Decision time for 2nd year apprentices (merged)

MarkMatthews":27xix2sj said:

DartingtonPilgrim":27xix2sj said:

MarkMatthews":27xix2sj said:

jerryatricjanner":27xix2sj said:

Kentishgreen":27xix2sj said:

It happens. We missed Trevor Francis but got Paul Mariner we missed Ryan Leonard but got Curtis Nelson. No system or person is infallible. It seems harsh but if they're good enough they'll make it, hopefully with us, or someone else, if not they won't. That's part of the problem with today's society. Everyone wants to be rich and famous and no one wants to do the hard yards. That's why we have Latvians working on Cornish trawlers and Lithuanians cutting sugar beet in East Anglia

Click to expand...

I don't think we missed Leonard, we let him go as a Championship or League 1 club I remember.

Click to expand...

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: We released him after we knew we would be playing L2 football. This is one of those occasions where "the coaches who rarely get it wrong," got it wrong.

Click to expand...

As i posted previously Mark , Ryan Leonard was released whilst the club was in administration , Peter Reid was our manager and Peter Ridsdale was still involved at the club , it is highly likely Ryan was released to cut back on costs at that time , i don't believe there is any evidence to say his release was a decision based on football ability .

Click to expand...

If they wanted to keep him I'm sure they could/would have. He would not have been on an awful lot of money, he would have probably been one of the last to hold out without pay (I seem to recall an interview he gave the Southend programme where he talked about being an Argyle fan as a boy.) If they thought he had talent then why not sell him even if it was for peanuts as they needed the money?

Click to expand...

HC Green":52q6ixp2 said:

I may be missing something but:
1) How does the independent Academy finance itself.
2) If it isn't tied to any Club what is to stop Argyle signing one of their products.

Click to expand...

Pele10 said:

Training facilities crap - fact
Return from Academy crap -fact (recent years)
Academy reputation (reading this thread) crap

Why would A Cusack leave? :funny:

I am genuinely very sad about this - a big loss to the club, academy and the young players at the academy - exactly the type of coach who should be leading our academy.

I know there were occasions when he had disagreements over players who were not taken on because although he thought they were technically very good, their attitude wasn't liked.

Chris Souness was another long standing coach who was loved by lads in his team but left under a bit of a cloud.

Click to expand...

davie nine":3h9ctn2c said:

No news yet of whether Alex Fletcher, Jordan Bentley or Callum Rose have accepted their contract offers?

Good to see that our younger Academy players are off to Northern Ireland to compete in the Super Cup (group stage), against teams from Mexico, USA and Northern Ireland.

This year's competition also includes five other English teams - Manchester United, Southampton, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United and Swindon - as well as Rangers, from Scotland, and other teams from Mexico, USA and Chile.

Click to expand...