[Archived] Youth & Facilities

[lukey]

Living in Australia I don't know much about our youth and facilities and am eager to find out more.

I've heard that for a club like ours, the facilities we have are fantastic. I tried to find some details about what what we actually have at Brockhall but I haven't found much. Can someone tell me what our facilities are like? How do they compare to other clubs?

Similarly I've heard that over the years our youth system has been praised? How do we compare to other clubs?

Thanks.

[Kelbo]

Lukey,

Link to Academy - http://notbottomline...rovers-academy/

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Kelbo

PS: If you need more, PM me and I will write you a full appraisal of facilities which are up with the best in the country, way ahead of Championship clubs and on a par with Arsenal, ManU etc

[lukey]

Thanks pal, thats a good read. Very impressive. Keen to come over for a trip in the next year or two, so I'd love to check it out.

Also im excited to watch Jamie Maclaren play for Australia U'19s in the 3 qualifiers we have coming up in the next week and a bit. He has 4 goals in 5 caps, so Im interested to see him play!

[Kelbo]

Thanks pal, thats a good read. Very impressive. Keen to come over for a trip in the next year or two, so I'd love to check it out.

Also im excited to watch Jamie Maclaren play for Australia U'19s in the 3 qualifiers we have coming up in the next week and a bit. He has 4 goals in 5 caps, so Im interested to see him play!

No problems cobber

[Majiball]

And yet one of the reasons we failed cat 1 was facilities. They were great back in the 90's but things have moved on drastically and they could do with some work to bring them back up to date.

[Lie_still_Rover]

Why did we miss out on cat1? Are we trying to get cat1 still? Seems ridiculous that we got to the fa youth cup final and won our league yet reading have a better academy?

[J*B]

We didn't get Cat1 due to a complete lack of communication. We would have easily made the grade if we where organised and made some simple and cheap touching up and replacements.

[Sparky Marky]

Get them down pleasy training and sell the land. Pampered little shytes.

We could get a decent center half with the coin.

[yoda]

Get them down pleasy training and sell the land. Pampered little shytes.

We could get a decent center half with the coin.

Short sighted,

get rid of the 1st team layabouts 1st, then get a very good CH and still have cash to spare

[Salgado Is A Hero]

Short sighted,

get rid of the 1st team layabouts 1st, then get a very good CH and still have cash to spare

Extremely....no academy would have probably meant no Jones, Hoilett, Olsson. Henley, Hanley or Lowe....and any other "gems" like Fernandez or R Hanley.

If we produce one really good player like with Jones, the money we receive on the transfer will presumably fund the whole thing anyway...or a lot of it or whatever.

Get rid of Pedersen and bring in a tall centre back who's good in the air....he'll be on low enough wages compared to Gamst to get a left back in on loan.

[bob fleming]

Get them down pleasy training and sell the land. Pampered little shytes.

[john.leigh]

We didn't get Cat1 due to a complete lack of communication. We would have easily made the grade if we where organised and made some simple and cheap touching up and replacements.

That fits with what I'd been hearing. Partly it was a lack of spectator facilities rather than any deficit relating to training etc

[folkdevil]

See from the club website that Pearce brought the U-21's to Brockhall yesterday.

[LeChuck]

Get rid of Pedersen and bring in a tall centre back who's good in the air....he'll be on low enough wages compared to Gamst to get a left back in on loan.

We only need a left back if Olsson moves on in January. No point bringing in someone otherwise. Henley and Olsson should have the full backs nailed down for a while now.

[Majiball]

That fits with what I'd been hearing. Partly it was a lack of spectator facilities rather than any deficit relating to training etc

If it was so minor a detail we would have gotten cat1 provided we made changes. Fact is we didn't and we're cat2... Middlesbourgh got cat1 with corrections, Barnet got cat2 as well. Fact is Rovers youth department is not good enough as it stands to be cat1 in the grand scale of things. More than minor corrections are needed and have been needed for years. I've heard various rumours as to why we failed from lack of 4G pitches to training issues, for me when you hear so many conflicting rumours about the same thing, it generally means porkies are being told and there are bigger issues. I'll put it all into perspective, Stoke got Cat1 with no issue at all and they haven't produced a player in donkies, and yet they breezed it no issue at all as they've put together a very good program. We're not good enough in this area for Cat1, fact. No-one at the club is going to say we weren't good enough, they'll say minor issues to mask the real ones, it's the way people are, but a stand for spectators could have been bought and in place in days and yet we're Cat2.

