My lad had a spell at Platt Lane which ended after about 5 months, he's a good little player but i'm honest enough to know that there were a lot of 6 year olds who were a lot better, we just told him that it was an honour to be asked and that they've now finished the sessions, which is largely based on the truth.
No child of 6 needs to be told that a club dont think theyre good enough, especially the club they love and follow.
I run his team and we've played quite a few good teams in the area and in tournaments, we've also been invited in to play Citys u6 lads, which we did and had a great time.
I personally think City do things well at academy level and if anyone has city mad young lads the saturday morning sessions at Platt Lane are a great way for them to play at Platt Lane and receive coaching from professional coaches, £ 6 for a 2 hour session.
I get approached by scouts all the time at our games, tbh it was a buzz at first but after hearing a few stories and talking to parents who have been through experiences with clubs I believe it can get a bit unsavoury.
Allegiances aside I was approached by 2 blokes at a recent tournament who looked like they'd just rolled out of the nearest boozer, lo and behold they flash Utd badges at me and talk in hushed tones about being interested to talk to me about a couple of my players....
I took the opportunity to step outside of the tournament area and have a crafty cig whilst we talked....
As they showed me their badges I screwed up my face to which they said...Oh are u a blue, I said yes, but i'll go easy on you.....they proceeded to slag Citys "strategy" off saying theyre gonna come a cropper.......I listened with a smirk as I knew what was coming....
they asked about my best 2 players, I informed them that the best player was in Citys EDS squad and that him and his parents loved it at Platt lane....oh, a blue is he they said, no said I, theyre massives reds ....well they can go to more than 1 academy you know ....Oh I know i said....he was at "your place" for 12 months but his dad didnt rate it and pulled him out to take him to City........
What about number 23 they said....Oh he's at your place now I said, he went to City very recently for 3 weeks but his dad got a call from the top man at your place to say he'd found out that he'd been going to City and said he wasn't welcome at Utd if he continued to go to City, any other club is alright, but not City......
I took my last drag on my fag looked at them both with a cheeky grin and shot em a look that said ' you're a right pair of bellends aren't ya ' almost laughing in their faces..... I stepped back onto the pitch area and didn't see em again......
Most kids just need to learn how to enjoy football with their mates and if an opportunity comes along to go and train at an academy for a while should just enjoy it..........I know some people will say that if they make the most of it and really knuckle down etc, take it seriously and apply themselves then who knows where it could lead etc.....whilst theres that chance I think boys who are just naturally talented find it themselves, they just stand out, balance, decision making, technique etc......being too tough on kids and applying adult values to it all is really just setting your lad up for a fall if as an adult you're thinking " theres always a chance ".
Just use the club as much as theyre using you and your lad, take it for what it is and enjoy it, its certainly a lot different to when I played as a kid, theres at least 3 prem clubs at every decent tournament these days.....oh and Bolton..
