The Academy/Development squads watch thread 2024/25

[sandman]

Hope he has got strong ankles. Anything below La Liga 2, the Segunda, is full of grizzled old pros who kick young players up in the air almost as soon as they look at them.

Really winds me up when people pretend to have knowledge about teams and leagues they know nothing about.

Reminds me of you talking about Reading and the rest of the Championship.

Real Madrid show every Castilla Segunda Division B - Group 1 game on RMTV and also stream quite a few of them on YouTube as well.

I'll admit I don't watch all of them but if one pops up from my YT subscription and I have the time I will watch it.

Plus Managing Madrid do an excellent podcast covering Castilla and have talked regularly about how young players in the league are targeted by older players.

[Oilroyal]

Really winds me up when people pretend to have knowledge about teams and leagues they know nothing about.

Do you find yourself being wound up easily and often?

If I said yes what would your response be?

Asking for a m8

I’m just asking because you share a lot of your emotional state online

[Platypuss]

Asking for a m8

As if.

[fred sharpes nose]

I know we have signed (all of a sudden) some good quality players for shed loads of £££ and the prospects for the season look good, however is any one else a little miffed as I am, about the sudden about U turn ? It seemed that finally the stars were aligned with FFP, Gomes encouraging youth and Howe making all the right noises etc. - I thought this was to be FINALLY the season where the youngsters get a really good go at it (not like the lip service in previous years). Out of nowhere we blow our transfer spending - the 6-8 lads who were close must be gutted.

Or maybe its all talk and they are just not good enough - the championship gets harder every year and the management panic buys ??

Thoughts ?

[Zip]

I know we have signed (all of a sudden) some good quality players for shed loads of £££ and the prospects for the season look good, however is any one else a little miffed as I am, about the sudden about U turn ? It seemed that finally the stars were aligned with FFP, Gomes encouraging youth and Howe making all the right noises etc. - I thought this was to be FINALLY the season where the youngsters get a really good go at it (not like the lip service in previous years). Out of nowhere we blow our transfer spending - the 6-8 lads who were close must be gutted.

Or maybe its all talk and they are just not good enough - the championship gets harder every year and the management panic buys ??

Thoughts ?

It would be good if Howe could clarify where he thinks we stand with FFP. It is without doubt a shame that someone who shone in pre season like Olise doesn’t even make the squad now. Having said that most of our signings look good but bringing in Adam was a mistake and he is taking up a space that one of our youngsters could fill.

[Denver Royal]

IThe 6-8 lads who were close must be gutted.
Maybe the championship gets harder every year etc

Well, in the Champ it’s a balance, right? You may be a lot closer to the Academy than me these days, but I’m unaware 6-8 kids were Champ ready this season. Would be an unusually high quota if they were.
If you’re manager, would you field that many? Don’t see Gomes coming here under that premise.
Even Olise, he’s 17 years old? If they threw him in, and it didn’t pan out, they’d say it ruined him.
As you know, if we fielded mostly kids, who may or may not make it anyway (of which, odds are waaay against) a lot of perspective would go out the window rather quickly.
Champ is harder every year? Depends who you talk to. I’ve heard in here ‘Champ is shite this year’ at various times over the years.

[Snowflake Royal]

IThe 6-8 lads who were close must be gutted.
Maybe the championship gets harder every year etc

Well, in the Champ it’s a balance, right? You may be a lot closer to the Academy than me these days, but I’m unaware 6-8 kids were Champ ready this season. Would be an unusually high quota if they were.
If you’re manager, would you field that many? Don’t see Gomes coming here under that premise.
Even Olise, he’s 17 years old? If they threw him in, and it didn’t pan out, they’d say it ruined him.
As you know, if we fielded mostly kids, who may or may not make it anyway (of which, odds are waaay against) a lot of perspective would go out the window rather quickly.
Champ is harder every year? Depends who you talk to. I’ve heard in here ‘Champ is shite this year’ at various times over the years.

Loader
Olise
Barrett
McIntyre
Watson
Howe
East
Holsgrove
Odimayo
Osho
Novakovich

All went on tour with the first team. Although Novakovich and maybe Loader is stretching the definition of Academy lads.

Olise, Barrett, McIntyre, Novakovich, East, Watson and Loader all already have first team appearances and / or have at least been part of the matchday squad.

6-8 Academy players being involved doesn't mean playing 6-8 every week either.

Olise looks the absolute real deal to me. People talk about Ejaria being PL class and a steal at £3m, for me, at three or four years younger Olise looks like he has similar potential. And unlike Loader, he's looked completely at home in the first team whilst being effective and assured. If he doesn't get at least a dozen games or more this season it'll be a crying shame.

