Academy report - Tony Pulis

[threespires]

My daughter has recently been at a Prem academy.

I can say 100% that of the 18 girls she played with only 1 or 2 looked good enough to “make it” imo.

The other 16/17 are all cracking little players but you can see they are basically being “used” and eventually will have their dreams shattered.

It’s a very brutal environment and it’s definitely not being done right.

Reading the article and hearing the stories on here has made me really quite angry. I think we all know what happens but when @LongsightM13 used the phrase 'little more than human training cones' it seems to crystalise quite how unsavoury it is. It is simply unacceptable for clubs to use young people as cannon fodder on an industrial scale. Hope Pulis gets somewhere with this and starts to shine a light on it.

 

[LongsightM13]

Very good shout, Mr Longsight.

He also did a great job managing the Blues, and was the last manager to guide the club to a major trophy before the takeover.

City have rarely gone wrong when they put their faith in Skip.
Too young to remember him as a player but had the pleasure of sitting opposite him and Buzzer on a train back from West Ham around 2014. An absolute gentleman
He knew his football, even though his choice of trousers may have been occasionally suspect

 

[Bobby the blue]

City have rarely gone wrong when they put their faith in Skip.
Too young to remember him as a player but had the pleasure of sitting opposite him and Buzzer on a train back from West Ham around 2014. An absolute gentleman
He knew his football, even though his choice of trousers may have been occasionally suspect

Book and pardoe will go down in city folklore with how many decent players they produced. To have what was it 8/9 players from the 86 side make decent careers for themselves is actually quite amazing. The youth team I was in I think 1 actually made first team football si just shows what a job they did.

look at some of the others that were trained that went on. Forgive me if I have any wrong but didn’t we also have Neil Lennon, Gerry Taggart, John Beresford, was Ashley Ward in the youth team or did I make that one up. Probably a load more that will come to me later.

city may have got a lot wrong in the 80s but can be very proud of the youth set up from back then.

 

[LongsightM13]

Book and pardoe will go down in city folklore with how many decent players they produced. To have what was it 8/9 players from the 86 side make decent careers for themselves is actually quite amazing. The youth team I was in I think 1 actually made first team football si just shows what a job they did.

look at some of the others that were trained that went on. Forgive me if I have any wrong but didn’t we also have Neil Lennon, Gerry Taggart, John Beresford, was Ashley Ward in the youth team or did I make that one up. Probably a load more that will come to me later.

city may have got a lot wrong in the 80s but can be very proud of the youth set up from back then.

Earl Barret, Paul Warhust, Roger Palmer, the Bennett boys. All better than the lads we signed to replace them. Joe Royle had a field day, built Oldham’s premier league team from City’s academy

 

[LongsightM13]

Earl Barret, Paul Warhust, Roger Palmer, the Bennett boys. All better than the lads we signed to replace them. Joe Royle had a field day, built Oldham’s premier league team from City’s academy

Forgot Tony Henry and Kenny Clements. We tried to sign both back from Oldham several times, KC only returned when he was way past it

 

[Cotontoquinn]

Is there a reason why Pep does not support or encourage Academy players?? Phil Foden is the only one who has made it to the first team in his tenure…
…. He treats them like rubbish. Few minutes in totally meaningless matches. NEVER calls them up in matches that matter.
We have a very successful EDS/Academy set up that win lots of trophies…….but you would never know it ….
He played that useless plonker Garcia ….WHY??

 

[ShedDweller]

I was at a City youth cup game a few years back at Nantwich Town, City were playing Stoke.

Patrick Viera was in charge at the time.

The differenec in approach between the benches was unbelievable. The Stoke bench spent the entire game effing and jeffing at the young players. Encouraging them to get stuck into the City lads etc. It was like a parody.

The City bench was pretty quiet, and the communication was always encouraging. It was chalk and cheese.

City won the game 3-2 I think, but the thing that stuck in my mind was the way Patrick Viera kept looking at the Stoke bench, it was utter contempt. He didn't say anything, didn't need to, his face said it all.

If it had been on a park on a Sunday, the game would probably have been stopped and the ref would have spoken to their bench.

That was the culture of Stoke at the time, and that came from Pulis. Should not be within 10 miles of a youth football setup.