The Academy

[thehumblegringo]

At the end of last summer I was watching my youngest boy in a football tournament and there were a few City scouts there so I got talking to one about what they look for etc and he challenged me to point out what I thought was the best player out of the 4 games that were being played. I picked a slight blond haired kid who looked quick, had nice balance and technique. He agreed that he was very good but the scouts would never pick him.

He explained that the ones that would be picked were the biggest and fastest kids because its believed that they will teach them how to play and the coaching they get will be better than any natural talent and it was size and pace that mattered. He said that he thought it was pathetic but that was what they are charged with. Said it took skill out of scouting and the club may as well send a note out to all schools asking for 8 year olds over a certain height.

That is just simply not true!
I'm not questioning whether you were told that but I know a few lads that that do scouting for the club and their remit is completely the opposite.
The academy try to emulate the Barcelona model where technical players and especially game understanding is pretty much everything. Don't get me wrong I do see some inconsistencies when they go for a big fast battering ram up top now and then but there are stacks of small kids in the academy I assure you.

[Harry Paget Flashman]

That is just simply not true!
I'm not questioning whether you were told that but I know a few lads that that do scouting for the club and their remit is completely the opposite.
The academy try to emulate the Barcelona model where technical players and especially game understanding is pretty much everything. Don't get me wrong I do see some inconsistencies when they go for a big fast battering ram up top now and then but there are stacks of small kids in the academy I assure you.

That's good to hear. I was talking to the parents about it after I stopped talking to him and we were all blown.

It was at Ely Rangers and was the day after the CL Final and given that there were a few shortarses playing in the final we were all a bit surprised.