RUMOUR - Andrew Surman

[Broxroyal]

I wonder if Pearce's sudden return from loan, two days after apparently extending the spell, is an indication that we are [b]out[b] of the running for Surman.
Either we don't want Pearce going as part of a swap or Surman is signing for someone else anyway so we don't need to keep Saints sweet.

[SCIAG]

Think its going to be Alex Pearce plus cash for Surman - reason Coppell has brought Pearce back is so he doesnt get injured which would buggar up any deal

And then plays him in the FA Cup at Cardiff on Saturday...... guess we'll know more on that at 3pm tomorrow - but my guess is that Reading is hardly likely to sell Pearce who the management have already said is a future captain of the club and has been an outstanding youngster for us this year.

I think that Coppell is planning for Hunts departure- with limited cash available a swap deal is highly likely. You have to question why the day after agreeing to extend Pearce's loan deal at Soton, Coppell suddenly pulled the plug on it without no known injuries in the squad. I agree that 2.15 tomorrow, when team is announced we will have a better idea-but a Surman/Pearce swap deal is likely.

With regard to Pearce and the clubs view on him- if he is currently unable to hold down a place in the Championship team, what chances in the future ,if we get to the promised land again, will he have of playing -whereas Surman is a ready made player for the Premiership. We have yet to have an academy player that cracks it and makes a first team place their own - I dont see that changing in coming years

Pearce has held down a starting place at Soton, fool. He's proved as much as Surman.

[Stranded]

Or that another CB could be moving on in the very near future...

[Deathy]

Or that another CB could be moving on in the very near future...

'greed.

Bennett and Sodje are both surplus. Sodje still injured though? Bikey linked with a move away...

If we have to lose Pearce to bring in Surman, I'd rather not bring him in. Pearce is a future captain and very much a Championship player.

[Hoop Blah]

Pearce is 19. We have Bikey and two very experienced defenders who have played consistently well in this division, and the one above, keeping him out the side.

It's more difficult for young defenders to hold down a place in any team, let alone one challenging for promotion, than it is for attacking players because defenders need to learn the game a little bit more and their mistakes are often more noticable and costly.

At 19 John Terry wasn't holding down regular first team spot at Chelsea and Rio Ferndinand had only just earnt his place in the West Ham team. It didn't stop them progressing to become pretty decent defenders.

You have to have patience and allow the youngsters time to learn and progress and I'd be shocked if we were allowing Pearce to go anywhere permenantly.

[IMAMATEOFJOVSKY]

History suggests that AT READING, academy players don't make the grade - lets just see in 2/3 years time if Pearce is still there and if he is playing in first team..if we are not in the premiership probably, if we are, cant see it

[SpaceCruiser]

History suggests that AT READING, academy players don't make the grade

Er, how far back did you go?

[Hoop Blah]

History suggests that AT READING, academy players don't make the grade

Er, how far back did you go?

You can go back pretty much as far as you like, although to be pedantic the academy has only be going for the best part of 10 years.

As for that being a reason for letting Pearce go I don't see how that holds any water. He may not turn out to make it as a Premiership defender but we'd be foolish to get rid of any of the youngsters on the fringe of the side at the moment just because the previous academy graduates didn't make it.

[IMAMATEOFJOVSKY]

History suggests that AT READING, academy players don't make the grade

Er, how far back did you go?

Name the academy players that have made it at Reading then?

Simon Cox didnt make it here, but playing regularly at a lower league team
James Henry is given the odd opportunity but appears not to be cutting it
Alex Pearce, given the opportunity then suddenly pulled and now a loan player
Simon Church - cant even make the squad
Julian Kelly - best he can do is the odd subs appearance
Scandinavians - not even getting a sniff

[SpaceCruiser]

Darius Henderson, Nathan Tyson, Adrian Williams, Scott Taylor, Stuart Lovell etc etc etc

[Deathy]

Darius Henderson, Nathan Tyson, Adrian Williams, Scott Taylor, Stuart Lovell etc etc etc

Neil Webb.

[Hoop Blah]

Darius Henderson, Nathan Tyson, Adrian Williams, Scott Taylor, Stuart Lovell etc etc etc

The Lovell, Taylor, Williams generation are the last lot to actually 'make it' here, and they came through almost 20 years ago.

