The Academy/Development squads watch thread 2024/25

[NewCorkSeth]

Did we not play Smith a couple of times last season despite impending doom?

Smith is so all round average it hurts though tbf, think House has a bit more guile about him and will end up being the better player of those two, but isn't close to ready for the first team yet.

Smith seemed a bit too similar to Samuel (in ability terms) for my liking. Hope he can turn this loan around though. Likeable enough guy.

It's just really positive to have 3 forwards looking like developing well. One of Novakovich, Loader and House has to turn out to be good enough right? That's how is works right?

I still have to watch the second half of the game against Bristol but the feedback on Rinomhota seems really positive. Hopefully he's the real deal and not just another Kuhl or Tshibola.

[maffff]

Did we not play Smith a couple of times last season despite impending doom?

Smith is so all round average it hurts though tbf, think House has a bit more guile about him and will end up being the better player of those two, but isn't close to ready for the first team yet.

Smith seemed a bit too similar to Samuel (in ability terms) for my liking. Hope he can turn this loan around though. Likeable enough guy.

It's just really positive to have 3 forwards looking like developing well. One of Novakovich, Loader and House has to turn out to be good enough right? That's how is works right?

I still have to watch the second half of the game against Bristol but the feedback on Rinomhota seems really positive. Hopefully he's the real deal and not just another Kuhl or Tshibola.

We have a great u23s and a very encouraging u18s - both full of players above their age group, so playing against more developed players. Would hope a couple from this cadre make it through for us. u16s are meant to be even better at this stage. Early days though. About 10 years ago we said we'd changed the entire setup down to those aged 7 but it would take a decade to really see the fruits of that work, now it seems to be coming to fruition.

[Coppells Lost Coat]

I still have to watch the second half of the game against Bristol but the feedback on Rinomhota seems really positive. Hopefully he's the real deal and not just another Kuhl or Tshibola.

It comes down to attitude at this stage of their careers as they clearly have ability. I liked the look of Kuhl, just after a few apps he decided that he was footballing god that had everything already. Tshibola was a strange one, had decent spells everywhere till his move to Villa ruined him. Hopefully House and Loader just knuckle down and continue to progress

I have no doubt Nova will have a decent career at Championship level.

[NewCorkSeth]

I still have to watch the second half of the game against Bristol but the feedback on Rinomhota seems really positive. Hopefully he's the real deal and not just another Kuhl or Tshibola.

It comes down to attitude at this stage of their careers as they clearly have ability. I liked the look of Kuhl, just after a few apps he decided that he was footballing god that had everything already. Tshibola was a strange one, had decent spells everywhere till his move to Villa ruined him. Hopefully House and Loader just knuckle down and continue to progress

I have no doubt Nova will have a decent career at Championship level.

I miss all this being a fan from afar. Football manager loved Kuhl. Hopefully the youth staff know how to keep them grounded.

Out of interest was anyone positive about Rinomhota when he was playing for our academy or is he a welcome surprise?

[NewCorkSeth]

Smith is so all round average it hurts though tbf, think House has a bit more guile about him and will end up being the better player of those two, but isn't close to ready for the first team yet.

Smith seemed a bit too similar to Samuel (in ability terms) for my liking. Hope he can turn this loan around though. Likeable enough guy.

It's just really positive to have 3 forwards looking like developing well. One of Novakovich, Loader and House has to turn out to be good enough right? That's how is works right?

I still have to watch the second half of the game against Bristol but the feedback on Rinomhota seems really positive. Hopefully he's the real deal and not just another Kuhl or Tshibola.

We have a great u23s and a very encouraging u18s - both full of players above their age group, so playing against more developed players. Would hope a couple from this cadre make it through for us. u16s are meant to be even better at this stage. Early days though. About 10 years ago we said we'd changed the entire setup down to those aged 7 but it would take a decade to really see the fruits of that work, now it seems to be coming to fruition.

I vaguely recall someone saying our young teams were developing very well. Would be really interesting to read about the changes they made 10 years ago.

[Vision]

I still have to watch the second half of the game against Bristol but the feedback on Rinomhota seems really positive. Hopefully he's the real deal and not just another Kuhl or Tshibola.

It comes down to attitude at this stage of their careers as they clearly have ability. I liked the look of Kuhl, just after a few apps he decided that he was footballing god that had everything already. Tshibola was a strange one, had decent spells everywhere till his move to Villa ruined him. Hopefully House and Loader just knuckle down and continue to progress

I have no doubt Nova will have a decent career at Championship level.

