Quote Originally Posted by AdrianAlston View Post
8 Academy graduates have made league appearances this season, the first time since the 96-97 season when 9 appeared. The eight this year are Ralls, Bagan, Colwill, Harris, Bowen, K.Evans, King and I.Davies. The 9 in 96-97 were; Scott Young, Lee-Lee-Lee Baddeley, Lee Jarman, Jason Perry, Hayden Fleming, Pat Mountain, Lee Phillips and Jamie Michael. That season we finished 7th in the old Division 4.

The season before was a disaster and we finished 22nd and had to apply for re-election. That season we used 14 academy graduates, a record unlikely ever to be beaten. They were Damon Searle, Young, Baddeley, Jarman, Fleming, Perry, Nathan Wigg, Tony Bird, Simon Haworth, Chris Ingram, Terry Evans, Andy Evans, Ian Jones ( Father of current young pro Taylor Jones) and Leigh Vick
Interesting stuff, I wonder if any of the fourteen from 97/98 would have got a game in the Championship? I reckon Searle, Young and Perry would have played some games at this level, not too many I’d guess though. Haworth was the one who got a fairly big move from City, but never really established himself at Coventry, although he wasn’t helped by injuries. Yet the one who had the most potential was probably Jarman who the club had great hopes for.

As someone who has been very critical of City’s record when it comes to youth development in the last decade, it should be acknowledged that a youngster needs to be so much more talented than those who became first team regulars twenty years and more ago.