Predicting excellence

A few have recently haven't they? I know Barker at least did. Gunn got a four year extension. I swear someone like Diallo did too.
I didn't know about Barker or Diallo although Gunn isn't a surprise, I'm not sure I'd count him as one of the kids anymore anyway. I dare say the likes of Diaz has a decent length contract to keep the two likely suspects at arms length but that's a rarity I'd have thought.
 
I didn't know about Barker or Diallo although Gunn isn't a surprise, I'm not sure I'd count him as one of the kids anymore anyway. I dare say the likes of Diaz has a decent length contract to keep the two likely suspects at arms length but that's a rarity I'd have thought.
Wouldn't see too much of a risk in giving the likes of Brahim and Gunn longer contracts - if Gunn doesn't improve to first team level we need someone mediocre-ish to take the 3rd keeper spot (nobody decent and under 35 will take it as they never get to play) and there's been so much hype around Diaz that you'd expect he wouldn't see the contract out in any case - we'd either be looking to give him a hefty payrise and tie him down before the age of 20 or we'd have decided he wasn't making the grade in which case more than a few clubs in Spain would be happy to take him off our hands for a modest fee at his current wage. Pros definitely outweigh the cons in that regard as the last thing we'd want to happen is to have to take a tribunal fee for Diaz as he'd likely move abroad and we'd get sweet fuck all off another country's FA.
 
So all the premier league teams want B teams to play competitive football? Why don't they start their own B League? We could call them the reserves.
 
So all the premier league teams want B teams to play competitive football? Why don't they start their own B League? We could call them the reserves.

I think the key is competitive football against senior players. Kids only learn so much playing against other kids.
 
I'm just not sure that elite level clubs are best placed to bring talent through anymore. They can hoover up the best talent in each age group and they can provide great facilities but on the whole but they just don't seem to be able to manage the last step of introducing them into the first team (which i'm starting to think is probably the most important).

The loan system doesn't seem to work all that well as clubs in the lower leagues have their own short term goals. You could loan a great youth player to a championship club and then it becomes apparent it's going to take the best part of a season for them to come to terms with the physicality of senior football. What incentive do they have to persevere with/develop that player if they stand to gain no long term benefit? If these players actually belonged to the lower league clubs and they stood to gain from either selling them or having them in their team long term, then I expect we'd see them getting more game time and developing to their full potential more quickly.

I'm not really sure what the answer is, if the national team stands to benefit maybe the FA could offer incentives. If we said to a club if a player makes x number of appearances for your first team before the age of 23 and goes on to win 20+ England caps, you'll get a £5m development fee, maybe we'd see lower league sides really giving these kids a go. If I had a kid who had the prospect of going places, as much as it pains me to say it, im not sure a club like City is the best place for them in the long term.
 
I don't agree with b teams being added to the pyramid.
If that are good enough they will succeed on loan at a championship club.

So you'd prefer to loan them out to an unprofessional championship club with a drinking culture and manager like Moyes or Bruce that couldn't give a shit if a player succeeds or fails rather than a professional outfit whose prime concern is making players ready for the premier league?
 
So you'd prefer to loan them out to an unprofessional championship club with a drinking culture and manager like Moyes or Bruce that couldn't give a shit if a player succeeds or fails rather than a professional outfit whose prime concern is making players ready for the premier league?

1 . I do not believe City, or the other premier league clubs have the right to dissolve a pyramid unique in World football.
2. City should have a procedure in place so that the kids go to a professional footballing club. If they send them to the wrong place then it is city's fault.
3. It happens in Spain because of the power of the elite clubs, we do not need that here.
4. Footballers are like water they will find their level. Up until now; and that is all we can judge, our youngsters have not been good enough. We can only hope the present crop are.
 
When you say 'we do not need that here', are you basing that on our unmitigated success in international football?
 
perhaps just get rid of reserve football altogether and have a draft like system/co-own system where players after U18 level are put up for "auction", and a lower league club takes them on a 2/3 year permit style deal where they get to nurture and develop them, and then get a small cut of any future fee once they go back to the main club.

Just throwing it out there. Let's face it the majority of the lads who have come through either spent ages out on loan or dropped down a level or 2 and worked their way back up. Very few make it all the way through straight at a PL club and if they do it's because they're not actually that good because the team isn't either, or because freak injury circumstances means they've been promoted as a last resort and they've taken the shot.
 

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