Academy goes from strength to strength

[Sun Tzu]

The best thing that could happen to the club is to become 100% self sufficient in acquiring players. It will not happen because too many supporters demand success yesterday!

It will not happen because it is probably impossible, if you tried to find a club playing at any level of pro football that has produced every one of it's players I suspect you'd be looking for a long time ! I don't think it's really to do with supporters, just the extremely long odds of managing to find 16 or 17 players at a young age who train on to be good enough, cover all the positions and blend as a team.

I also think Ffloyd sets the bar ridiculously high. To suggest that the academy has only achieved success if a number of players play regular first team football for a number of years is crazy IMHO. I believe players last an average of two seasons at a club. To expect home grown players to be longer lived is unrealistic.

I'd be happy to see 2 or 3 players from the Academy being part of our starting line up and a pipeline ensuring that we maintain that long term. Needn't be the some players, but if we could produce a third of our first team ourselves it would be good going.

[shaka's shorts]

No FS I am not on drugs! I simply state the facts that these players are regulars in the team. Hard to dispute that point surely. We seemed to do OK in the second half of the season when there was normally at least 4 or 5 academy players in the match squad each week. Just be patient. You cannot argue that the academy is producing more players than ever, whether that is because the players are better or our budget is smaller is debatable. But you can't debate that they are in the squad.

[Avon Royal]

This year we have seen the addition of 8 Academy youngsters into the Reading squad list - Bell-Baggie, Taylor, Rowe, Locke, Walcott, Hector, Mills and Joyce. I think that is a record for any RFC year group and is very encouraging.

Being given a squad number only to never feature in the first team and wind up playing for Basingstoke Town is no cause for back-slapping as far as I am concerned. The last couple of seasons has seen some good progress on this front with outstanding products like Sigurdsson and Church finally coming to the fore as key first team players. When we get good, consistent home grown performers in the first XI week-in week-out over a number of seasons then that is reason to be really be pleased with ourselves.

I'm with Floyd.

Until such time as the England team lift the world cup thanks to an almost exclusive contingent of ex-academy players, then it has achieved nothing.

Same old Reading FC, no ambition........

[Millsy]

My (totally arbitrary) standards for an academy player having been worth are:

1) If they play a significant role for the squad for the best part of a season (either starting or coming on as sub) and it does NOT matter if they're amazing - all that's important is that they're deemed important enough to play in the team.

2) If they get sold for any decent sum of money (at any point) regardless of how much they play for us eg Ashdown

My (totally arbitrary) standard for if the academy has been been worth is:

Look at, say, a ten year period (academy cost of £10million?) and subtract the income of the academy players you've sold in that time from the £10million and see if with what you have left you'd have had to spent more or less (on transfer and wages, or wage difference) to purchase/loan players who'd have had to be acquired had the remaining academy players not been around.

Coming up with thresholds is easy - doing the calculations is less so!

[floyd__streete]

I'm with Floyd.

Until such time as the England team lift the world cup thanks to an almost exclusive contingent of ex-academy players, then it has achieved nothing.

Same old Reading FC, no ambition........

Arf . I think it is great that the likes of Church and Sig have had an impact on the success of the team. I would say that since new year and our resurgence, the likes of Karacan and Pearce have barely figured in the first team, although Karacan to be fair played in both games against Liverpool. Are we going to be able to build a successful side around the likes of Robson-Kanu and Henry? Not on the evidence I have seen thus far.

I am delighted that we are getting some home grown players through at last, but I tend to think that the idea of the academy is to produce players for RFC not loan players for the likes of Brentford and Yeovil.

[readingbedding]

?

Lots of young players go on loan to other (lesser) teams for experience, they will be better for it, and even if they are then able/or not to be able to break into the first team, they have had games under their belt.

The Academy is a good thing and should be encouraged, but it's not going to be a magic wand, although I hope more and more decent young players break through after a good loan experience with ourselves.

[Millsy]

The great thing about bringing these academy players through is that they'll treat every first team game as a cup final.

Hit the nail on the head.

As the world cup demonstrated beautifully a few times, 11 underdogs with everything to prove and just happy to be playing will totally outperform 11 "golden generation" players expected to do well.

