Dolan: 'Academy is a success'...but Gooding's unconvinced

[Royalee]

Ideally you want two players you want to call on for each position, so Coppell needs to be either giving Kebe and Henry run-outs ASAP or shipping them out and bringing in replacements. FWIW I don't think either will be good enough, but I hope I'm proven wrong.

[winchester_royal]

Ideally you want two players you want to call on for each position, so Coppell needs to be either giving Kebe and Henry run-outs ASAP or shipping them out and bringing in replacements. FWIW I don't think either will be good enough, but I hope I'm proven wrong.

FWIW I think both will be effective at championship level.

But we will see.

[Sir Rodger Doyle]

Alex Pearce has the one thing you need make it as a player.

The right attitude.

[rfcjoe]

'greed.

[Royalee]

http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~1333588,00.html

Yeah, real failures.

[cmonurz]

If the management don’t have the balls to promote the likes of Sigurdsson, Frewen, Vasilev etc to the first-team set up then, as good an achievement as it is, it means little to RFC, perhaps outside of making our Academy more attractive to join?

[brendywendy]

If the management don’t have the balls to promote the likes of Sigurdsson, Frewen, Vasilev etc to the first-team set up then, as good an achievement as it is, it means little to RFC, perhaps outside of making our Academy more attractive to join?

they dont have to play for us to be a success-if we receive fees for them from other clubs that would also constitute success

[Southbank Old Boy]

If the management don’t have the balls to promote the likes of Sigurdsson, Frewen, Vasilev etc to the first-team set up then, as good an achievement as it is, it means little to RFC, perhaps outside of making our Academy more attractive to join?

they dont have to play for us to be a success-if we receive fees for them from other clubs that would also constitute success

I think producing players capable of playing professional football would constitute some form of success, but ultimately the academy is there to provide players for our first, that has to be the true barometer.

[One Beer is never enough.]

http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~1333588,00.html

Yeah, real failures.

It made their local news.

Some (unintentinaolly) hilarious quotes.....

http://www.wctv.tv/sports/headlines/20616664.html

[readingbedding]

Coppell tips Academy to deliver
Posted on: Mon 30 Jun 2008

Steve Coppell has said that the Club's Academy is closer than ever to delivering players to the first team squad.

He has high hopes for homegrown youngsters such as Alex Pearce (pictured), James Henry, Hal Robson-Kanu and Jem Karacan, who all impressed during loan spells in lower leagues last season.

But he has also warned that those players will only be picked if they are good enough rather than as a token gesture.

Steve told readingfc.co.uk, "We have a number of younger players who are not too far away.

"It would be brilliant if one or two of them could make the step and actually play a role, but that has to be based on ability, not on sentiment.

"We will be looking for some of them to make an impact, and we'll have a smaller squad but bigger demands."

[Southbank Old Boy]

Sounds positive but haven't we heard it all before?

I hope these lads do come through, Coppell shows some faith in them, and they go on to be good Championship and hopefully Premiership players in the future.

[papereyes]

We are the next Arsenal, Fae is the next Vieira, and we scouted Elano first.

There is a certain amount of truth to that. Maybe not the club but definitely some of the fans.

[papereyes]

If the management don’t have the balls to promote the likes of Sigurdsson, Frewen, Vasilev etc to the first-team set up then, as good an achievement as it is, it means little to RFC, perhaps outside of making our Academy more attractive to join?

they dont have to play for us to be a success-if we receive fees for them from other clubs that would also constitute success

Hmmm.

The aim would be:

a) get players that can improve the first team squad

b) at least cover some of the cost of running the academy.

Academy was run at about £2.5 million a year, so how many of the players we have produced have been sold at anything approaching that figure. I'd be very tentative of using 'success' there - it is a pleasant bonus but I think you'd have to be realistic about the amount of money that is spent on the academy and how much is actually raised by our academy products.

