I agree with the last bit – there was a time when he was regularly the stand out player and looked exceptional. Why it hasn’t worked we don’t know. It’s easy to just blame Pellegrini for not giving him a run at the right time but the reality is we do not know what was going on behind closed doors. Almost all the other standout players around his age group have been out on loan somewhere and have made a breakthrough. I would have expected Brandon to go down the same route but he seems to be stagnating at the CFA.
I don't see many if any of these lads making it to the highest level I'm afraid. I think the academy which is clearly still a bit behind Chelsea will become a moderately profitable venture based on producing players of a reasonable standard that can be sold to clubs in lower divisions and on the continent. It is only rarely that players will come through who are good enough to be named in the squad. If we get a squad player every 2/3 years and a first team regular every 10 years we will be lucky. Indeed it might be better to get rid of the academy and just keep five or 6 elite players who have a good chance of becoming squad players. That would be the "Nacho" approach -he was clearly one of the best under 17 players in the world- a couple of years back and it was a good days work snatching him up. It would also make it easier to sign the best young players if they can see a clearly defined fast track into the first team. Also we should be looking around more for rough diamonds in the 20-23 age group who have slipped under the radar at youth level but are now starting to show star quality. The harsh reality is that 99% of the guys in the academy are not good enough to dine at the top table.Always another Year, bring on Pep!
I don't see many if any of these lads making it to the highest level I'm afraid. I think the academy which is clearly still a bit behind Chelsea will become a moderately profitable venture based on producing players of a reasonable standard that can be sold to clubs in lower divisions and on the continent. It is only rarely that players will come through who are good enough to be named in the squad. If we get a squad player every 2/3 years and a first team regular every 10 years we will be lucky. Indeed it might be better to get rid of the academy and just keep five or 6 elite players who have a good chance of becoming squad players. That would be the "Nacho" approach -he was clearly one of the best under 17 players in the world- a couple of years back and it was a good days work snatching him up. It would also make it easier to sign the best young players if they can see a clearly defined fast track into the first team. Also we should be looking around more for rough diamonds in the 20-23 age group who have slipped under the radar at youth level but are now starting to show star quality. The harsh reality is that 99% of the guys in the academy are not good enough to dine at the top table.
Only caught the last twenty minutes last night. Crowd didn't look particularly huge and it seemed quiet especially considering they were on the brink of winning the cup. I trust Wilkins spent the first 70 minutes taking the piss out of the lack of atmosphere?
He came across as such a massive arsehole in the first leg. When we scored and he said, "oh, there are some people here then," I genuinely hoped that he would get twatted on his way out of the ground. He says so little in so many words, yet another pundit stealing a fucking living.Never once mentioned it as far as I can remember, but he actually didn't shut the fuck up for 90 mins so I could have missed it whilst deciding whether to cut my own throat with a rusty knife.
Like a fucking Trappist monk who has been given 90 mins off.
Diaz if anything is ahead of Iheanacho.
If we only get a first teamer every 10 years then that means it's the same for everyone else. That would be the end of football.
8,800 think he saidOnly caught the last twenty minutes last night. Crowd didn't look particularly huge and it seemed quiet especially considering they were on the brink of winning the cup. I trust Wilkins spent the first 70 minutes taking the piss out of the lack of atmosphere?
Roberts plays on the opposite side to Barker so wouldn't affect him in any way and M Garcia plays centrally so it's the same deal. Celina can play over on the left but is more a striker/2nd striker.He had a ‘strange’ loan at Rotherham around Christmas, made is debut the day after arriving and scored in a good performance but then only played 3 more times in what was supposed to be a 2 month loan. There were whispers of attitude issues but no evidence so make of that what you will. He made his debut for us against Chavs in the infamous Cup game coming off the bench for Celina. I assume Roberts got ahead of him prior to going to Celtic and the likes of Celina and Garcia have just moved ahead of him in the pecking order now.
It’s tough at the CFA with the amount of talent we have and it just goes to show it is the test of time that is the real one for these kids.