[Archived] Rovers Young Guns

[DeadlyDirk]

I've just been looking on the official site and there are profiles on this year's new intake of academy players.

Towards the end of last season it was mentioned that we had signed Oliver Nicholas, a highly rated centre half who had been at Arsenal and Man City. We are also supposed to have signed the Greek keeper Nikos Giannakopoulos. Another player I've seen mentioned is Jordan Philpott, an Irish under 17's left winger. However on the profile page there is no mention of these 3 players or of Tom Hitchcock who was rumoured to be interesting Fulham and Newcastle.

Does anyone know if these players are officially signed to Rovers or in the case of Hitchcock if they have moved elsewhere.

Nikos is probably too young to be registered for the Under 18's perhaps, we have a lot of younger players who are not on the academy profile section.

Wondering about Tom Hitchcock myself though, seemed like he played a lot of games for the Under 18's last year and did pretty well, is he still about does anyone know?

[Billy Castell]

I'd love the club to poach the Man City, Espanyol or Boro youth set up. The Hibs youth team did the double, so they may have some off-field talent too.

[DeadlyDirk]

Ah well I think it's time for a change so I guess we'll see what happens.

Despite having to compete to recruit young players in the most competitive region in the country Bobby has seen players such as David Dunn, Martin Taylor, Jay McEveley, Jonathon Douglas, Sergio Peter, Paul Gallagher, Matt Derbyshire, Keith Treacy, and Martin Olsson all make the transition to first team level.

In 12 years Dunny is the only one who's shown enough to be good enough for the premiership, jury is still out on Gallagher, Derbyshire, Treacey and Olsson and they are all looking less and less likely at making it, besides Olsson was hardly one of the ones recruited in the region was he!

[1864roverite]

The youth football and its associated scouts has just breathed new life into its system in the knowledge that Mr Downes has moved on.

Having spoken to him on a number of occasions I got the opinion he was very one dimensional, ie do it my way or not at all.

A good move.

[bob fleming]

Man City

Jim Cassell would be a great shout. After all do City need an Academy anymore?

[Ritchie]

I'd love the club to poach the Man City, Espanyol or Boro youth set up. The Hibs youth team did the double, so they may have some off-field talent too.

Hibs have a good youth set-up because they invested quite a bit of money into it... it definitely improved under John Collins and Tony Mowbray.

Quite happy that toilet-mouth Downes has gone - Brockhall is a better place without him.

[unleaded]

Well Done Mr Williams......................Better late then never.............The guy was way past the "sell by date"............wasted so much money on the "German Experiment" without giving the players a proper chance..............Its obvious he had his "favourites" and that in the end was his downfall.....................My advise Mr Williams would be that go for one of the German youth club coaches.....Hamburg SV youth academy director Markus Hirte would be a good replacement..........

Rise and Rise of German Football...........

Following the victory against England in the final of this year's U21 European Championship, the German Football Association has raised the bar in 2009. DFB junior teams currently are defending champions at the U 17, U 19 and U 21 levels – a first in European juniors’ football. Coached by Horst Hrubesch, the German U 21 defeated the English team 4-0 in Malmö. The U 19 had ended a dry spell of 16 years for the German juniors by beating the Czech Republic 3-1 in the final of the European Championships in Italy. In May 2009, Germany’s U 17 won the European title in front of the home fans, beating the Netherlands 2-1.........................

[AussieinUk]

I can't stand rugby league fans sometimes. They bang on about how rugby league is better, and how union is boring and yet it can be little more than 13 large men running into each other, and then bending over like they want to be bummed. It's probably linked to the whole bag of chips you northerners have with regards to people from the south and all that class nonsense. You never seen Wales when they won the grand slam? The most boring thing about rugby union is the bitter claptrap from miserable northerners whinging about players leaving league for union, public schools and so on.

Well said Billy!

[JAL]

Two years plus too late for Rovers, what a shambles, what a carry on, the academy for young redundant footballers.

How on earth Williams and co. justified continueing in the same vein for so long beggers belief.

[nicko]

Anyone in their right mind would go for Jim Cassell now...best talent-finder in the area for years AND Man City are overlooking the work he has done.

Get him in.

[Hughesy]

Put him in the frame nicko - link us with him in the paper and get the clubs attention or summet

[ffan]

Another player I've seen mentioned is Jordan Philpott, an Irish under 17's left winger.

Gone back to Ireland.

[Ronin]

just hope JW happens to be browsing too

[philipl]

Sorry to say it about a long time servant of the club but I wasn't sorry to read that the guy had left.

[den]

To be fair to Downes, we can only judge his contribution to the academy on the lack of kids coming through to the first team. As far as we know, he might have done all he possibly could. It's a cut throat world out there, and trying to persuade the best talent in the country down to Ewood can't be easy.

