…he has the physicality but even for the U23 he lacks quality. He trains with the first team, he has the physical equipment to play ‘open age’ but it’s still a massive step up. Time will tell, there’s not much ahead of him.
…he has the physicality but even for the U23 he lacks quality. He trains with the first team, he has the physical equipment to play ‘open age’ but it’s still a massive step up. Time will tell, there’s not much ahead of him.
blue_order
Player Valuation: £1.5m
Our youth set up is abysmal. You can count on one hand and suck your thumb the amount of premier league standard* level players that have come through our system. The likes of United, City, Liverpool, Chelsea are always going to produce decent players but for us to not make one actual decent footballer since say Rooney or Osman (wasn't that bad was he) is truly shocking.
No idea who's fault it is, the youth scouts maybe? Unsworth is basically a childminder for most of them as they seem to be released the minute they hit a certain age and go for next to nothing. Brands? Don't know what he's doing with the first team never mind the youth set up.
No idea who's fault it is, the youth scouts maybe? Unsworth is basically a childminder for most of them as they seem to be released the minute they hit a certain age and go for next to nothing. Brands? Don't know what he's doing with the first team never mind the youth set up.
This is something that Brands should be looking into then. An overhaul of the youth setup from recruitment right through the academy, is needed. This is something I thought he’d prioritise when he arrived 3 years ago.
All of that is correct.
However, if the club had open interviews for every single role at the academy (completely ignoring Evertonian connections) I'm sure the vast majority of our career underachievers would be replaced.
A school can have incredibly bright students but if the teacher is a complete mongrel they are not going to fulfill their academic potential.
If we had a functioning academy I'd be far happier buying 10 x 5 million pound teenagers than 2 x 25m bang average top-flight players.
We have a DoF operating in a completely dysfunctional environment, yet he cops the blame for all kinds. Brands stated his strategy at the very start, unfortunately, the owner loves big personality managers (except Silva) and backs them all, except our current one, every time. That's why we are in the mess we find ourselves in today.
At the very least he should have as a minimum TOTAL control over the academy, not tip-toe around long-standing pieces of furniture that are long overdue for the bommy.
….these Academies recruit 8 year olds, it’ll take a long time for change to impact.
The reality is kids don’t walk around with a football at their feet these days. You rarely see kids playing footy in the street, structured school football isn’t in place anymore, kids sit in their bedrooms and play on computers. It’s a different world, a different culture.
There’s still talent but not as much to be nurtured in Academy. A lot of clubs bring youngsters in from abroad & elsewhere, we have had a ban in recent times.
Well we had an academy ban when he arrived for 2 years if you'd forgotten (of course) but now we're out of it we're also struggling to buy up talent. We may never get up to a point where we do it successfully again.
But again, your first point hints that the staff at the academy are holding back the youngsters which they aren't. The. Talent. Is. Not. There.
The second point doesn't really ever occur because The. Talent. Is. Not. There.
Did that academy ban also stop him bringing in his own youth coaching and scouting team? Actually not being passive aggressive or facetious here, genuinely asking, because it could’ve done for all I know.
You may well be right, but if talent isn't nurtured properly at a crucial age of development you will never know.
Of all the players you listed, a few have let themselves down. Others may have done better with better coaching. You don't know, I don't know.
In my opinion, we should forget the Evertonian connection, hire the best coaches we can attract. Otherwise, it's a complete waste of time.
Mad that people just can’t wrap their heads around the theory that coaches can actually improve players.
Crestfallen
Player Valuation: £950k
Youth system is not fit for purpose. It doesn’t contribute anything but players for the lower leagues. It’s a shambles.
No, the ban period would have been the ideal time to completely dismantle the existing operation and start fresh.
But that would certain protected members of staff would need to find gainful employment elsewhere.
It's fine, people are entitled to their opinions. But to suggest that even with better coaching they wouldn't perform better is a bizarre position to take.
I'm not sure but again, I think maybe I need to tattoo this somewhere:
The talent is not there.
Which?
