Sion Spence signs for.............................

[the other bob wilson]

Crystal Palace - I suppose our youth development system must be envied by some club, somewhere, but I'll be surprised if there are two of them.

[Bruce Foxton]

He very nearly joined Swansea, and was keen to do so as it was felt the pathway into the first team was a good one.A contract was offered, but was withdrawn due to a new chairman coming in(I wasn’t aware of this) and putting a block on any new contracts being handed out, hopefully this applies to the first team as well!
He had a late call up to Wales u21’s, although didn’t get any game time, and when he came back to the Swansea news, decided to accept an offer from Palace. This offer came about after him catching the eye for the City in a few games over the last few years against them.I would have loved him to make it at the City, but really hope it works out for him with Palace.

[PhyllisStant]

There is a bit of an issue with our fan here though in that many of them bemoan the number of youngsters we've let go only for them to go on and do well. Unfortunately some of the same fans are unwilling to put up with some inconsistent performances from youngsters while they get acclimatised to first team duties.

[2b2bdoo]

There is a bit of an issue with our fan here though in that many of them bemoan the number of youngsters we've let go only for them to go on and do well. Unfortunately some of the same fans are unwilling to put up with some inconsistent performances from youngsters while they get acclimatised to first team duties.

how many would get in our team we have let go by mistake.
Maybe Ajayi

[Rjk]

There is a bit of an issue with our fan here though in that many of them bemoan the number of youngsters we've let go only for them to go on and do well. Unfortunately some of the same fans are unwilling to put up with some inconsistent performances from youngsters while they get acclimatised to first team duties.

It's partly a problem of circumstance, there haven't been too many seasons where we weren't important things to play for that they probably didn't want to risk some inconsistent performances.

Having said that there were definitely occasions under russell slade when we didn't look like going up or down in a million years that we could have brought a few youngsters on. I'm specifically thinking about the last couple of meaningless games of the 14/15 season where we brought a 58 year old Danny Gabbidon on while we had young prospect Semi Ajayi on the bench.

It's slightly analogous to running R&D projects (or perhaps preventative maintenance) in that there is always something else to do that is more important at the time, but unless you make the time to do it you'll suddenly find you've got nothing coming in the pipeline (or all your equipment is broken).

[Rjk]

how many would get in our team we have let go by mistake.
Maybe Ajayi

Ajayi is the obvious one, but who knows which other players could have developed into better players if they were given some game time

[the other bob wilson]

Jarrod Bowen was talking in the Daily Mail I think it was about how he cried when City turned him down after a trial. You look at someone like Tom Lockyer who has been signed by another Championship team and has never let Wales down when selected - are we supposed to believe that he is nowhere near good enough for us today? Would he have developed quicker if he stayed and been given a chance at an early age?

[Ianto13]

Jarrod Bowen was talking in the Daily Mail I think it was about how he cried when City turned him down after a trial. You look at someone like Tom Lockyer who has been signed by another Championship team and has never let Wales down when selected - are we supposed to believe that he is nowhere near good enough for us today? Would he have developed quicker if he stayed and been given a chance at an early age?

Josh Magennis is a ex Academy player who now plays for Northern Ireland!

[Pedro de la Rosa]

Jarrod Bowen was talking in the Daily Mail I think it was about how he cried when City turned him down after a trial. You look at someone like Tom Lockyer who has been signed by another Championship team and has never let Wales down when selected - are we supposed to believe that he is nowhere near good enough for us today? Would he have developed quicker if he stayed and been given a chance at an early age?

Bowen had trials all over, there will be lots of stories like this. It must be tough to judge someone over a week or so, especially when they'll probably have to let someone else go to make room permanently. Bowen really only made an impact at Hull when was 21+, quite a late bloomer! Tom Lockyer has done terrifically well to come from the conference to the Wales side but it's been a long road back for him, 328 games! He needed that and he wouldn't have got that time here, we've been promoted twice since then, it's our fault for not kicking on. Sheffield Wednesday shouldn't beat themselves up for Vardy going at 16 and we should be looking to give our long lads chances but there will always be players that make you look stupid.

[Pedro de la Rosa]

Josh Magennis is a ex Academy player who now plays for Northern Ireland!

That's one we got right

Fair play to Ardley for turning him into a striker though! Made a good career for himself.

