Secret Footballer has a few digs at our academy

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You Goater be kidding

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16 Jan 2014
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Seems the current secret footballer is a past product of our academy and holds it against us. Uses us as an example of all that is bad and evil then proceeds to climb up Arsene back side. Here is this article: http://www.thesecretfootballer.com/...-trend-that-no-one-appears-willing-to-follow/

Some of the relevant bits:
on Rumminege's praise of our academy:
The common mistake that people like Rummenigge make is that they become “wowed” by the facilities. If there is one thing that I know it is that facilities are no guarantee for success.
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trots out this old chestnut:
Manchester City can produce all the inferior young English talent that they like or they can just buy the best young talent from everyone else ...
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Do we know who this player is? Didn't see a thread covering this. Whoever it is, he's awfully bitter.
 
He may actually have a point.

Assuming he was there in Jim Cassell's day, there was an issue with the coaching. Mark Hughes wasn't happy with how the youngsters were being coached and took his concerns to Cook & Marwood. He cited Arsenal as a model we should be following and the club got Jerome Anderson, who is well connected there, to either arrange an introduction for our people or (more likely) to prepare a report himself on how Arsenal got their youngsters prepared for the top level. However it was done, it proved Hughes' concerns to be well-founded and Cassell was nicely but firmly shifted aside.
 
Most people think The Secret Footballer is Dave Kitson, but he throws red herrings out now he's been rumbled.
 
Yeah Arsenal's academy is doing great, they've got Bellerin and Coquelin from Barca and Gibbs from Wimbledon.
 
I always assumed the Secret Footballer was Kevin Davies, but who knows.

Either way, he's alluded to being at the end of his career (maybe even retired now?) so presumably he was at City's academy around 15-20 years ago, so his criticism of the coaching he received is a bit unfair as it's completely different now.

I think what he said about us buying talent rather than producing it isn't exactly without foundation at the moment though. I'm hoping it will change in the future, but the immediate demands for success mean that we have been reluctant to blood youngsters thus far. To be fair, he makes exactly the same criticism of United too.
 
oakiecokie said:
I saw him on tele over the weekend playing for one of the lower league clubs and was amazed as to how much weight he`d put on.Didn`t he retire a few years back and go into the Army or am I thinking about someone else ?
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Youre thinking of lee Crooks.
 
Ric said:
I always assumed the Secret Footballer was Kevin Davies, but who knows.

Either way, he's alluded to being at the end of his career (maybe even retired now?) so presumably he was at City's academy around 15-20 years ago, so his criticism of the coaching he received is a bit unfair as it's completely different now.

I think what he said about us buying talent rather than producing it isn't exactly without foundation at the moment though. I'm hoping it will change in the future, but the immediate demands for success mean that we have been reluctant to blood youngsters thus far. To be fair, he makes exactly the same criticism of United too.
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It's not unfeasible that he could have been for a look around, it's not like we keep the place under wraps to people 'within football'. I would imagine what he saw was a small aspect of what we do though if that is the case.
 
without a dream said:
It's not unfeasible that he could have been for a look around, it's not like we keep the place under wraps to people 'within football'. I would imagine what he saw was a small aspect of what we do though if that is the case.
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Yes, fair point. It's unclear as it's been worded vaguely (possibly deliberately to help conceal his identity). Seems unlikely to me that we'd be employing such rudimentary training as that at the CFA though.
 
Ric said:
Yes, fair point. It's unclear as it's been worded vaguely (possibly deliberately to help conceal his identity). Seems unlikely to me that we'd be employing such rudimentary training as that at the CFA though.
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If there is I imagine its a miniscule part of the training. We're an easy target on this though until some of the kids actually get game time.
 
Prestwich_Blue said:
He may actually have a point.

Assuming he was there in Jim Cassell's day, there was an issue with the coaching. Mark Hughes wasn't happy with how the youngsters were being coached and took his concerns to Cook & Marwood. He cited Arsenal as a model we should be following and the club got Jerome Anderson, who is well connected there, to either arrange an introduction for our people or (more likely) to prepare a report himself on how Arsenal got their youngsters prepared for the top level. However it was done, it proved Hughes' concerns to be well-founded and Cassell was nicely but firmly shifted aside.
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jim cassel was a great coach, can't believe we got rid of him.
 
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