Academy and Youth

[mike_corkcity12]

Grant has a few interesting comments. Looks like there will be no investment in the u21 squad and we will be more or less playing our u18's.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/august/05/grants-season-preview

[MJG]

Grant has a few interesting comments. Looks like there will be no investment in the u21 squad and we will be more or less playing our u18's.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/august/05/grants-season-preview

I don't understand your comment about investment at u21

Are you saying we should be out signing 18/19/20 year olds?

[mike_corkcity12]

Grant has a few interesting comments. Looks like there will be no investment in the u21 squad and we will be more or less playing our u18's.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/august/05/grants-season-preview

I don't understand your comment about investment at u21

Are you saying we should be out signing 18/19/20 year olds?

Well there was one summer when we signed Plumain and Buatu specifically for the u21's. Obviously I am no expert in youth football but it seems odd to utilize a predominantly u18 team as the u21 team.

I think they could do with some help. My investment comment wasn't a barbed comment or a dig, just an observation.

Fulham yet to confirm that Mesca has moved despite the Cypriot club announcing the deal.

[alexbishop]

Grant has a few interesting comments. Looks like there will be no investment in the u21 squad and we will be more or less playing our u18's.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/august/05/grants-season-preview

I don't understand your comment about investment at u21

Are you saying we should be out signing 18/19/20 year olds?

I think we probably do need to top up this squad a little with players around these ages. Players that have the potential but perhaps have stalled a bit and would benefit with coming in to our u21s set up. Couple of years under our coaching team - perhaps realise their potential with us and then introduced into the senior fold.

[BedsFFC]

Grant has a few interesting comments. Looks like there will be no investment in the u21 squad and we will be more or less playing our u18's.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/august/05/grants-season-preview

I don't understand your comment about investment at u21

Are you saying we should be out signing 18/19/20 year olds?

Players like Dan Burn, yes (To answer someone else's question)

[MJG]

We have been trailing a couple of youngsters in the 19 year old range in the u21 and we are in this position because of the promotion of so many of the youngsters to the first team.
If you break our squad down its actually as large as IRS ever been with 60 plus players.
We were still looking at players across all age ranges, but I remember a month ago we were linked with a young lad and some posted..."what are we looking at them for...grey on with thee first team"
Grant is right its a young team, they have 2/3 years to grow their roles at u21 and on loan, not a bad thing given what we have seen over the last year.


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[mike_corkcity12]

Sambou training at Bolrton http://m.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/13576274.Trialist_Sambou_helps_Wanderers_Under_21s_end_pre_season_with_a_win/

[BestOfBrede]

Academy and youth....
Nah...
Any youth we get that show any potential whatsoever will be sold.
Probably for under 5mil and the resold by the buying club, a few years later, for 3-4 times as much.

We have always been and always will be a selling club.
Not what Fayed built it for I would think.

I give up - it's been going on too long and I'm getting too old to care any longer.

[mike_corkcity12]

Hyndman rejects contract extensions. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2015/08/05/american-exports-u-20-standout-emerson-hyndman-turns-down-extension-offers-f?

Future is crumbling before our eyes. Jennings and Elias superb work is disintegrating. We got a good fee for Roberts due to his nationality but we will get a relative pittance for Hyndman and Dembele.

Rigg is performing poorly when it comes to negotiations it seems. Can't convince Hyndman, Dembele or Bettnelli and can't sign Lewis Dunk from Brighton or Kevin McDonald from Wolves.

Real shame what has happened. We were on the cusp of being a good club.

[love4ffc]

I can't help but wonder when it comes to the academy if the club hasn't once again planned better for the future. 

Hear me out. 

We appoint Kit as the interim manager.  We promote a lot of the academy youth to first team.  Seems that Mr. Jennings should of been more on the ball and seen the short comings of the future.  A plan should of been in place to reqruit and fill in the spaces starting last summer.  Instead we now find ourselves with a depleted academy and lads who have had a taste of first team action that see being loaned out or riding the pine as a set back. 

Just seems like we should of planned better. 

[God The Mechanic]

Remember how Man Utd struggled to keep hold of Pogba, or Barca with Pique and Fabregas.  Or Real with Mata.  Every club has these issues, it's just we actually have players that other clubs covet for the first time in a billion years.  We're gonna lose some, we're gonna keep some.

