fair enough - and I don't mean to say that I am right and you are wrong. Just that, I would argue that meeting resistance can be a way to develop the inner strength needed to play at the top level. Some will meet this resistance and walk away, others will find a way through it. Where I do feel there is a debate to be had, is how to strike the balance between it being too easy (no resistance, no growth) and too hard (too much resistance, just give up). Given that there seems to be the problem of bridging the gap between academy football (easy for a talented kid) and first team football (fucking difficult even for the best of kids) the I. for one, believe that City are at least having at good go at answering this problem, through developing links with Girona and NAC Breda (plus perhaps NYCFC)...but surely even that might take some time to come to fruition?