[Kelbo]

To be fair to Downes, we can only judge his contribution to the academy on the lack of kids coming through to the first team. As far as we know, he might have done all he possibly could. It's a cut throat world out there, and trying to persuade the best talent in the country down to Ewood can't be easy.

Rovers have a great selling point, premiership club with first team opportunities greater than most if you have the ability!!

Great facilities, probably as good as anywhere in Europe so something was wrong!!

Now we need a guy in there to revamp the recruitment and coaching and now a cheif scout!!

Things are taking shape and I think the club will be better for it!!

[den]

Rovers have a great selling point, premiership club with first team opportunities greater than most if you have the ability!!

Great facilities, probably as good as anywhere in Europe so something was wrong!!

Now we need a guy in there to revamp the recruitment and coaching and now a cheif scout!!

Things are taking shape and I think the club will be better for it!!

I think you underestimate the opposition.

[Blue blood]

I think you underestimate the opposition.

I don't know. I'm not suggesting it's easy, far from it. At every level there's a very undignified scramble for players.

However, realistically, how many clubs would be a better shout then rovers for a youngster of quality? Not many. Even if you said that all the other teams in the prem were better prospects than us - which evidently isn't the case - that'd still leave us in the top 20 in the country. Ok, I know that lower leagues need to use more younger players, but the chances of getting premiership action with rovers, given the size of our squad, must be higher than at most other premiership clubs, and less of a gamble then working their way up through the lower leagues.

Like I said, I don't think it's easy, but we seem to have disproportionately few top quality youngsters coming through for our situation.

[Plastic Head]

Bobby has seen players such as David Dunn, Martin Taylor, Jay McEveley, Jonathon Douglas, Sergio Peter, Paul Gallagher, Matt Derbyshire, Keith Treacy, and Martin Olsson all make the transition to first team level.

Oh dear....

So that's why we had to buy Keith Andrews then.

[den]

I don't know. I'm not suggesting it's easy, far from it. At every level there's a very undignified scramble for players.

However, realistically, how many clubs would be a better shout then rovers for a youngster of quality? Not many. Even if you said that all the other teams in the prem were better prospects than us - which evidently isn't the case - that'd still leave us in the top 20 in the country. Ok, I know that lower leagues need to use more younger players, but the chances of getting premiership action with rovers, given the size of our squad, must be higher than at most other premiership clubs, and less of a gamble then working their way up through the lower leagues.

Like I said, I don't think it's easy, but we seem to have disproportionately few top quality youngsters coming through for our situation.

I'd agree with most of that. We have to remember though, that even at a young age, the top clubs are paying some of these kids a lot of money just to get them on their books. If there were loads of kids around that were good enough to make the top grade, there would be no problem, because we could take our share of them. There isn't loads of them though. Liverpool, United, Man, City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Borough etc, etc are probably a bigger draw than Rovers.

[Silencio]

There isn't loads of them though. Liverpool, United, Man, City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Borough etc, etc are probably a bigger draw than Rovers.

Why do you suggest Boro? Because they have produced more than us? I would say this is a sign that we could compete with them. They should be no more attractive than us. There is no excuse for how poorly the Academy has performed. With the right people in charge it would be possible to produce much better players than we have been doing...

[den]

With the right people in charge it would be possible to produce much better players than we have been doing**...

OK, don't count Boro then. That only leaves Liverpool, United, Man, City, Arsenal, Chelsea, etc, etc to compete with, for the cream of the young talent.

**Simple as that eh? Young Prem stars are being produced every week are they?

My point was that Bobby Downes' sacking wont, on it's own, make much difference - IMO.

[Majiball]

Jim Cassell would be a great shout. After all do City need an Academy anymore?

Anyone in their right mind would go for Jim Cassell now...best talent-finder in the area for years AND Man City are overlooking the work he has done.

Get him in.

If there's any chance we can get him then pull out all the stops. He'll be worth every penny.

[LeChuck]

My point was that Bobby Downes' sacking wont, on it's own, make much difference - IMO.

Completely depends on who comes in as his replacement. If Big Sam gets a say in it then I imagine it will be someone incredibly well qualified with modern ideas, it could potentially transform our academy.

From everything I've heard about Downes it sounds like he'd become terribly out-of-date...although I do have a bit of sympathy in that he is leaving just at a point when we could have a few academy players going into the first team (Doran, Judge, Hoilett).

[Silencio]

**Simple as that eh? Young Prem stars are being produced every week are they?

I never said simple and I never said youngsters are being produced every week but it's true that Manchester City, Everton, Aston Villa and Boro have been doing a much better job with their Academies than we have been doing.

Even if we can't produce another Duff for a long time, we should be able to supplement the first team squad with Academy players every so often. I don't think that is an unreasonable or unrealistic expectation...