What's happened to our academy?

[blueloon]

As a metric PL minutes does indeed judge us harshly , and in the past 10 years or so only Kenny, Tom Davies, and `Gordon have reached 50 PL games for us, hopefully Armstrong next. On the other hand, every time I watch games in Championship/Leagues 1 and 2, an ex Everton player pops up . I came across this Training Ground Guru article late last year but couldn’t read it in full as it’s behind a paywall . I believe this is an accurate summary although I haven’t seen the full article , it paints a different picture of our Academy by using different statistics.

Everton’s Academy was ranked 4th in the Training Ground Guru Academy Productivity Rankings for 2024/25, rising four places from the previous year. The academy is recognised as a Category One, with a strong, high-ranking, and productive youth system producing significant numbers of players for the top five English leagues.
Key Findings (2024/25 Rankings):
Rank: 4th overall (up from 8th in 2023/24).
Ranking Context: Positioned behind only Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United.
Status: Category One Academy.
The rankings (compiled by Training Ground Guru) are based on the number of English academy graduates playing in the top five leagues during the 2024/25 season.

 

[Ed_Winchester]

That is grim.

But as always it's never just one thing.

Clubs been in intensive care for 4-5 years, barely survived.

Recent managers not good on developing young talent.

Is the city's talent pipeline as good as it was? Are Scouse kids going to RS, City, I don't know.

Deffo need to up our game.

When we’ve gone to play academy teams, the first thing I’ve always noticed is most of the kids are massive for their age group. There are a smaller number of physically smaller kids in their sides.
It’s like they’re looking for athletes and teaching them to be footballers.

United/Liverpool scouts always seemed to be looking for big kids who could run with the ball at U7/8/9’s.
My experience of City was they were looking for more technical players.

 

[Neiler]

Dean Rastrick appointed as head of academy from 1st June . Also the return of Neil Dewsnip

Great to get Neil back, such experience, competences and network in the game.

Cant remember which podcast it was but he gave a great interview to one of 5e pods last summer really great stuff.

 

[Big Neville Southall]

My kids play grassroots football and from that you get to hear about other kids who go to Academies. Its never Everton. The reason given is that Everton dont have a Development section. This is for kids who show promise but need a bit more time and is like a stepping stone between the two levels.

Everton will get rid of young kids, even at 9 or 10 who are good but just physically not big. Other Academies dont.

They dont have open days or trial days, theres no presence from them. Even the likes of Burnley spread their net further and give kids a chance. They have an AI Scout where you can record yourself doing certain skills and you can get a trial from that.

 

[Vaughan]

what happened to reserves football? a decent place for young players to play against men, and some of them being very good fringe players, or top quality players coming back from injury

seems mad to not have it now with much bigger squads. likes of aznou and dibling have essentially gone a whole season without playing professional football, whereas twenty years ago they’d have been playing reserve football twice a month at least

 

[Joey66]

Its not as Good as when David Unsworth was in control of it .....

 

[BlueStevie35]

what happened to reserves football? a decent place for young players to play against men, and some of them being very good fringe players, or top quality players coming back from injury

seems mad to not have it now with much bigger squads. likes of aznou and dibling have essentially gone a whole season without playing professional football, whereas twenty years ago they’d have been playing reserve football twice a month at least

Reserves are still a thing but the criteria changed to only allowing a couple of over age players to play, as clubs were essentially putting out B teams restricting academy talents.

It’s how we ended up with PL U21 sides playing in the Vertu Trophy, however we gave Aznou game time in that early in the season and he wasn’t great

 

[Vaughan]

Reserves are still a thing but the criteria changed to only allowing a couple of over age players to play, as clubs were essentially putting out B teams restricting academy talents.

It’s how we ended up with PL U21 sides playing in the Vertu Trophy, however we gave Aznou game time in that early in the season and he wasn’t great

oh i know we have that, but why change from reserves

and seems a culture now that anyone in the first team mix is above it. whereas likes of dibling rohl aznou would have absolutely been expected and probably enjoyed reserve football in the past, with a chance to impress the manager

branthwaite wouldve played one or two games in it to build his match fitness

games gone

 

[Saint Domingo]

Stats don’t always tell the whole picture. At one point we gave game time to Davies, Kenny Pennington Dowell. All from the academy, all not good enough to be playing PL first team football. Meanwhile the likes of Chelsea were still winning trophies when the only player post Terry they’d produced for ages was Josh Mceachran. I doubt they cared that we had a load more academy minutes though.

Then there’s the FFP issue. We were essentially forced to sell Cannon Dobbin Simms. I don’t think any are good enough for top half first team PL football but they’d have probably got minutes in previous Everton teams.

Then there’s the whole generation thing. Rooney came through playing on frozen pitches, even Osman Hibbert Jeffers were all probably better than the majority of academy players since even after all the improvements we’ve made at Finch Farm. Only Barkley and Gordon have really come out of there at the required level.

Obviously if you increase your investment in it the academy gives you a better chance finding and keeping a generational talent but at the very top end which is where we want to be only the best are going to make it and the Rooneys Barkleys and Gordon’s of the world will still come through. The key is obviously attracting them into the system which hopefully we’re looking to improve.

Even La Masia though, one minute it churns out Xavi Iniesta Messi, the next it’s a relative dry spell until Pedri and Yamal come out. No one has cracked the never ending conveyor belt of generational talent coming out of a single academy.

 

[JobForTheMoyes]

Cannon Dobbin-Simms would’ve been the ideal partner for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

 

[Vaughan]

Yeh I’d say it’s probably more braggy to be down the pub saying your little lad is at City rather than Everton.

i imagine as well city have the best (most highly paid anyway) coaches in the world and the most ridiculous facilities, so for many they might know they’re highly unlikely to make it city, but it might be the best coaching theyre going to get at that age

 

[Charro]

We sold anyone who was a talent during the last two years of the Moshiri era.

We were actively offering our academy prospects around the game to bring in any money we could.

 

[Nymzee]

We sold anyone who was a talent during the last two years of the Moshiri era.

We were actively offering our academy prospects around the game to bring in any money we could.

It was necessary for PSR but so far, looking back, we haven’t really lost anyone I’m annoyed about.

 

[stretford blue]

It was necessary for PSR but so far, looking back, we haven’t really lost anyone I’m annoyed about.

Will be interesting how Ishé Samuels-Smith develops on loan a Swansea from Chelsea looked a really good prospect

 

[Nymzee]

Will be interesting how Ishé Samuels-Smith develops on loan a Swansea from Chelsea looked a really good prospect

He’s already being used as a PSR swindle within BlueCo so I think he will disappear into the lower leagues.