I miss all this being a fan from afar. Football manager loved Kuhl. Hopefully the youth staff know how to keep them grounded.

Out of interest was anyone positive about Rinomhota when he was playing for our academy or is he a welcome surprise?

If I recall, much like Novakovich he was 17/18 when we signed him so I always feel it's a little disingenuous when they're described as Academy Products. He certainly didn't come through the ranks in the same way as the likes of Loader and House so obviously he wouldn't have had the same buzz surrounding him.

I'm not entirely sure how many games he actually played for the U-18's before progressing to the U-23's (others on here are far more clued up on the Academy than me) but my perception is that it can't have been many, if any at all.

[Hound]

Talk Reading has the Loader and House goals clips

The two Loader goals - great finishes. Looks real quality. Must be knocking on the door of the first team squad pretty hard

[Hound]

It comes down to attitude at this stage of their careers as they clearly have ability. I liked the look of Kuhl, just after a few apps he decided that he was footballing god that had everything already. Tshibola was a strange one, had decent spells everywhere till his move to Villa ruined him. Hopefully House and Loader just knuckle down and continue to progress

I have no doubt Nova will have a decent career at Championship level.

I miss all this being a fan from afar. Football manager loved Kuhl. Hopefully the youth staff know how to keep them grounded.

Out of interest was anyone positive about Rinomhota when he was playing for our academy or is he a welcome surprise?

If I recall, much like Novakovich he was 17/18 when we signed him so I always feel it's a little disingenuous when they're described as Academy Products. He certainly didn't come through the ranks in the same way as the likes of Loader and House so obviously he wouldn't have had the same buzz surrounding him.

I'm not entirely sure how many games he actually played for the U-18's before progressing to the U-23's (others on here are far more clued up on the Academy than me) but my perception is that it can't have been many, if any at all.

Do agree a bit. Smith, Richards and Rinomhota all joined in their late teens as well. Not so much the academy working well as maybe the U18-23 level

[NewCorkSeth]

Talk Reading has the Loader and House goals clips

The two Loader goals - great finishes. Looks real quality. Must be knocking on the door of the first team squad pretty hard

Ordinarily I would worry (Probably completely unnesecarily) that introducing a young player, who must be filled with confidence and showing bags of potential, into a team struggling like we are but we seem to be doing a decent enough job at creating chances.

He might do really well if he can continue to show his instinct for goal.

[Vision]

I miss all this being a fan from afar. Football manager loved Kuhl. Hopefully the youth staff know how to keep them grounded.

Out of interest was anyone positive about Rinomhota when he was playing for our academy or is he a welcome surprise?

If I recall, much like Novakovich he was 17/18 when we signed him so I always feel it's a little disingenuous when they're described as Academy Products. He certainly didn't come through the ranks in the same way as the likes of Loader and House so obviously he wouldn't have had the same buzz surrounding him.

I'm not entirely sure how many games he actually played for the U-18's before progressing to the U-23's (others on here are far more clued up on the Academy than me) but my perception is that it can't have been many, if any at all.

Do agree a bit. Smith, Richards and Rinomhota all joined in their late teens as well. Not so much the academy working well as maybe the U18-23 level

Smith and Richards were signed a little younger (15/16 years old) and played for the U-16's so like Gylffi I'd still consider them as Academy products.
Rinomhota and NovakovichI are more akin to the likes of Federici and Shane Long in my opinion.

[KC Royal]

Smith is so all round average it hurts though tbf, think House has a bit more guile about him and will end up being the better player of those two, but isn't close to ready for the first team yet.

Smith seemed a bit too similar to Samuel (in ability terms) for my liking. Hope he can turn this loan around though. Likeable enough guy.

It's just really positive to have 3 forwards looking like developing well. One of Novakovich, Loader and House has to turn out to be good enough right? That's how is works right?

I still have to watch the second half of the game against Bristol but the feedback on Rinomhota seems really positive. Hopefully he's the real deal and not just another Kuhl or Tshibola.

We have a great u23s and a very encouraging u18s - both full of players above their age group, so playing against more developed players. Would hope a couple from this cadre make it through for us. u16s are meant to be even better at this stage. Early days though. About 10 years ago we said we'd changed the entire setup down to those aged 7 but it would take a decade to really see the fruits of that work, now it seems to be coming to fruition.

I'm guessing some of those u18s/u23s were part of the u14 side that were so successful in 2014 and 2015? Dolan's pride at how well they were doing, in 2015 IIRC when they were beating top European sides, was the last thing I remember reading him say before he got ill, so for me they are his lasting legacy, if that makes sense.

