Disclaimer; Partially on topic but devling off topic.
Given all the team predictions for WBA and expectations of individual players, some drastically need to scale back their own expectations of the EDS and academy in general.
There will not be an influx of graduates to the first team each and every season. Right now we seemingly have a "golden generation" to some extent, for lack of a better term. Lopes, Denayer, Iheanacho even the likes of Evans. That may not seem like a lot but that's more than most clubs can expect to bring up and realistically challenge for a first team squad spot. Even then "graduating" to the first team doesn't mean they've "made it" it's just another step in their development to train with world class players, not play every week.
The academy won't produce a superstar every season. You invest in youth be it a 10, 12, 14, 16 or 18 year old in the hope they'll make it never the expectation that they will.
Our academy is one of the best possible places for a player to develop and make it in football. Be that for us or someone else; Trippier, Mee, Facey, McGivern, Logan etc all have legitimate careers in football despite very little if any first team experience with us. Our youngsters won't just look at our first team and think "I'll never get in there, I'm off" because there's not a straight turn over of 11 for 11 from the EDS to the first team every year. They'll want to be in the best environment to develop and perhaps make it elsewhere, and take advantage of City's connections and go on loan akin to Denayer, Lopes and Rekik who all got a move to Champions League teams. How many youth team players around the league get those chances? They're realistic. Yes they will sign for us in the hope they can play for one of Europe's biggest teams but they'll also realise they're in one of the best possible to develop and carve a career out elsewhere.
I understand Denayer perhaps wanting to go elsewhere, on loan I would imagine if he's fifth choice this season. For most clubs they have one Denayer, that one prospect that they promote at a time. Plenty thought Rekik would be starting for us by now. However, those saying to close the academy (over dramatic on purpose I imagine but genuinely said today) youth doesn't stand a chance are beyond stupid and/or have ludacris expectations. If City can produce one legitimate first team player or squad player every other year or so we're laughing. If they can produce players capable of commanding decent fees for decent teams then even more so. This current crop are an anomaly that has seemingly skewed people's expectations.
A loan for Denayer for this season and then a 4 of Kompany, Mangala, Demichelis and Otamendi for this year is superb. Then Demichelis will more than likely be off next summer, instead of squeezing every ounce out of him before he needs a zimmerframe like we would have 10 years ago, because we can then bring in Denayer. 2 players for each position is common, not unheard of, so it's not unfair to have 4 quality CBs, even 5 for 2 positions because you can never account for injuries etc.