[the other bob wilson]

This list is not a complete one, but I'd say Andy Hughes of Preston is another player who would be good enough for our squad;-

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/card...0/art/0/plus/1

[Pedro de la Rosa]

This list is not a complete one, but I'd say Andy Hughes of Preston is another player who would be good enough for our squad;-

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/card...0/art/0/plus/1

Judging from that list, we should be more concerned about Swansea getting players like Cabango who are from Cardiff! Not too many players we regret letting go!

[PontBlue]

It's a very worrying sign when our better academy players leave because they feel there is no pathway to the first team (or haven't been for many years until hopefully this season)/

[SOXY BOY]

Good luck to him, I hope he does well there and gets a chance in the first team.

[Bluebirdman Of Alcathays]

This seems more than a player just being released by the club and then finding his way back up the divisions. Questions need to be asked if promising players are being freed "upwards".

[PhyllisStant]

It's partly a problem of circumstance, there haven't been too many seasons where we weren't important things to play for that they probably didn't want to risk some inconsistent performances.

Having said that there were definitely occasions under russell slade when we didn't look like going up or down in a million years that we could have brought a few youngsters on. I'm specifically thinking about the last couple of meaningless games of the 14/15 season where we brought a 58 year old Danny Gabbidon on while we had young prospect Semi Ajayi on the bench.

It's slightly analogous to running R&D projects (or perhaps preventative maintenance) in that there is always something else to do that is more important at the time, but unless you make the time to do it you'll suddenly find you've got nothing coming in the pipeline (or all your equipment is broken).

It's a good point you make about important games and things at stake. It would have even been nice to see one or two on the bench and if we're in control of a game - give them a little exposure. Ultimately they will never be good enough for the first team if they never play in it!

[Tuerto]

Bowen had trials all over, there will be lots of stories like this. It must be tough to judge someone over a week or so, especially when they'll probably have to let someone else go to make room permanently. Bowen really only made an impact at Hull when was 21+, quite a late bloomer! Tom Lockyer has done terrifically well to come from the conference to the Wales side but it's been a long road back for him, 328 games! He needed that and he wouldn't have got that time here, we've been promoted twice since then, it's our fault for not kicking on. Sheffield Wednesday shouldn't beat themselves up for Vardy going at 16 and we should be looking to give our long lads chances but there will always be players that make you look stupid.

Good post, balanced. I think that it's obvious that our youth programme has been failing for years and i'd say that one of the biggest problems associated with that is the last three managers. I'll give Malky a pass on this subject as he was getting us promoted to the Premier league and we don't know what his intentions may have been if we'd been relegated under him, although he did give Declan john a pop at it.

The other problem is the way we play. Young developing players are never going to be coached in a way that complimented our style of play under Slade or Warnock, that's the clubs fault, not the respective managers, so how can those managers be expected to trust young players who have been drilled to play the 'right' way?

A severe lack of continuity, short termism by our owner and his stooges have inadvertently cost us players who may have developed, although i do get your point that it isn't completely one way, it is difficult to make a judgement on players, even more so with modern coaching as there doesn't seem to be that many flaws in these young players game. On the flip side, there doesn't seem to be a great deal of assertiveness or of the cuff ability either.

Harris seems to be acknowledging youth andi think that he may be brave enough to give them a chance.

[life on mars]

Good post, balanced. I think that it's obvious that our youth programme has been failing for years and i'd say that one of the biggest problems associated with that is the last three managers. I'll give Malky a pass on this subject as he was getting us promoted to the Premier league and we don't know what his intentions may have been if we'd been relegated under him, although he did give Declan john a pop at it.

The other problem is the way we play. Young developing players are never going to be coached in a way that complimented our style of play under Slade or Warnock, that's the clubs fault, not the respective managers, so how can those managers be expected to trust young players who have been drilled to play the 'right' way?

A severe lack of continuity, short termism by our owner and his stooges have inadvertently cost us players who may have developed, although i do get your point that it isn't completely one way, it is difficult to make a judgement on players, even more so with modern coaching as there doesn't seem to be that many flaws in these young players game. On the flip side, there doesn't seem to be a great deal of assertiveness or of the cuff ability either.

Harris seems to be acknowledging youth andi think that he may be brave enough to give them a chance.

Surely if Malky gets a pass due to promotion so does NW, he picked up a club very low down and dragged it into the Premiership within a relatively quick period of time.

[Tuerto]

Judging from that list, we should be more concerned about Swansea getting players like Cabango who are from Cardiff! Not too many players we regret letting go!

