Lets be honest that none of those players will go on to play for the first team. Youth team football at this level is a farce. League Clubs send their scouts to games and tap up anyone any good.
Academy teams at this level are also poor, no offence but the gulf between Academy and Conference Football is gigantic.
So saying things have not changed is hardly a triumph.
Our youth set up when we were in the Conference before would have made Sutton's current one look like the dog and duck X1 on the park. Things HAVE Changed.
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Alexander O'Neal 1987 "I'm fed up cos all you wanna do is criticize "
So, as an advocate for the youth team etc, you are saying that there is not one player that could possibly become a first team player? That's not an encouraging statement if I may say so Tom.
Well our academy is shocking IMO and hasnt improved since it started. Its nothing to do with the club and as it stands is no benefit either,
We havent improved the intake and quality of players at all since it started. We get left with the ones no one else wants it looks like if you look at the league table.
Jamies and Jacks teams are decent year in year out and they produce players at Ryman level pretty quickly that could improve to our standard and have featured in first teams.
Our academy just seems to exist to pay peoples wages and make companies money it seems to me (Remember its nothing to do with the club really so its not a dig at the club). There are grants or funding i'm led to believe which the club dont see and that money goes on the academy (Wages, pitches, tuition etc?) So although it doesnt cost the club a penny , as it stands in my opinion its no benefit. Our academy seems to be there for the sake of it and others get the benefit of it.
You bet i'm an advocate of bringing players through, ive seen Jacks players come through and make the first team at Cray and Maidstone and get scholarships at league clubs (and you just knew they would make the grade. I've seen Jamies teams play a couple of times (at Dartford and Welling) and seen some of them come through at Welling or in the Ryman and Jamies team are always up there in the Conference Youth league.
I've seen NONE come through our academy in years for us.... I think there was one decent kid Charles Dunne but he got snapped up by a league club and we got zilch.
Its not just a one year thing either as every year our academy are poor yet Jamies and Jacks (since hes been there) do well and players come through.
Its possible trhat Maidstone and Cambridge spend money on their academies on top of the funding, but if they dont... and it could be done, i would try and get Jamie or Jack or both running our academy as they are PROVEN at bringing players through and having successful teams unlike our academy.
Dont confuse the Academy with the Kent league Under 18s or the Reserves/Under21 this is not a pop at those teams.
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Alexander O'Neal 1987 "I'm fed up cos all you wanna do is criticize "
Blues lost 6-1 first game Reds havent won a game lost two drawn one
It seems to be the same old story sadly weve had the same people run the academy and the same poor results and no players coming through. We probably have to just accept it and not expect anything to change while the situation remains.
Charles Dunne has just signed for Blackpool for an Undisclosed fee from Wycombe, he played for our Academy in its first season and went on to play 40 times for Wycombe.
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Alexander O'Neal 1987 "I'm fed up cos all you wanna do is criticize "