That said, one or two very good players that can cover both bases and the investment will be more than worth it. It is simply a matter of time.

[LUX]

how do you think we'll get on this season, papereyes?

Me (strange and probably unreconcilable mix of RTG plus hard-bitten 35 years experience) would settle for mid-table.

[papereyes]

how do you think we'll get on this season, papereyes?

Me (strange and probably unreconcilable mix of RTG plus hard-bitten 35 years experience) would settle for mid-table.

I don't want to say anything until we've at least made a move in the transfer market and shape the squad to what Coppell wants.

I think there's a real danger we'll do worse than some are expecting but I'd like to think that the club won't allow that to happen. The longer we go without players leaving and their replacements coming in, well ...

Still. New Bond trailer out today.

[Kes]

The EP article the other day proves Dolan doesn't have a clue.

"The Champions League is the hardest competetion to win, you have to win your own league, then qualify through the group stages, then it's knockout from there on in"

[LUX]

yeah.

Does anyone know anyone with a sister on the EP?

[LoyalRoyalFan]

Eamonn Dolan insists Reading’s Academy is on the brink of producing results, but former Royals player and manager Micky Gooding believes the Royals youth set-up has been a flop.

The Royals first set up their Academy in 1997 and the club spend in excess of £1million a year in the hope of producing some of the best young talent around.

In the past the likes of Darius Henderson, Jamie Ashdown, and Nathan Tyson all featured in the first team, while at present hopefuls such as Alex Pearce, James Henry and Hal Robson Kanu are all on the fringe of Steve Coppell’s squad.

However, as yet there has not been a single player who has emerged from the Academy to become a regular.

But highly-rated Academy manager Dolan believes that could all change in the near future.

“I have no doubt we are starting to see some really good signs,” said the former Exeter City manager.

“The Academy is a long-term project. Last year we had another solid season where we had some decent results. We played 30 competitive games against some very good sides and that shows how many good players we have got.

“Alex Pearce has played at Championship-level, James Henry played for England Under-19s, Hal Robson Kanu went to Southend, Jem Karacan went to Millwall.

Dolan insisted: “This club is a success story. The Academy is not going to produce over night. I am optimistic about the future of Reading Football Club and the Academy.”

Royals chairman John Madejski has continually backed the Academy, hoping that it will eventually pay for itself by producing its own talent instead of having to splash out on sizeable transfer fees.

And Dolan admitted: “We need to produce value for money. Last year we sold Simon Cox to Swindon. People can look at that how they will, but that is a return on investment. Scott Rendell was sold to Peterborough and then to Cambridge and we received money.

“Nathan Tyson, Darius Henderson and Jamie Ashdown were all sold so that is a return on investment.”

Gooding: Academy has been a flop

In contrast to Dolan, Mick Gooding believes Reading’s Academy has been a flop so far.

Gooding, who made 314 appearances for Reading between 1989 and 1997, and was also joint manager, says the club should now have players in the first team on a regular basis.

“The Academy has been going for years and years now, so it should have produced players for the first team now,” said Gooding.

“It hasn’t and that’s not good enough. I’m sure the chairman will be wondering how long he needs to keep investing before it does produce first-team players.

“You would have thought they might even have struck lucky in that time and someone would have come along, but there hasn’t been anyone.

“There have been some good coaches there like Brendan Rodgers, Steve and John who all went on to do well – but sadly none of the players have and that’s not right.”



How long is long-term?
Will we have a regular 1st team player who came from the Academy?

So many questions, not enough time...

[cmonurz]

Tbf Gooding wasn't hugely wrong at the time, and didn't say it would never produce results, simply questioned continued investment which, given the financial situation this club now finds itself in, could be considered significant foresight, even if he has been proved wrong.

[mikey0406]

it will always be cheaper in producing youth through the academy than buying into the club, both through terms or risk, transfer fees and salaries. however way we look at it, until serious investment is brought in, this is the future of the club.