There's not a lot in that list that would give sleepless nights to the person who released them.

[the other bob wilson]

This seems more than a player just being released by the club and then finding his way back up the divisions. Questions need to be asked if promising players are being freed "upwards".

To be fair to City, they did offer Spence a contract, but, like one or two others, for example Harry Pinchard who is, seemingly, on trial at Man City, decided to try his luck elsewhere. To be honest, I don't blame Spence in the slightest. At the end of the 16/17 season he was supposed to be a substitute for the first team at Huddersfield as a 16 year old, but there was, reportedly, an insurance problem. Since then, he, first, broke into the Under 23s and was doing well, then, apparently at Craig Bellamy's insistence, spent a season in the Under 18s in which he scored thirty times. He was injured for much of the next season, but continued to score regularly for the Under 18s when he came back. Loan moves to play for a senior side are supposed to be a big step forward in a youngster's development, yet when he came back from Barry last season, he barely played again for the club.
Spence went from being close to making a first team debut at just sixteen to a bit of a non entity at Cardiff at nineteen and a half, granted, he wasn't at his best when he came back from his injury, but the club seemed to rate him less as he moved toward the end of his contract - it seems they wanted him to stay, but they had a funny way of showing it during his last two seasons with us.

[the other bob wilson]

Surely if Malky gets a pass due to promotion so does NW, he picked up a club very low down and dragged it into the Premiership within a relatively quick period of time.

I would say that the policy under Malky for early round Cup ties was to pack the side with youngsters. This led to some embarrassing losses, but I would say that Declan John's performance in the loss at Macclesfield in 2012 was a big factor in the manager having enough faith in him to pick him at West Ham in our first ever Premier League game - Joe Ralls was scoring in his league debut weeks after playing in an early round League Cup tie and started in the Semi Final first leg a few months later.

Warnock did give a league debut to Mark Harris in a meaningless wnd of season encounter and there were some youngsters given a chance in cup games, but there was never the pathway into the first team in league games that there was with Mackay.

Ole and Trollope weren't really here long enough to get an idea of what they would have been like with youngsters, but my guess is that they would have been quite sympathetic, as for Russell Slade, he was a disaster when it came to youth development.

[the other bob wilson]

Surely if Malky gets a pass due to promotion so does NW, he picked up a club very low down and dragged it into the Premiership within a relatively quick period of time.

Well, when you look at the money we spent on, say, Flint and Cunningham (whose resale value must be a small fraction of the £10 million or so we paid for them), keeping Hughes and Lockyer, or even Demi Oshilaja, seems a pretty good option to me.

[LeningradCowboy]

Well, when you look at the money we spent on, say, Flint and Cunningham (whose resale value must be a small fraction of the £10 million or so we paid for them), keeping Hughes and Lockyer, or even Demi Oshilaja, seems a pretty good option to me.

We released Hughes in 2008 and Lockyer in 2011. We can't hang on to every player who comes through the academy just in case they turn out to be good enough to be a squad player for us 10 years later.

[the other bob wilson]

We released Hughes in 2008 and Lockyer in 2011. We can't hang on to every player who comes through the academy just in case they turn out to be good enough to be a squad player for us 10 years later.

Hrughes has been a Championship player for quite a bit of that time and I see you ignore my point about the money we would have saved. The line of argument from those defending the club's abysmal record in this part of the game seems to have developed into almost congratulating them for not taking a punt on youth because our Academy players are not good enough, yet all of these players were considered worth taking a punt on at one time. If it is correct that we've not had good enough youngsters, what does that say about City's recruitment? Were either hopeless at spottingyoung talent, hopeless at developing young talent or, most likely, a mixture of the two.

[City123]

Hrughes has been a Championship player for quite a bit of that time and I see you ignore my point about the money we would have saved. The line of argument from those defending the club's abysmal record in this part of the game seems to have developed into almost congratulating them for not taking a punt on youth because our Academy players are not good enough, yet all of these players were considered worth taking a punt on at one time. If it is correct that we've not had good enough youngsters, what does that say about City's recruitment? Were either hopeless at spottingyoung talent, hopeless at developing young talent or, most likely, a mixture of the two.

Certain fans seem obsessed with having an abundance of senior players at the club, for instance you see people saying we need another winger despite us already having 4 in the first team squad, that's not how a sustainable or well run club operates. We should be using the youth team as the backups, not signing journeymen as cover