[John Smith]

Another goal from Loader, he`s on fire. 4-3, this was after being 3-1 down.

Villa equalise 83rd minute. then we nick it 4 minutes into added time, House receives a beautiful through ball rounds the keeper and scores.

FT 5-4.

What a game! Sided with the live stream on YouTube over Leeds on Sky and I'm very happy I did. Great ending, would be good to see a few of these lads in the first team soon.

[Snowflake Royal]

I still have to watch the second half of the game against Bristol but the feedback on Rinomhota seems really positive. Hopefully he's the real deal and not just another Kuhl or Tshibola.

It comes down to attitude at this stage of their careers as they clearly have ability. I liked the look of Kuhl, just after a few apps he decided that he was footballing god that had everything already. Tshibola was a strange one, had decent spells everywhere till his move to Villa ruined him. Hopefully House and Loader just knuckle down and continue to progress

I have no doubt Nova will have a decent career at Championship level.

I miss all this being a fan from afar. Football manager loved Kuhl. Hopefully the youth staff know how to keep them grounded.

Out of interest was anyone positive about Rinomhota when he was playing for our academy or is he a welcome surprise?

He's not an eye catcher and others see far more than i do, but he looked handy whenever I saw him. I'm surprised he handled his first start so well, but not a lot in it surprised me from what I'd already seen.

[SCIAG]

I still have to watch the second half of the game against Bristol but the feedback on Rinomhota seems really positive. Hopefully he's the real deal and not just another Kuhl or Tshibola.

It comes down to attitude at this stage of their careers as they clearly have ability. I liked the look of Kuhl, just after a few apps he decided that he was footballing god that had everything already. Tshibola was a strange one, had decent spells everywhere till his move to Villa ruined him. Hopefully House and Loader just knuckle down and continue to progress

I have no doubt Nova will have a decent career at Championship level.

I miss all this being a fan from afar. Football manager loved Kuhl. Hopefully the youth staff know how to keep them grounded.

Out of interest was anyone positive about Rinomhota when he was playing for our academy or is he a welcome surprise?

To be fair to Kuhl that was the opposite of his problem - went up to Scotland on loan and had a crisis of confidence which he never recovered from. After that loan he went from always being on his toes and looking for the next pass, to hiding away with his head down. He was a very grounded young man who if anything lacked the necessary self-belief and resilience. Generally the club do well at keeping players grounded (usually, though not always, with the support of the family).

Rinomhota doesn't have half the talent of Kuhl or Kelly and is only a year younger than them. He was behind Sammi Fridjohnsson and Conor Shaughnessy in the pecking order in the academy but they're both centre backs playing at a decent standard now. We signed him quite late (just before he turned 17 iirc). I don't think he's the sort of player who stands out at youth level but his skills might suit the first team better. I've seen him play about twenty times and Saturday was the best I've seen him play by a distance, really rose to the occasion.

It comes down to attitude at this stage of their careers as they clearly have ability. I liked the look of Kuhl, just after a few apps he decided that he was footballing god that had everything already. Tshibola was a strange one, had decent spells everywhere till his move to Villa ruined him. Hopefully House and Loader just knuckle down and continue to progress

I have no doubt Nova will have a decent career at Championship level.

I miss all this being a fan from afar. Football manager loved Kuhl. Hopefully the youth staff know how to keep them grounded.

Out of interest was anyone positive about Rinomhota when he was playing for our academy or is he a welcome surprise?

If I recall, much like Novakovich he was 17/18 when we signed him so I always feel it's a little disingenuous when they're described as Academy Products. He certainly didn't come through the ranks in the same way as the likes of Loader and House so obviously he wouldn't have had the same buzz surrounding him.

I'm not entirely sure how many games he actually played for the U-18's before progressing to the U-23's (others on here are far more clued up on the Academy than me) but my perception is that it can't have been many, if any at all.

You're right about Novakovich and Rinomhota being relatively late signings, both signed when they were more or less 17. House was only a little earlier, we signed him when he was 16 (iirc it was in September or October time but I might be making that up), same with Smith and I'm a bit hazy on whether Richards actually played for the U16s. Loader is a "proper" academy graduate.

Nova was a key player in what would have been the second year of his scholarship. Rinomhota a bit less so but iirc that was partially because he was shuttling between the U18s and U21s without getting a run of games in either. Then Kelly started to get involved in the first team and that created a spot for him in the U23s (as it had become).

