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U23s, Academy and Loanees

K.D.D.D.D.Soc said:
I don't think we will ever be a club where youth players get a chance, there are many reasons for this and we are not alone.
Clubs and fans want instant results and are prepared to buy overseas players and persevere with them acclimatising to PL rather than using youth players.
Youth set up is all wrong, playing against your peers doesn't offer most the experience they need to play in PL the gap is massive.
There should be a limit to number of overseas players many teams have over 16 in their squads.
Loan system is a lottery, players go to clubs where manager are reluctant to give them a chance as thier jobs are on the line.
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I think Barca is the gold standard for giving young players a chance with 2 teenagers starting in the World Cup Final tomorrow.

I also admire Ajax who have a club structural policy of aiming to transition 3 players from their youth teams to the senior squad every 2 years. One player every 2-3 years in our squad would be impressive
 
And when I say Barca are the gold standard for youth development we all remember the great all conquering Barca team which had the following graduates at its core:
Victor Valdés - Goalkeeper
Carles Puyol - Defender
Gerard Piqué - Defender
Jordi Alba - Defender
Martin Montoya - Defender
Sergio Busquets - Midfielder
Xavi Hernández - Midfielder
Andrés Iniesta - Midfielder
Cesc Fàbregas - Midfielder
Pedro Rodríguez - Forward
Lionel Messi - Forward

And even now they have
Dani Olmo - Age 28 - Midfielder / Forward
Iñaki Peña - Age 27 - Goalkeeper
Eric García - Age 25 - Defender
Fermín López - Age 23 - Midfielder
Marc Casadó - Age 22 - Midfielder
Alejandro Balde - Age 22 - Defender
Gavi - Age 21 - Midfielder
Héctor Fort - Age 19 - Defender
Pau Cubarsí - Age 19 - Defender
Marc Bernal - Age 19 - Midfielder
Lamine Yamal - Age 19 - Forward

What stands out immediately is the staggering young core here. Aside from Dani Olmo, Peña, and Eric García, the rest of this entire La Masia cohort is 23 or under, with the heavy hitters driving the team's future (like Yamal, Cubarsí, and Bernal) all still teenagers.

If Spurs could have even a quarter of their success rate it would be amazing. I really wish I knew how they did it.
 
Gutter Boy said:
Souness, Des Walker, Kerry Dixon, Beckham, arguably Crouch
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And we picked up Kane from some one else's youth programme just as a quick retort.

This lament for vague possibilities is romantic BS. Yes we clearly need to improve the final development step for our youth teams, yes we need to take a few more risks and expose them in a controlled systematic way but there is no English club that successfully develops top elite level talent regularly. Arsenal get a lot of praise but there is so much media hype (Lewis-Skelly a prime example) about everyone of their youth prospects who then fizzle out as mid level EPL or Championship level at best (Smith Rowe, Obi-Martin, Nketiah, Nelson, Willock, Maitland-Niles, Iwobi). We don't match up (Parrott, Winks, Skipp, Madueke(?), Walker-Peters, Townsend) but the gap isn't massive.

And missed out on Kerry Dixon???????? Behave.
 
Lost Mango said:
And we picked up Kane from some one else's youth programme just as a quick retort.

This lament for vague possibilities is romantic BS. Yes we clearly need to improve the final development step for our youth teams, yes we need to take a few more risks and expose them in a controlled systematic way but there is no English club that successfully develops top elite level talent regularly. Arsenal get a lot of praise but there is so much media hype (Lewis-Skelly a prime example) about everyone of their youth prospects who then fizzle out as mid level EPL or Championship level at best (Smith Rowe, Obi-Martin, Nketiah, Nelson, Willock, Maitland-Niles, Iwobi). We don't match up (Parrott, Winks, Skipp, Madueke(?), Walker-Peters, Townsend) but the gap isn't massive.

And missed out on Kerry Dixon???????? Behave.
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Kerry Dixon a complete failure as a footballer as he never won a trophy, Mark Falco who we retained at the same time he left won UEFA cup.
 
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