Could things be handled better?  Absolutely, but that's the case everywhere.  Would it be nice if we had a spine of players come through our youth team?  Of course it would, but you don't always get nice.

Hell, there's nothing suggesting any/all of these players we're going to lose will become big superstars.  How many times have young players been bought/brought into clubs only to fizzle away.

But mainly end of the world, doom doom doomy doom doom doom.

[mike_corkcity12]

Remember how Man Utd struggled to keep hold of Pogba, or Barca with Pique and Fabregas.  Or Real with Mata.  Every club has these issues, it's just we actually have players that other clubs covet for the first time in a billion years.  We're gonna lose some, we're gonna keep some.

Could things be handled better?  Absolutely, but that's the case everywhere.  Would it be nice if we had a spine of players come through our youth team?  Of course it would, but you don't always get nice.

Hell, there's nothing suggesting any/all of these players we're going to lose will become big superstars.  How many times have young players been bought/brought into clubs only to fizzle away.

But mainly end of the world, doom doom doomy doom doom doom.

Last season Fulham's pre-season promotional campaign heavily promoted Roberts, Dembele and Hyndman as the future of Fulham. Fast forward one year later and all 3 look like leaving. You are being too generous to the club.

[God The Mechanic]

Remember how Man Utd struggled to keep hold of Pogba, or Barca with Pique and Fabregas.  Or Real with Mata.  Every club has these issues, it's just we actually have players that other clubs covet for the first time in a billion years.  We're gonna lose some, we're gonna keep some.

Could things be handled better?  Absolutely, but that's the case everywhere.  Would it be nice if we had a spine of players come through our youth team?  Of course it would, but you don't always get nice.

Hell, there's nothing suggesting any/all of these players we're going to lose will become big superstars.  How many times have young players been bought/brought into clubs only to fizzle away.

But mainly end of the world, doom doom doomy doom doom doom.

Last season Fulham's pre-season promotional campaign heavily promoted Roberts, Dembele and Hyndman as the future of Fulham. Fast forward one year later and all 3 look like leaving. You are being too generous to the club.

Well... they were the future of the club.  Signed on contracts that were as long as were allowed back then.  Since then we've struggled and they've likely been told there will be better offers elsewhere.  Not everything is the club's fault - even if they have cocked up a lot over the last few years.  If we offer all three players £10k a week and they think they can get £20k+ elsewhere, nothing will make them sign those contracts we offer them.  This ain't Football Manager.

[mike_corkcity12]

Thomas McIlroy ‏@thomasmcilroy  22s23 seconds ago
Symons says he wants Bettinelli, Dembele and Hyndman to stay, but sometimes it's out of his control, as it was with Patrick Roberts.

[mike_corkcity12]

Symons was also asked about the futures of three youngsters whose contracts are due to expire at the end of the campaign; Marcus Bettinelli, Emerson Hyndman and Moussa Dembélé.

"We've talked to all of them, certainly," he confirmed. "I'd like them all to stay at the Club – they're three real bright, good young players, and we'd like them all to stay. But you saw with Pat Roberts that's not always the case.

"Ultimately, the players have got to want to be here, you can't force anyone to sign a contract and there'd be no point doing that. I want players who are totally committed to this Club.

"Like I say, hopefully those three players will all sign and show that level of commitment that's required. I'd be delighted if that was the case, but also I'm realistic. That's not always how it happens, people come and go, so we'll have to see what happens with it, but I'm confident at least some of them will sign, if they all don't."

[mike_corkcity12]

Have to say I am most surprised at Bettinelli's reluctance to commit to a new deal. A genuine Academy product, unlike Emo and Mous, with his Dad and sister both working for the club. He also benefited from a lot of luck last season in getting a first team place. In a different time he would have ended up like Etheridge and Foderingham and been released in future seasons.

[MJG]

Foday Nabay just signed an extension and if you read my u21 report you know he impressed me in pre season.

[MJG]

Nice to see that a good news post gets such a good quick response. Now if I'd said he was being linked with someone....

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[God The Mechanic]

Nice to see that a good news post gets such a good quick response. Now if I'd said he was being linked with someone....

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Where was it announced?

[MJG]

Nice to see that a good news post gets such a good quick response. Now if I'd said he was being linked with someone....

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Where was it announced?

Via his twitter account this afternoon. Nice picture with Jennings next to him.

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