Academy.

[FourLaneBlue]

Football can change very quickly and things can easily mess up but....have the events of this week changed views of the Academy?

- Derbyshire scores two, starts against Chelsea (and looked a handful) and is picked for the England Under 21s.

- Gallagher, recently handed a new deal, starts against Chelsea. Much needed CHEAP cover for Savage although playing him there against Chelsea may be asking a bit mucj

- Andy Taylor and Tony Kane both go out on loan. Will we hear much from them again? Well...Derbs and Gally went on loan last year and are now part of the first team squad so it is possible particularly with Taylor as he is going to Huddersfield. Not too sure what will happen with Kane at Cercle Brugge...

- Jay McEveley didn't work out but a £600,000 fee is nicely appreciated and could be increased to seven figures apparently if all the sell-on clauses are triggered (not sure how true this bit is or if just paper talk).

Compared to when this thread was started it appears that there has been much reason for optimism regarding the Academy output in recent months. Particularly compared to the poor products before that.

With the new TV deal likely to push prices for British players or experienced Premiership players ever higher: perhaps the question should be whether we should invest more heavily in the Academy rather than less?

[rover6]

We need examples like Derbyshire to inspire the present youth players.

Granted, he got his chance as result of injuries to Roberts and Jeffers (so luck played its part) but Derbyshire has gone on loan, done very well, and got his chance with Rovers.

Taylor and Kane should take note. (Taylor should try staying fit for more than a month - that'd help his cause).

[Exiled in Toronto]

I found this City Academy article interesting. Not only for their apparent success, but some of the things that lie behind it. No turnover of coaches, which would appear to be in contrast with ourselves, and I also like the running total of transfer fees over running costs, which we don't know for BRFC.

Maybe it's just me being out of touch, but sometimes I feel like I know less about my own club than I do about most others.

[AussieinUk]

Very good article on the whole subject..

Click me

"..The simple answer is that there is no simple answer - ask 10 different people involved in youth development and you get 10 different answers....

And that is perhaps why the ongoing review of the academy system has been going on so long." - BBC

EDIT: More academy news, this time Crewe Click me

Edited February 8, 2007 by AussieinUk

[cn174]

Just watched the Youth Cup final between Liverpool and Man U. Was a very good game which Liverpool won on penalties.

I know that most of the Liverpool team have been together since u9 or u10s, I think at one point this particular team had gone 3 years without being beaten. I think we may be seeing a couple of them in the Premiership in the next couple of years.

Incidentally, Steve Heighway is leaving Liverpool Academy - he'd certainly be an excellent acquisition for our academy!

[revolutionrock!]

How is De Vita rated? Is he more highly rated than Derbyshire? What are the expectations of him?

his half sister was telling me that milan,inter and lazio all wanted him but came to us as hes got family here.hes very highly rated and what ive seen of him he looks decent