I'd rather brave and passionate performances from those delighted to wear the hoops than half hearted performances from big names.

[Terminal Boardom]

?

Lots of young players go on loan to other (lesser) teams for experience, they will be better for it, and even if they are then able/or not to be able to break into the first team, they have had games under their belt.

The Academy is a good thing and should be encouraged, but it's not going to be a magic wand, although I hope more and more decent young players break through after a good loan experience with ourselves.

How many loan spells do the likes of Henry need? I think he is massively over-rated by many on this forum. The same can be said of Pearce. If one or two make a breakthrough this coming season in the way that Church and Sig have then the signs will be good.

[readingbedding]

?

Lots of young players go on loan to other (lesser) teams for experience, they will be better for it, and even if they are then able/or not to be able to break into the first team, they have had games under their belt.

The Academy is a good thing and should be encouraged, but it's not going to be a magic wand, although I hope more and more decent young players break through after a good loan experience with ourselves.

How many loan spells do the likes of Henry need? I think he is massively over-rated by many on this forum. The same can be said of Pearce. If one or two make a breakthrough this coming season in the way that Church and Sig have then the signs will be good.

I don't know how many, but with reserve football being in the mess that it is in this country, it's a lot more beneficial for all youngsters to get first team games where they can.
Of course you have to be good enough.
But if Henry etc breaks through here or Rochdale etc, it's vital that they get first team experience, for the good of their career - wherever they end up.

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

10 years ago we'd have given anything for just one of Kelly, Pearce, Henry, Karracan, Robson - Kanu, let alone Church or Sig. The fact we're disapointed they havent really pushed on says it all. We keep churning them out too.

The clubs achieved many things in recent years, the development of the academy is right up there.

[readingbedding]

Not true.

Again, in the early 90's we had a whole host of youngsters coming through.
Of course a few didn't make the grade be it with us or failed to fulfil a professional career somewhere else, but Adi Williams, Scott Taylor and Archie Lovell's progression from spotty teenagers to decent pro's certainly were part of a set-up that made RFC an extremely good footballing side below the top flight.

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

10 years ago we'd have given anything for just one of Kelly, Pearce, Henry, Karracan, Robson - Kanu, let alone Church or Sig. The fact we're disapointed they havent really pushed on says it all. We keep churning them out too.

The clubs achieved many things in recent years, the development of the academy is right up there.

[readingbedding]

Don't be fooled that pre-Academy there were no decent Reading youth players breaking through.

[Royal Rother]

So between say 1995 and 2005 who came through into the 1st team to play as big a part as, for e.g., one of the bittiest bit part players, in HRK, did last season?

[Terminal Boardom]

So between say 1995 and 2005 who came through into the 1st team to play as big a part as, for e.g., One of the bittiest bit part players in HRK, did last season?

Byron Glasgow

I'll get my coat

[readingbedding]

So between say 1995 and 2005 who came through into the 1st team to play as big a part as, for e.g., one of the bittiest bit part players, in HRK, did last season?

There are a few, but off the top of my head - Nathan Tyson & Simon Cox.
You don't remember them?

[Ian Royal]

So between say 1995 and 2005 who came through into the 1st team to play as big a part as, for e.g., one of the bittiest bit part players, in HRK, did last season?

There are a few, but off the top of my head - Nathan Tyson & Simon Cox.
You don't remember them?

That would be Simon Cox who got sold without doing a lot for us in around 2008? Do you not understand the concept of time?

2000 - 2010 is not the early 90s.
2007/8 is not between 1995 & 2005.

Just FYI.

[readingbedding]

Incorrect.

Simon Cox played for Reading in 2005, a 'bittiest bit part', just like HRK.

No need to apologise son.

[Sun Tzu]

Simon Cox played one game in September 2005, I think Ian is right in questioning whether he's a good example of a youth player who made any kind of contribution between the dates mentioned. HRK kas appeared in 18 games....

[Royal Rother]

Cox made less than a handful of sub appearances in 2005.

Robson Kanu played 18 times for us last season, starting 4 games.

Big difference.

Edit: Oh, where did that come from...?