[Hound]

Also a big fan of Olise and generally agree

However he has plenty of time on his side and has signed a new 3 year deal - I’m more relaxed about playing him atm, though hopefully he’ll get a run out at Plymouth

McIntyre also seems to have settled in very well and hopefully be fairly content to cover the 3Ms for the moment

[Snowflake Royal]

Also a big fan of Olise and generally agree

However he has plenty of time on his side and has signed a new 3 year deal - I’m more relaxed about playing him atm, though hopefully he’ll get a run out at Plymouth

McIntyre also seems to have settled in very well and hopefully be fairly content to cover the 3Ms for the moment

Nova, Olise and McIntyre would be my pick of the options. Sadly the former two seem some way from game time at this point.

I sometimes wonder how great it would be to have a season getting relegated giving a lot of youth players experience to then romp League 1 with them and come back stronger than ever with a team of mainly Academy graduates. That would be hella sweet.

[Stranded]

Also a big fan of Olise and generally agree

However he has plenty of time on his side and has signed a new 3 year deal - I’m more relaxed about playing him atm, though hopefully he’ll get a run out at Plymouth

McIntyre also seems to have settled in very well and hopefully be fairly content to cover the 3Ms for the moment

Nova, Olise and McIntyre would be my pick of the options. Sadly the former two seem some way from game time at this point.

I sometimes wonder how great it would be to have a season getting relegated giving a lot of youth players experience to then romp League 1 with them and come back stronger than ever with a team of mainly Academy graduates. That would be hella sweet.

In theory yes, in practice - the best academy players from the relegated season would get picked up by other clubs for relative peanuts or they'd have had a losing mentality ingrained in them. A bunch of 20/21 year olds, with a year's experience of losing (and only losing in their pro career) does not a L1 promotion push make.

[3points]

IMO squad depth is quite patchy. Looks like we have 6-7 strikers / forwards now, so Nova and Loader will have limited options for game time. Interesting that Loader made the bench at West Brom rather than Baldock (who actually would have been a decent option the other night to replace the tiring Boye & Puscas). You can see why Barrow left. And why Nova's time also looks to be at an end.

Macintyre is 4th choice centre back, a position that often gets game time through a season due to injuries and suspensions.

But in other areas we don't have much depth. We're only a John Swift hamstring away from Olise and Barrett fighting for a starting position, or Rino playing instead of Pele. Rino looks like he's also first choice cover for Yiadom, rather than Watson and Howe.

I think we had 4 academy products in the team / squad on Wednesday. Not that bad really and Richards looks like he has really stepped up this season. I've been critical of him up to now.

[andrew1957]

From the Bowen interview it looks like we are going to give Novakovich the choice of staying and fighting for a spot or moving on. We have to accept that it will never be possible for "every" top Academy player to make it at Reading. Some will go elsewhere and be successful such as Jack Stacey and then hopefully we will get big sell on fees as we have in that case.

As for Olise I was looking forward to him lighting up the division this season and now his chances might be limited. But having said that with our injury record in past seasons who knows. He might yet play a big part. The same applies to McIntyre.

The only one I am a tad confused about is Loader. I am not entirely sure why the owner pulled the sale to Wolves as it is hard to see him playing much (again injuries apart) and his sale could have helped balance the books. Only time will tell if that was the right or wrong decision.

[Ranty McRantface]

I know we have signed (all of a sudden) some good quality players for shed loads of £££ and the prospects for the season look good, however is any one else a little miffed as I am, about the sudden about U turn ? It seemed that finally the stars were aligned with FFP, Gomes encouraging youth and Howe making all the right noises etc. - I thought this was to be FINALLY the season where the youngsters get a really good go at it (not like the lip service in previous years). Out of nowhere we blow our transfer spending - the 6-8 lads who were close must be gutted.

Or maybe its all talk and they are just not good enough - the championship gets harder every year and the management panic buys ??

Thoughts ?

As I said after the Chelsea game there are only about 4 or 5 players ready to play 1st team football.

Loader, Olise, Barrett, McIntyre and Nova. The rest are not good enough yet or never will be. Of those mentioned above Olise and Nova will find it really difficult to get game time but both are in very different situations. Nova should move on as he's good and old enough to be making a decent career. Olise is still 17 and has time on his side.

Loader will be gone in January and it's probably best for both parties that he does. McIntyre will get game time for sure. Barret is a funny one though. He is in a similar boat to Nova and I would argue that if he is not given some decent playing time by January he should move on too.

[NewCorkSeth]

Good interveiw with Bowen I thought. I like at the end he says that once young players have had a chance and proven they're good enough they should stay with the first team. McIntyre is clearly the front runner in that category. Do you all think that's deserved or just positionally he was lucky? Also Barrett has clearly done enough to be a proper first team player now. I'm delighted for him personally.