[bluebruce]

it's the way people are, but a stand for spectators could have been bought and in place in days and yet we're Cat2.

Unless we can't, or don't wish to, pay for it...

[Majiball]

Unless we can't, or don't wish to, pay for it...

Trouble is I've heard we are building a 4G pitch, perhaps rovers4good could confirm, since he can most likely see if any building work is taking place. If it then as they cost 100's of thousands we could assume we can afford one and so that reasoning becomes null and void. I'd be very keen to find out exactly why we failed as if Barnet bottom of league two can get Cat2 using mainly volunteers and rented facilities that are shared with sarecens then I despair at what's going on at our supposed top of the range academy that our owners are supposed to be investing heavily in.

[Amo]

Trouble is I've heard we are building a 4G pitch, perhaps rovers4good could confirm, since he can most likely see if any building work is taking place.

I think R4G is living in an underground bunker now.

[Majiball]

I think R4G is living in an underground bunker now.

Don't understand that at all and what's happened/been done to him is a disgrace.

[Baz]

If it was so minor a detail we would have gotten cat1 provided we made changes. Fact is we didn't and we're cat2... Middlesbourgh got cat1 with corrections, Barnet got cat2 as well. Fact is Rovers youth department is not good enough as it stands to be cat1 in the grand scale of things. More than minor corrections are needed and have been needed for years. I've heard various rumours as to why we failed from lack of 4G pitches to training issues, for me when you hear so many conflicting rumours about the same thing, it generally means porkies are being told and there are bigger issues. I'll put it all into perspective, Stoke got Cat1 with no issue at all and they haven't produced a player in donkies, and yet they breezed it no issue at all as they've put together a very good program. We're not good enough in this area for Cat1, fact. No-one at the club is going to say we weren't good enough, they'll say minor issues to mask the real ones, it's the way people are, but a stand for spectators could have been bought and in place in days and yet we're Cat2.

I heard we failed on several things including lack of floodlit pitches. I think the old academy facilities may have passed, but the first team now uses most of them. I did hear that we tried to tell the assessors that these where still used by he academy. I don't know the reliability of the info, but did hear that a lot of investment had been signed off by Venkys in order to get cat 1.

[den]

stupid question

[Majiball]

There are no stupid questions only stupid answers.

I heard we failed on several things including lack of floodlit pitches. I think the old academy facilities may have passed, but the first team now uses most of them. I did hear that we tried to tell the assessors that these where still used by he academy. I don't know the reliability of the info, but did hear that a lot of investment had been signed off by Venkys in order to get cat 1.

I've heard the investment rumour but am yet to hear of any work going on at the training ground.

Well if there's one thing that we've been told not to do when being inspected it's not to lie to the assesors. Mmmm I wonder why we got Cat2????

One too many porkies perhaps?

[hollowsr]

http://www.rovers.co.uk/news/article/rovers-dig-deep-for-stars-of-the-future-420609.aspx

This was on the website recently, seems a new outdoor 3G pitch for the Academy but based at Senior Training Centre, shows a very high indication we may start using, or have started using, the STC for the Academy as well. Thus being able to get round the facilities problem. Where the Academy are at the moment seems very basic with just a bog standard building with offices, large canteen and a gym in it and of course changing rooms. The STC seems much more equipped and the new pitch will only help.

Don't see why we can't say that the Academy use it, there hardly miles apart. I wonder whether other teams have separate sites for Academy and first team. I'm aware some certainly do, Bolton, for example in Euxton for 1st team and Academy is near the Reebok. Judging from what I can gather they best not have got Cat 1 status!