Academy Players in the First Team

[johnnytapia]

Because we have many now who are gradually getting the sky 4 mentality and cannot even concieve a season where we bed in youth team talent and risk a drop off a little, they also think we meed to buy any good player available and think it's a failure if we don't.

I would play McAtee Sunday and at Burnley, see if he can lay stake a place in the team regulary, also give palmer and bobb goes in replacement of Mahrez.

whats the worst that can happen? we finish 4th? though extremely unlikely

Bed in youth and finish 4th or keep on topping up with the finished articles and win trophies and rack up league titles whilst everyone flounders in our polished wake? I know what I prefer...

 

[jimharri]

We have the chance this season for Oscar Bobb, Cole Palmer, and James McAtee to move to regular first team positions, yet as soon as anyone mentions this as a possible Mahrez replacement there are howls of how they're not good enough.

Meanwhile, Romeo Lavia is declared as one we should have kept, should have been given the chance, and should have been Rodri's back up.

Why do some only value academy talent when it leaves?

If now isn't the time to use players from the academy, when is that time?

In my opinion, those three represent a wonderful opportunity to backup the front line of KDB, Bernardo, Foden, Grealish, Kovacic, Alvarez and Haaland; what's your view?

Serious question here (not wumming); what would you regard as "regular"? A third of the games? Half of them? Also, you said "first team positions". Did you mean team, or squad?

 

[johnnytapia]

I wonder if Pep knows what he’s doing.

 

[WallyA]

We have 5 project players.

Perrone
Gomez
Palmer
Bobb
McAtee

And while I like all of them, that feels like too much.

I think only 2 or 3 should stay so they can get meaningful minutes, keeping all 5 means very few minutes for some which they might as well go on loan.

Bobb is the only one who hasn’t played senior level who should be fine with a like 600-700 minute season.

The rest are at the stage where they need at least 2000 minutes now, the level a serious squad player gets but not quite a guaranteed first teamer. I don’t think we can give that to them.

I’d keep Bobb, McAtee and Palmer. I think all 3 can get a total of 4500-5000 minutes in some way. The other 2 have to go on loan.

 

[Centurions]

Dada-Mascoll has been training with the first team.

For those unaware,hes a physically imposing CDM with excellent technical ability and an eye for a pass,he is a monster in every respect.

Oh....and he has only just turned 17!

Yet another Manchester born lad who's been at the academy since a young lad as well.

 

[oldius]

Serious question here (not wumming); what would you regard as "regular"? A third of the games? Half of them? Also, you said "first team positions". Did you mean team, or squad?

My belief is that one of these players should start each game and one should be sub. In cup games, I would start 2. I think we tend to judge these players when they come into a weakened team, or in a game with a raft of substitutes. I want them to be judged as a starter in a full-strength team.

 

[Betterdeedthan red]

I'd be happy to not win anything this year but use it for a year to bring these lads through..
Well OK maybe not win anything but maybe just the treble and not the quad.
Give them some game time.
It means so much to us match going fans to see Lewis and foden.we connect to them

Much more than it does a foreign player.
Give em some game time.
The squad and especially pep has enough credit in the bank for me anyway ....

If only Paul Lake was coming through now

 

[Semper aggressus]

Loan them out to another PL team, they’ll get the same level of experience without any risk to us. City should be aiming to win as much as possible, we can’t afford to sacrifice trophies just to see if two or three young lads might be good enough or not. Loans are perfect as they’re risk free and if those players shine we can get them back, if not they’ll still fetch a reasonable amount of income when sold. I don’t care where any of our players are from as long as we keep winning.

 

[RayCTID]

While I don't want to promote any EDS players for the sake of it but the same time you don't want to completely block their first team path ether, otherwise they might not be too keen in joining the Academy in the first place.

 

[schfc6]

While I don't want to promote any EDS for the sake of it but the same time you don't want to completely block their first team path otherwise they might not be too keen in joining the Academy in the first place.

We worked with a small squad last season and looks like we will do again this season. So that will mean by default they’ll be 5/6 academy graduates in and around the squad.
Which is very encouraging throughout the club.