TBF it's tough as a prem club to bring players through when every time a diamond appears we lose them for peanuts. Average U23s won't be good enough to step into the prem team.
Quite simply because the only few who might be good enough for the first team get nicked before they're old enough to play for us, as could happen yet again with this lad.
He seems a good future prospect, but knowing how we treat some of our youth expect him to be loaned out until he can make the first team then get sold to another side for a cash injection.
Wow that was pretty impressive. Forget left back, looks like we should be starting him up front THIS season!
Give him a Pro contract and get him training with the 1st team squad now, then maybe we won't lose him to Man City or their like.
Most of our best academy graduates like Hoban, O'Nien, Murray, Lewis, Mason etc are now kicking around in the lower English leagues, Scotland or Ireland. No indication any of them were good enough. Sancho was good enough to make the step up so Man City made sure he didn't do it here. Since the reforms, unless you are a cat 1 academy it is pretty much pointless putting any effort into the academy which is why the Pozzos have not done so. There is a reason clubs like Huddersfield and Brentford have closed their academies - they just run at a loss and you haemorrhage all your decent players to the big clubs before they are even old enough to sit on the bench for the first team.
Exactly. You helpfully prove my point. There's no effort made in youth development at the club and absolutely no path to the first team so we shouldn't be surprised that when we stumble across a decent one that they have no reason to stay. Because, you know, they have to actually decide to leave.
Liverpool rumoured to be interested last week and then a few days ago an academy football account on Twatter said he's signed for City. So basically we'll never see him play for us.
At that age, you could have the World's top stylist cut your hair and you'd still look like your mum did it with a bowl and a set of shears. Just shouldn't be put on national media until grown up and done something.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Theacademybay/status/1402703395123863552 Thankfully he gets a lot wrong. Guess we will see come 1st July.
The WFC Academy page shared the BBC link today so hopefully that means the Man City rumours are wide off the mark https://twitter.com/WatfordFCAcad/status/1403297743213314052
Dunno... it makes the academy look good if they can raise a youngster's profile like that. Probably helps with the sales pitch to the next lot coming through.
This is one of those that’ll pop up again in 10 years time and we’ll say “what on earth happened to this fella, he looked phemomenal”. Low and behold, he’s playing for Bishop’s Stortford.
A pro contract prevents that stupid EPPP rules kicking in. Sign him up ASAP then we can set our price. I will take some solace in England crashing out of the Euros by remembering Southgate was a vocal supporter of it!
He will know this so he’s clearly not going to sign a contract with us is he ? Unless it has a £50k release clause.
Depends, doesn't it. Some people are driven purely by greed. Maybe he has more sensible people advising him.
Maybe but generally it seems they don’t. Parents want to be able to say their kid plays for a top team not “little old Watford”. The player’s best interests don’t often feature in the decision making. Will never play for us.
Why wouldn’t it be in the players best interests to go to a club like City anyway? Ok, when they get a few years older they might not get straight into the first team, but they’ll immediately be exposed to better players and coaches than if they stayed at Watford.
First team football. Depends on your outlook as a player. I was never a pro but had I been I would liked to have played first team football and build my career that way. That’s not to say the lure of City or United isn’t big and as you say they probably have better coaches but as a route to the first team a smaller club would be my choice.
https://mobile.twitter.com/RisingBallers_/status/1403681944538333185 Guess the rumours were true after all. Another £100k banked while City sell him to Dortmund for millions in 3/4 years time. Guess he was right this time.
This news and the Rose news are still just part of our masterplan for Galvez to have the opportunity to be second choice in a couple of seasons. #itk
