City U18's v Liverpool U18's | 25th Feb 11:30am

[blue whippet]

Well done City, nice finish, eventually.

 

[kippaxwarrior]

The U-18'S are a class above most teams in their age group.

They are incredibly well trained and drilled by Ben Wilkinson who is held in high regards not only by the players but by the City hierarchy who have been really impressed with his work. Apparently Pep is a fan of Wilkinson.

Definitely a coach to watch

 

[jamesha]

The U-18'S are a class above most teams in their age group.

They are incredibly well trained and drilled by Ben Wilkinson who is held in high regards not only by the players but by the City hierarchy who have been really impressed with his work. Apparently Pep is a fan of Wilkinson.

Definitely a coach to watch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Wilkinson

Son of Howard Wilkinson - would have been about 3 when his dad won the old First Division with Leeds.
Good to see him doing well.

 

[give it to gordon]

Didnt see the second half but City looked on a totally on another level.

 

[oldius]

We have a very good, well coached outfit here. Some of these players are clearly ones to watch for strong careers in the game.

 

[kippaxwarrior]

We have a very good, well coached outfit here. Some of these players are clearly ones to watch for strong careers in the game.

Yeah I would say at least 6 or 7 will have a decent Career. Probably not with us but certainly League One, Championship or lower tier Premier League.

The lads and their parents are told by the club when they sign their first contact realistic goals and are told it's very difficult to progress to the first team however while at City they will be given the best coaching possible at the start of their careers.

Foden and more recently Lewis are cited as players that if you work hard and have enough talent it is possible to make an appearance for the first team.

EDS and U-18'S players are often invited to train with the first team for more experience. These are based off recommendations by Ben Wilkinson and Brian Barry-Murphy.

Also Gundogan has coached the U-18'S as part of his coaching badges

 

[cleavers]

Yeah I would say at least 6 or 7 will have a decent Career. Probably not with us but certainly League One, Championship or lower tier Premier League.

The lads and their parents are told by the club when they sign their first contact realistic goals and are told it's very difficult to progress to the first team however while at City they will be given the best coaching possible at the start of their careers.

Foden and more recently Lewis are cited as players that if you work hard and have enough talent it is possible to make an appearance for the first team.

EDS and U-18'S players are often invited to train with the first team for more experience. These are based off recommendations by Ben Wilkinson and Brian Barry-Murphy.

Also Gundogan has coached the U-18'S as part of the coaching badges

People don't fully understand what our academy is for me.

It's not just about getting players to the first team, obviously that's great when it happens, but our academy is effectively a university for footballers, and it's also there to provide an income for the club, it's very effective at both things.

So we sign great talent, and we nurture them into being good/great footballers, but even then very few of them will make our first team on a regular basis, many/most will be loaned or sold, but will go on to have great careers elsewhere, but in the meantime they'll have a great young career in City's academy.

We should enjoy watching them whilst here, hope for the odd Foden and Lewis, and otherwise wish them well when they move on.

 

[kippaxwarrior]

People don't fully understand what our academy is for me.

It's not just about getting players to the first team, obviously that's great when it happens, but our academy is effectively a university for footballers, and it's also there to provide an income for the club, it's very effective at both things.

So we sign great talent, and we nurture them into being good/great footballers, but even then very few of them will make our first team on a regular basis, many/most will be loaned or sold, but will go on to have great careers elsewhere, but in the meantime they'll have a great young career in City's academy.

We should enjoy watching them whilst here, hope for the odd Foden and Lewis, and otherwise wish them well when they move on.

Yeah it's not just a football education they get but a life education as well.

A player can have all the talent in the world but if his attitude isn't right or he's not willing to learn the club will absolutely not stand for that and will look to change his mentality or move him on. It's that simple. The club have a huge talent pool for 8 years and up and that's educated to the players from that age.

It's always about talent, attitude and hard work

 

[cleavers]

Yeah it's not just a football education they get but a life education as well.

True, I was focussing the football education bit, but they also get a very good education for the rest of their lives too, I think it's greaty underestimated by many.

 

[Asa's left peg]

Also great to see that 2/3rds are from the local area and a lot with us since age 8.