Former Academy Kids

[Damocles]

Not one single one of us works for the club and watches everything the kids do. That’s on the academy director and Pep.

Funny you mention Rogers was way off it, but Pep is quoted on Saturday saying that everyone at the club knew he’d be good..

Because they're not clairvoyants. They can't predict the future. When Rogers was here, he was a talented boy with a bad attitude and struggled for any consistency in League One and the Championship. He was never going to make it staying here. He left, found some humbleness and started to get his career together as is the way with hundreds of young talents, now is currently a squad player at Villa who is going through some good form.
The idea we should have kept him is 1000% a hindsight thing and suggesting anybody should have known this is ridiculous. It's also ridiculous that even NOW he's good enough to play for us, he isn't, he's just in good form. Just like every time Delap scores a few or THB has a good game, people rush to lament how we didn't keep these players then ignore the other 30 games a season that they play.

 

[Cobra]

Why have two people now said that Rogers is just a squad player at Villa even though he’s started every single league game and every single CL game for them this season? Does that mean Haaland is a squad player for us?!

We spent £4 million on him as a 16 year old and Villa spent £8 million on him after just 14 league starts for Boro (and he went straight into a team chasing a CL place) so it was obvious he was very highly rated by a lot of scouts.

 

[Blue and true]

Because they're not clairvoyants. They can't predict the future. When Rogers was here, he was a talented boy with a bad attitude and struggled for any consistency in League One and the Championship. He was never going to make it staying here. He left, found some humbleness and started to get his career together as is the way with hundreds of young talents, now is currently a squad player at Villa who is going through some good form.
The idea we should have kept him is 1000% a hindsight thing and suggesting anybody should have known this is ridiculous. It's also ridiculous that even NOW he's good enough to play for us, he isn't, he's just in good form. Just like every time Delap scores a few or THB has a good game, people rush to lament how we didn't keep these players then ignore the other 30 games a season that they play.

The idea that he's "just in good form" is a crock of shit. He's been doing superbly for them since last season.

 

[billblu]

Not one single one of us works for the club and watches everything the kids do. That’s on the academy director and Pep.

Funny you mention Rogers was way off it, but Pep is quoted on Saturday saying that everyone at the club knew he’d be good..

pep sometimes gets a bit giddy when complementing opposition players he was average in the academy and average when he went on loan i honestly thought he'd found his level in the championship he has obviously done quite well at villa but there was no indication at the time he would be anything special and anybody saying any different is talking through there arse including pep

 

[Scaring Europe to Death]

To be honest I'm still annoyed that we sold Dave Bennett.

It certainly wasn't hindsight after scoring 4 of our last 7 league goals in 80-81 and even getting an assist in the Cup Final Replay. Plus all his goals in the LC that season.

Then some idiot decided that Martin O'Neill was a better prospect.

I'm just about over it, but then I go on YouTube and see his assist for Steve Daley at Bolton and then his assist for Michael Robinson's goal that silenced the rags.
Oh and his assist for Deyna v Wolves and Tony Henry at Goodison Park

MEDIC!
MEDIC!

 

[Centurions]

In Spain every contract has to have a release clause by law. It's been well reported Barcelona and Real Madrid insert buy back clauses on top of that when they sell academy players to lower La Liga clubs. The reason being if there is a hot prospect who isn't ready now for their first team, but in 2-3 years can develop to be a really good player then lower La Liga clubs can buy them for a cheaper price now to give them the game time to develop rather than foreign clubs. Because the buy back clause gives Barca and Real an advantage in the future. Sometimes those two clubs only use the clause to sign a player back to then sell on for a higher profit abroad at proper market value.

As far as I know in England this concept isn't a real thing. My guess is just stronger competition laws or just an unwritten rule. We received a percentage of the £8m fee Villa paid to sign Rogers from Middlesbrough because we had a sell on clause. He would now cost £50m at least now. Pep said they knew all along how good he was but there was no space at the time. There clearly was no buy back option.

£50million...

Get to fuck.

 

[Dawsenna]

I've thought he wasn't good enough even before we bought him.
I was at this West Bromwich Youth Cup tie where we apparently noticed him. That's bollocks because I had heard we were expecting to sign him and, apart from obviously wanting to see our youth team play, went to that match to see what he was like. In the same team WBA also had Louie Barry (rumoured at the time to be joining Barcelona which he did) and another really hyped up winger called Rayharn Tulloch. All three were shite and I was pretty pissed off when we paid £4m for him.
He did nothing whilst with us and nothing on his loans to various clubs until he went to Middlesbrough. Now he is at Villa and getting a couple of games, and he is still not a nailed on regular for them, it is just another example of the media trying to have a go at us and some City fans are falling for it.
I'll tell you how good he is, I hope the dippers or Stretford Rovers pay a fortune for him.

You were pissed off we paid 4 million for a schoolboy ? You need to get a life mate. How deluded are you on here giving stick to a young lad who ran us ragged 2 days ago. Get a load of this guy

 

[Centurions]

pep sometimes gets a bit giddy when complementing opposition players he was average in the academy and average when he went on loan i honestly thought he'd found his level in the championship he has obviously done quite well at villa but there was no indication at the time he would be anything special and anybody saying any different is talking through there arse including pep

In the academy I'm not even sure he got to the heady heights of "average". He looked slow and a little bit clueless, quite what happened in his life to change things so much is unknown (to me at least) but I'm happy he has and wish him the best. As previously though, a few decent games and the usual suspects come out slaughtering the club. Can anyone point out their posts complaining when he left us?

 

[oldius]

In the academy I'm not even sure he got to the heady heights of "average". He looked slow and a little bit clueless, quite what happened in his life to change things so much is unknown (to me at least) but I'm happy he has and wish him the best. As previously though, a few decent games and the usual suspects come out slaughtering the club. Can anyone point out their posts complaining when he left us?

There will be none. If we were winning, he wouldn't be mentioned much, but he is the latest stick to beat us with. Objectively, he was not a stand-out in our academy, and NOBODY was concerned about him leaving. He has gone on to do well - it happens.

 

[Gorton_Tubster]

In the academy I'm not even sure he got to the heady heights of "average". He looked slow and a little bit clueless, quite what happened in his life to change things so much is unknown (to me at least) but I'm happy he has and wish him the best. As previously though, a few decent games and the usual suspects come out slaughtering the club. Can anyone point out their posts complaining when he left us?

Exactly. Media sheep the lot of them.