Since then we've had just a handful that have made a significant number of appearances for us. Historically I'd have to agree that Lambert (back end of the Lovell era), Henderson (not strictly our product really), Tyson, Ashdown and ermmm that's about it that I can recall off the top of my head, amounts to a successful return over the last 15 years.

The current crop look like they stand a much better chance than the others though.

[Wimb]

Darius Henderson, Nathan Tyson, Adrian Williams, Scott Taylor, Stuart Lovell etc etc etc

Well, Henderson was flogged off down the divisions as was Tyson, despite moderate success since neither is a 46 start a season player (yet alone a 38 game a season starter )

The later three would be better examples had they not been from a completely different era, I don't think players that came through the "youth team" two decades ago can be used to demonstrate a successful academy system now. If you did want a goodish example then perhaps Jamie Ashdown?, but even he fell from grace pretty quickly.

Sadly, I don't think we've seen a player come through the academy in the last decade who's lasted anymore then two seasons or so in the first team setup though I'd like to be proved wrong in the future.

[Wimb]

Dammit, pre empted

[SpaceCruiser]

The later three would be better examples had they not been from a completely different era, I don't think players that came through the "youth team" two decades ago can be used to demonstrate a successful academy system now.

IMAMATEOFJOVSKY said that HISTORY suggests that youth players don't make the grade. So I can go back as far as I like, mate.

[Dirk Gently]

We've had this conversation many times in the past. The "Golden age" for identifying and nurturing talented kids is 7-8, and the Academy hasn't been going for the whole 10 years that the MadStad has been built, so there was little chance of previous kids coming through as the club didn't get them into the system young enough - what we mostly had were kids who'd not been taken elsewhere or other clubs' cast-offs.

Only in the past year or so are we seeing the full-term academy kids coming through, and as we have recently had a whole team worth out on loan across the football league that can only be a good thing.

[Hoop Blah]

The later three would be better examples had they not been from a completely different era, I don't think players that came through the "youth team" two decades ago can be used to demonstrate a successful academy system now.

IMAMATEOFJOVSKY said that HISTORY suggests that youth players don't make the grade. So I can go back as far as I like, mate.

They actually said 'academy players' don't make it, so you should only really go back to when that was producing players. Not sure if that's what they meant or not so I'd let you off with going back as far as you like, but I still don't think you've got an leg to stand on either way as the only ones to really make it are the three obvious ones from nearly 20 years ago.

[Hoop Blah]

We've had this conversation many times in the past. The "Golden age" for identifying and nurturing talented kids is 7-8, and the Academy hasn't been going for the whole 10 years that the MadStad has been built, so there was little chance of previous kids coming through as the club didn't get them into the system young enough - what we mostly had were kids who'd not been taken elsewhere or other clubs' cast-offs.

Only in the past year or so are we seeing the full-term academy kids coming through, and as we have recently had a whole team worth out on loan across the football league that can only be a good thing.

I know what your saying Dirk, but the academy is only another name for the same thing really, with a few FA guidelines supposedly overseeing the quality of facilities and coaching etc. Our youth promgrams just haven't been that successful over the years under whatever name they're given.

That may well be down to the quality of intake but I think that was more down to the quality of the youth program than just the 'academy' title or the shiny new stadium etc.

[Wimb]

The later three would be better examples had they not been from a completely different era, I don't think players that came through the "youth team" two decades ago can be used to demonstrate a successful academy system now.

IMAMATEOFJOVSKY said that HISTORY suggests that youth players don't make the grade. So I can go back as far as I like, mate.

They actually said 'academy players' don't make it, so you should only really go back to when that was producing players. Not sure if that's what they meant or not so I'd let you off with going back as far as you like, but I still don't think you've got an leg to stand on either way as the only ones to really make it are the three obvious ones from nearly 20 years ago.

IAWTAC

[Victor Meldrew]

Going back to Surman I wonder if he will get cup-tied by playing against Man Utd tomorrow.
That might scupper a transfer to us....................ah,wrong,he could play every game till the end of the season.