He mentioned loans our other CB youngsters so hopefully he can find them a club. I notice that more and more clubs are introducing the role of Loan Manager. Arsenal even have a 3 person panel who teams must present to in order to get their players (Nketiah at Leeds is looking to benefit well from that - interestingly myself and a few on here marked him as a top loan target but thought it unrealistic)

So after McIntyre I assume Loader and Olise are the next in line. Will Olise have to adapt his game to become an Ejaria type in order to get some game time? Loader is probably 5th choice at this point so might not develop as we hope. Still have faith he can have some impact this season and, for me at least, I see no reason to have Boye ahead of him in the pecking order. Boye may be a better, more experienced player but I would rather have a homegrown talent over a loan. Especially when it's a clear battle for 4th choice.

[Snowflake Royal]

Also a big fan of Olise and generally agree

However he has plenty of time on his side and has signed a new 3 year deal - I’m more relaxed about playing him atm, though hopefully he’ll get a run out at Plymouth

McIntyre also seems to have settled in very well and hopefully be fairly content to cover the 3Ms for the moment

Nova, Olise and McIntyre would be my pick of the options. Sadly the former two seem some way from game time at this point.

I sometimes wonder how great it would be to have a season getting relegated giving a lot of youth players experience to then romp League 1 with them and come back stronger than ever with a team of mainly Academy graduates. That would be hella sweet.

In theory yes, in practice - the best academy players from the relegated season would get picked up by other clubs for relative peanuts or they'd have had a losing mentality ingrained in them. A bunch of 20/21 year olds, with a year's experience of losing (and only losing in their pro career) does not a L1 promotion push make.

Maybe.

[Royals and Racers]

Goals from the U23`s match at Man Utd a week ago https://www.manutd.com/en/videos/reserves

[Snowflake Royal]

Goals from the U23`s match at Man Utd a week ago https://www.manutd.com/en/videos/reserves

Oh dear Tennai.

[NewCorkSeth]

Nova, Olise and McIntyre would be my pick of the options. Sadly the former two seem some way from game time at this point.

I sometimes wonder how great it would be to have a season getting relegated giving a lot of youth players experience to then romp League 1 with them and come back stronger than ever with a team of mainly Academy graduates. That would be hella sweet.

In theory yes, in practice - the best academy players from the relegated season would get picked up by other clubs for relative peanuts or they'd have had a losing mentality ingrained in them. A bunch of 20/21 year olds, with a year's experience of losing (and only losing in their pro career) does not a L1 promotion push make.

Maybe.

Correct me if I'm wrong but you floated this idea last season too?

I remember doing a big ling post about all relegated clubs from the last 10 years. It works out less than people assume. Maybe when I'm back from holiday I'll go through the squads of teams who did make it back up to see what (if any) academy or young players impressed and helped promotion.

[StellaPlease]

Also a big fan of Olise and generally agree

However he has plenty of time on his side and has signed a new 3 year deal - I’m more relaxed about playing him atm, though hopefully he’ll get a run out at Plymouth

McIntyre also seems to have settled in very well and hopefully be fairly content to cover the 3Ms for the moment

Nova, Olise and McIntyre would be my pick of the options. Sadly the former two seem some way from game time at this point.

I sometimes wonder how great it would be to have a season getting relegated giving a lot of youth players experience to then romp League 1 with them and come back stronger than ever with a team of mainly Academy graduates. That would be hella sweet.

Olise is 17 ffs. He broke in increadibly early and will get chances this year.

Nova isn't good enough.

What's wrong with you?

[Snowflake Royal]

In theory yes, in practice - the best academy players from the relegated season would get picked up by other clubs for relative peanuts or they'd have had a losing mentality ingrained in them. A bunch of 20/21 year olds, with a year's experience of losing (and only losing in their pro career) does not a L1 promotion push make.

Maybe.

Correct me if I'm wrong but you floated this idea last season too?

I remember doing a big ling post about all relegated clubs from the last 10 years. It works out less than people assume. Maybe when I'm back from holiday I'll go through the squads of teams who did make it back up to see what (if any) academy or young players impressed and helped promotion.

Plenty of clubs come back within a few seasons and do very well.

I have a theory that established champ clubs, excluding financial basket cases, will do better in the medium term if they go down quickly. Having a better chance of bouncing back and then competing at the right end of the Championship. Than a club who perennially survives by a narrow margin over three or four seasons.

I'm also much more forgiving of Academy players struggling than watching yet another bunch of failed pros underperform. I think so much of making it in football is actually being trusted with an opportunity to play and that a relegation fight that's ultimately lost could be a superb learning experience for young players, with the right support. As a one off season I don't think it breeds too much of a losing culture, especially for players previously used to youth success who know a lot is being asked of them.

It's academic though, because we've made a bunch of signings and Gomes is leaning towards the miracle of turning around a shambolic club with a culture of failure baked in over most of the last six or seven years now.