I'm guessing some of those u18s/u23s were part of the u14 side that were so successful in 2014 and 2015? Dolan's pride at how well they were doing, in 2015 IIRC when they were beating top European sides, was the last thing I remember reading him say before he got ill, so for me they are his lasting legacy, if that makes sense.

Most of that side are now first-year pros. Tom Holmes and Danny Loader are the names people will know, but imo Jordan Holsgrove is the best of the lot, although he seems to have had a serious injury this season.

[Snowflake Royal]

Holsgrove has really impressed me when I've seen him. Works well with East iirc.

[NewCorkSeth]

It comes down to attitude at this stage of their careers as they clearly have ability. I liked the look of Kuhl, just after a few apps he decided that he was footballing god that had everything already. Tshibola was a strange one, had decent spells everywhere till his move to Villa ruined him. Hopefully House and Loader just knuckle down and continue to progress

I have no doubt Nova will have a decent career at Championship level.

I miss all this being a fan from afar. Football manager loved Kuhl. Hopefully the youth staff know how to keep them grounded.

Out of interest was anyone positive about Rinomhota when he was playing for our academy or is he a welcome surprise?

To be fair to Kuhl that was the opposite of his problem - went up to Scotland on loan and had a crisis of confidence which he never recovered from. After that loan he went from always being on his toes and looking for the next pass, to hiding away with his head down. He was a very grounded young man who if anything lacked the necessary self-belief and resilience. Generally the club do well at keeping players grounded (usually, though not always, with the support of the family).

Rinomhota doesn't have half the talent of Kuhl or Kelly and is only a year younger than them. He was behind Sammi Fridjohnsson and Conor Shaughnessy in the pecking order in the academy but they're both centre backs playing at a decent standard now. We signed him quite late (just before he turned 17 iirc). I don't think he's the sort of player who stands out at youth level but his skills might suit the first team better. I've seen him play about twenty times and Saturday was the best I've seen him play by a distance, really rose to the occasion.

I miss all this being a fan from afar. Football manager loved Kuhl. Hopefully the youth staff know how to keep them grounded.

Out of interest was anyone positive about Rinomhota when he was playing for our academy or is he a welcome surprise?

If I recall, much like Novakovich he was 17/18 when we signed him so I always feel it's a little disingenuous when they're described as Academy Products. He certainly didn't come through the ranks in the same way as the likes of Loader and House so obviously he wouldn't have had the same buzz surrounding him.

I'm not entirely sure how many games he actually played for the U-18's before progressing to the U-23's (others on here are far more clued up on the Academy than me) but my perception is that it can't have been many, if any at all.

You're right about Novakovich and Rinomhota being relatively late signings, both signed when they were more or less 17. House was only a little earlier, we signed him when he was 16 (iirc it was in September or October time but I might be making that up), same with Smith and I'm a bit hazy on whether Richards actually played for the U16s. Loader is a "proper" academy graduate.

Nova was a key player in what would have been the second year of his scholarship. Rinomhota a bit less so but iirc that was partially because he was shuttling between the U18s and U21s without getting a run of games in either. Then Kelly started to get involved in the first team and that created a spot for him in the U23s (as it had become).

I'm guessing some of those u18s/u23s were part of the u14 side that were so successful in 2014 and 2015? Dolan's pride at how well they were doing, in 2015 IIRC when they were beating top European sides, was the last thing I remember reading him say before he got ill, so for me they are his lasting legacy, if that makes sense.

Most of that side are now first-year pros. Tom Holmes and Danny Loader are the names people will know, but imo Jordan Holsgrove is the best of the lot, although he seems to have had a serious injury this season.

Cheers SCIAG. Thanks for putting the time in. It's great to read details like this. I wish the club or the media would think about it from time to time.

[Hound]

Always enjoy SCIAGs academy posts

What do you think of Teddy Howe btw? Thought he looked excellent in the game I watched

[Nameless]

I think teddy Howe has come on hugely this season. Was never over impressed by him before but seems to get better each game.
He’s a very modern full back in that he does most of his good work going forward, he’s a competent defender but not amazing. He works well with our clutch of truely exciting central defenders, must be great to be a full back when you have excellent centre backs ensuring you always have cover.
Can’t have been easy for Howe making his way through the Academy given his family background.

[maffff]

Richards joined at 16 when he was released by Fulham. Was stuck behind some Ryan Sessegnon fella in their academy.

[KC Royal]

+1 to all the SCIAG appreciation, have always enjoyed reading his posts.

And thanks to others who provide insight, it's what makes this thread so great. Hadn't realised the Villa game was streamed, might have watched it had I known...