New training facility announced

[JannerinCardiff]

There is an insight into academy football, a new series starting tonight on Channel Four at 9pm.

Any idea which academy

I don't think it matters which club they are filming at, the focus is on the kids and the pressures that are involved for people so young.

but they could have chosen a good club at least .., 😉

 

[smudja]

Any idea which academy


but they could have chosen a good club at least .., 😉

There are no good clubs in the south east

 

[Sherford Green]

It was a fascinating programme which I will continue to watch. It definitely demonstrates how brutal the football industry can be. I did find it sad though how all the kids interviewed seemed to be primarily motivated by money rather than the love of the game or winning trophies.

 

[Lundan Cabbie]

It was a fascinating programme which I will continue to watch. It definitely demonstrates how brutal the football industry can be. I did find it sad though how all the kids interviewed seemed to be primarily motivated by money rather than the love of the game or winning trophies.

That struck me too.

 

[Lundan Cabbie]

Any idea which academy


but they could have chosen a good club at least .., 😉

They have spent £20m recently on facilities so I guess they've jumped at the chance to recoup a few quid from Channel 4 by allowing them access

 

[IJN]

Blimey, what an eye opener that was!

 

[German Shepherd]

There are no good clubs in the south east

You sir have obviously never been to Carshalton Athletic .

 

[unhinched]

It was a fascinating programme which I will continue to watch. It definitely demonstrates how brutal the football industry can be. I did find it sad though how all the kids interviewed seemed to be primarily motivated by money rather than the love of the game or winning trophies.

It maybe explains the apparent loss of desire / performance of some of those that do make it once the money has rolled in at a young age. Lingard, Deli Ali etc ?
Boris was called a racist for once talking about ' a Nigerian obsession with money' but maybe different cultures / nationalities have different ways, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. ( Please no one accuse me for being a racist for this, unless you don't admire Turkish barbers or Italian family restaurants or Jamaican musical influence)
Then you have the hunger in South East London to make enough money to escape localised gang culture and deprivation.
Slightly different world at Argo, but still plenty of hard work, discipline, pressure and sacrifice.
Personally I think Tony Pulis recently made some good points about a ' broken' academy system.
I also think maybe academies should start at 11 / 12 for various reasons. Bayern have scrapped u9s / u 10s etc.
Real Madrid have discovered that they have far higher success rates with players born within 45 mins of the training ground.
Always exceptions - Ronaldo succeeded by leaving his parents and Madeira ( but his father was an alcaholic so maybe he wasn't giving up so much).
Maybe we will go back to Celtic's Lisbon Lions local mentality - but I doubt it- but I do think there are benefits for any club to have a number of local players and a local identity. ( Category 1 academies can recruit nationally and educate in house)

 

[WoodsyGreen]

It was easy for Bayern to scrap their younger age groups because they know they'll be able to pick them up when they hit 12 anyway. The nearest big club to Bayern is Stuttgart, almost three hours away, and they're by far the biggest club in Germany regardless of that.

It was a hollow gesture from them and not one that will be repeated anywhere else.

My boy has improved significantly since he's been in the system. He's training 4.5 hours a week on quality pitches with top-level coaches. Compare that with the boys he left behind at his grassroots club, who are training 1.5 hours a week on a bobbled cattle field by dads with FA Level 1s. Leaving talented kids in that system until 11/12 would deny them a significant chunk of their development during the so-called 'golden learning years'.

 

[Quintrell Green]

It was easy for Bayern to scrap their younger age groups because they know they'll be able to pick them up when they hit 12 anyway. The nearest big club to Bayern is Stuttgart, almost three hours away, and they're by far the biggest club in Germany regardless of that.

It was a hollow gesture from them and not one that will be repeated anywhere else.

My boy has improved significantly since he's been in the system. He's training 4.5 hours a week on quality pitches with top-level coaches. Compare that with the boys he left behind at his grassroots club, who are training 1.5 hours a week on a bobbled cattle field by dads with FA Level 1s. Leaving talented kids in that system until 11/12 would deny them a significant chunk of their development during the so-called 'golden learning years'.

The distance from my experience of circa 1995 is that the distance between Stuttgart and Munich is less than 150 miles. With autobahn driving that journey is quicker than you think.
On the programme last night, I found it was fascinating, but at the same time I felt compassion for those black youngsters in their huge anxiety to obtain a further 2 year's contract with the Eagle's Academy. At that age they should have not that level of pressure. I was asking myself, what would be their reaction in the event of them being 'dropped'. Would they 'go off the rails' or is the club's support programme so strong for the 'failed' lads yet to reach their teens. Perhaps we will see in the following episodes of the documentary.
I also kept thinking where are any white lads. Are they not interested in football, or are they drawn towards Chelsea?
Incidentally, I was impressed by the manner of Eagle's Senior Coach for that Age Group

 

[WoodsyGreen]

