Former Academy Kids

[Dubciteh]

He forced him into the starting line up because everyone else was injured is how I remember it.

Me too and he was class for the youth team, you could see he was an old head on young shoulders and could do a job for us. We were at the bare bones at the time so it all made sense. He is an elite level player, im not sure what Pep has done wrong here. Maybe the fact we prob knew he would go back to barca and not sign the contract we shouldnt have gave him the minutes unless he signed a contract but we were desperate for a defender due to injuries.

 

[City64!]

He forced him into the starting line up because everyone else was injured is how I remember it.

He started against Lyon (we lost 3-1) we had Otamendi and Stones on the bench…
He started against Arsenal in the semi of the FA Cup (we lost 2-0) we had Otamendi and Stones on the bench…

Google is your friend.

 

[City64!]

Me too and he was class for the youth team, you could see he was an old head on young shoulders and could do a job for us. We were at the bare bones at the time so it all made sense. He is an elite level player, im not sure what Pep has done wrong here. Maybe the fact we prob knew he would go back to barca and not sign the contract we shouldnt have gave him the minutes unless he signed a contract but we were desperate for a defender due to injuries.

We were not at the bare bones. Google is your friend here. Otamendi and Stones on the bench. Even Fern could have played that position.

He was forced in because Pep anted gun to sign a new contract. End of.

 

[Damocles]

Some of us have named academy players who we believe could make it with the first team. It is true though that player development is often not linear: real talents fall by the wayside and others emerge who never stood out.
If I were to pick out players right now who I would like to see integrated into the first team in the next 2-3 years it would be: Mukasa, Mfuni, Braithwaite, Headley, Reigan Heskey, Jacob Wright and McAidoo.

Between them, there is a lot of talent, IMO.

With all due respect to them, City are in the top 3 best teams in the world. Making it here is not like making it even at a club like Villa. If we get one player out of the Academy into the first XI every 5 years then we're doing well.

 

[oldius]

With all due respect to them, City are in the top 3 best teams in the world. Making it here is not like making it even at a club like Villa. If we get one player out of the Academy into the first XI every 5 years then we're doing well.

Agreed. But we also need squad players. We cannot have a squad of world stars, but we definitely could have one or two academy starters.

 

[Kippax Street 1880]

Me too and he was class for the youth team, you could see he was an old head on young shoulders and could do a job for us. We were at the bare bones at the time so it all made sense. He is an elite level player, im not sure what Pep has done wrong here. Maybe the fact we prob knew he would go back to barca and not sign the contract we shouldnt have gave him the minutes unless he signed a contract but we were desperate for a defender due to injuries.

I thought it was quite funny really, everyone went from raving about him to calling him shit when it was apparent he wasn't signing a long term deal with us. He definitely had potential but too small and slow to be a truly elite defender, especially in England.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

With all due respect to them, City are in the top 3 best teams in the world. Making it here is not like making it even at a club like Villa. If we get one player out of the Academy into the first XI every 5 years then we're doing well.

Of course it’s not easy to make it into the first team, but then again we’ve signed players like nunes, Doku and Philips, when we had academy players with more talent

No team has a squad just of world class, ready made players

 

[Damocles]

Of course it’s not easy to make it into the first team, but then again we’ve signed players like nunes, Doku and Philips, when we had academy players with more talent

No team has a squad just of world class, ready made players

There are no players better in the Academy than Nunes, Doku and Phillips. I can't think of anyone we've had in the Academy at the time of their signings that fits the bill either. The leap from youth to senior football is an incredible gap

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

There are no players better in the Academy than Nunes, Doku and Phillips. I can't think of anyone we've had in the Academy at the time of their signings that fits the bill either. The leap from youth to senior football is an incredible gap

Im not necessarily talking about current academy players. For me Palmer and Lavia are much more talented then what we have signed. They might have needed a bit more time to develop, but talent wise there ahead of say Philips or Doku

As I said they don’t have to be world class. I’d much rather see wright in midfield over Gundogan who’s been shocking or Mcatee instead of Bernardo. I don’t think we’d be worse off.

There’s always a risk with young players, but at some point you give them a chance, especially when the senior players have been terrible. Think long term instead of short.

 

[Kippax Street 1880]

There are no players better in the Academy than Nunes, Doku and Phillips.

That's a depressing thought