by Scottbot » Sun Apr 24, 2005 9:56 pm
Show me a football Academy that churns out top class pros year after year.
Every now and then a club hits the jackpot it and produces several players all at once e.g. Fowler, Mcmanaman, Huchison (early 90s), Owen, Gerrard, Carra (late 90s), Scholes, Beckham and the Chuckles, Lampard, Carrick, Cole & Ferdinand etc. This tends to be the exception not the rule.
The majority of academy players at most top clubs fail to make the grade. Occasionally a player comes through and blossoms like a Steven Gerrard but we're not gonna turn out players like this all that often. The club is in good shape if we can turn out a few more like Carragher - Solid dependable types who, given time with the first team squad can grow into fine players. I don't think our academy is doing too badly right now. Warnock, while not setting the world on fire, looks like a solid player with the raw skills and attitude to make it at this level. On the few occasions i have seen Potter he looks like he could make it.
Those of you proclaiming the likes of Whitbread, Mannix, Welsh, Raven, Potter and co (League Cup anyone?) will never be up to it. I can only assume you have been attending lots of reserve team/academy league fixtures this season coz i haven't seen enough of these players to write them off just yet.