The distance from my experience of circa 1995 is that the distance between Stuttgart and Munich is less than 150 miles. With autobahn driving that journey is quicker than you think.
On the programme last night, I found it was fascinating, but at the same time I felt compassion for those black youngsters in their huge anxiety to obtain a further 2 year's contract with the Eagle's Academy. At that age they should have not that level of pressure. I was asking myself, what would be their reaction in the event of them being 'dropped'. Would they 'go off the rails' or is the club's support programme so strong for the 'failed' lads yet to reach their teens. Perhaps we will see in the following episodes of the documentary.
I also kept thinking where are any white lads. Are they not interested in football, or are they drawn towards Chelsea?
Incidentally, I was impressed by the manner of Eagle's Senior Coach for that Age Group

One of the many advantages of being in a Cat 1 academy is that when you get released you generally have clubs further down the academy pyramid willing to take you on. Scott Twine is one of many examples of this. He was released by Southampton at 13 but was picked up by Swindon and is now a multi-million pound player who could be in the Premier League next season.

It's a shame Argyle don't have any nearby Cat 1s they can exploit in this way.

 

[unhinched]

It was easy for Bayern to scrap their younger age groups because they know they'll be able to pick them up when they hit 12 anyway. The nearest big club to Bayern is Stuttgart, almost three hours away, and they're by far the biggest club in Germany regardless of that.

It was a hollow gesture from them and not one that will be repeated anywhere else.

My boy has improved significantly since he's been in the system. He's training 4.5 hours a week on quality pitches with top-level coaches. Compare that with the boys he left behind at his grassroots club, who are training 1.5 hours a week on a bobbled cattle field by dads with FA Level 1s. Leaving talented kids in that system until 11/12 would deny them a significant chunk of their development during the so-called 'golden learning years'.

I know what you are saying. There is not an easy solution. But the pressure on those kids at Palace ( exacerbated by the weight some of them are taking on, at 11 years old, to provide a better life for their parents) makes me feel a bit sick to my stomach.
I have a lot of time for grass roots though ( I know what you are saying) but kids still enter the academy at 12 , 13, 14, 15, 16 from those pitches and coaches, albeit at a decreasing rate as they get older.
One possible benefit of longer in grass roots is that the player, while maybe technically inferior with some catching up to do, maybe has played with less fear and has learnt things by a perceived freedom to take more risks.
There is a good clip on Youtube somewhere of , I think, Paul Tidsdale saying he had to get the academy out of Ollie Watkins, despite all the good it no doubt did him. A few weeks later he played at Argyle on his debut and got man of the match.

 

[WoodsyGreen]

I know what you are saying. There is not an easy solution. But the pressure on those kids at Palace ( exacerbated by the weight some of them are taking on, at 11 years old, to provide a better life for their parents) makes me feel a bit sick to my stomach.
I have a lot of time for grass roots though ( I know what you are saying) but kids still enter the academy at 12 , 13, 14, 15, 16 from those pitches and coaches, albeit at a decreasing rate as they get older.
One possible benefit of longer in grass roots is that the player, while maybe technically inferior with some catching up to do, maybe has played with less fear and has learnt things by a perceived freedom to take more risks.
There is a good clip on Youtube somewhere of , I think, Paul Tidsdale saying he had to get the academy out of Ollie Watkins, despite all the good it no doubt did him. A few weeks later he played at Argyle on his debut and got man of the match.

There definitely is a lot of pressure for young boys in the system, but a great deal depends on the parents' ability to put it into context.

I don't for a moment think I'm handling it perfectly, but I just keep reminding my boy to enjoy the experience while it lasts. Education is Plan A, football is a very distant Plan B. Just like my job is Plan A and winning the lottery is Plan B . Luckily Southampton are really good in that regard and ask to see his school reports and communicate regularly with his teachers.

We also make sure he keeps seeing his grassroots mates on a regular basis just so he can keep his eye in for the inevitable day when he gets released.

Some parents seem to think their kids have a genuine chance of making it, when only around 1% of 12,000 kids in the pro system do. That is vanishingly small, yet they completely turn their backs on a kid's 'old' life and throw everything into their football. One dad showed me a video yesterday he did of his kid doing weights, hitting a punchbag, pounding on a running machine etc, all set to Rocky-style music. He's ten years old FFS.

I will enjoy the experience while it lasts. My boy scored a hattrick against Man Utd recently. That is something he and I will remember forever, and is one of the many reasons why boys in his position need to enjoy every moment; it'll all be over in the blink of an eye and it'll be back to the real world they go. Don't treat them like superstars because they're just ordinary kids who happen to be decent at football.

 

[IJN]

One of the many advantages of being in a Cat 1 academy is that when you get released you generally have clubs further down the academy pyramid willing to take you on. Scott Twine is one of many examples of this. He was released by Southampton at 13 but was picked up by Swindon and is now a multi-million pound player who could be in the Premier League next season.

I thought he'd signed for Burnley??!

 

[Kentishgreen]

The answer is for Exeter to become a Cat 1 Academy, then we can have their cast offs. They can have the best Academy but worst football team around.