[azul]

 gordon_brittas, on 14 May 2025 - 04:19 PM, said:

Looking at the amount of money floating around in League 1 currently, and the eye watering losses from clubs like Huddersfield, even if we do manage to somehow manage to overturn Walsall and win at Wembley, are we just looking at survival in League 1?

Without a billionaire owner or loads of luck, promotion to the Championship looks a pipe dream sadly.

We took stunning losses to get out of the NL, this years accounts are likely to be eye watering and there appears to be no end to the money they are prepared to lose getting us out of L2 and into L1 and presumably thrive. It may not be anywhere near Huddersfield losses but it doesn't have to be.

As said elsewhere, L1 is not the same as it was in 2015 and neither is the club. Lets hope it doesn't explode in our face

This post has been edited by azul: 14 May 2025 - 11:12 PM

[Waller is my hero]

 gordon_brittas, on 14 May 2025 - 04:19 PM, said:

Looking at the amount of money floating around in League 1 currently, and the eye watering losses from clubs like Huddersfield, even if we do manage to somehow manage to overturn Walsall and win at Wembley, are we just looking at survival in League 1?

Without a billionaire owner or loads of luck, promotion to the Championship looks a pipe dream sadly.

You have to love people with a glass half empty mentality

[dazcarrlegend]

We should be concentrating on a decent academy (similar to Middlesbrough). This is the only way we will sustainably progress. Loads of talent around... And we are a similar size town to Middlesbrough

[sophocles]

 Waller is my hero, on 15 May 2025 - 12:58 PM, said:

You have to love people with a glass half empty mentality

Gordon's glass has got a crack in it!

[JonB]

 dazcarrlegend, on 15 May 2025 - 01:45 PM, said:

We should be concentrating on a decent academy (similar to Middlesbrough). This is the only way we will sustainably progress. Loads of talent around... And we are a similar size town to Middlesbrough

Our problem with academies is the proximity of other higher placed and bigger clubs that can swipe the better players in the area. Not like a Middlesbrough where the closest real competition is Sunderland and Newcastle but the closest of those (Sunderland) is still 45/50mins drive on a good day. Within that same sort of time we're competing with the Sheffield clubs, Rotherham, Barnsley, Derby, Forest and loads of other clubs around our level like Burton, Notts County, Donny. Make it a round hour travelling and it adds Newcastle to the mix for Middlesbrough but also adds Leicester and Leeds into ours.

We've a real battle to make the costs of an academy viable when bigger clubs can easily mop up in our area.

[rodney]

 dazcarrlegend, on 15 May 2025 - 01:45 PM, said:

We should be concentrating on a decent academy (similar to Middlesbrough). This is the only way we will sustainably progress. Loads of talent around... And we are a similar size town to Middlesbrough

I’m afraid there is no chance of this being sustainable. We have some of the best academies in the country near us..: Derby, Forest and Sheff Utd to name a few. The top class talent will go there. We may pick up some after they leave these at U16s…..

[RN Blue]

 dazcarrlegend, on 15 May 2025 - 01:45 PM, said:

We should be concentrating on a decent academy (similar to Middlesbrough). This is the only way we will sustainably progress. Loads of talent around... And we are a similar size town to Middlesbrough

Nope, look at the Brentford model. How many of these talented youngsters would be left after local bigger club academies had first dibs?

Of those that do get a gig at bigger clubs, what % get into their first teams? Id hazard a guess at very few.

[Trigger]

 rodney, on 15 May 2025 - 02:35 PM, said:

We may pick up some after they leave these at U16s…..

Picking them up at this age is the best we can hope for but would still give us plenty of time to assess them/make them better players.

Does anyone know what happened to the youth players that left us years ago for nowt? 1 was really young and went to Everton, there was someone else we had that went to Watford more recently too. Sure there were 1 or 2 others aswell. Would be interesting to know if they managed to do any good leaving us

[Looker-on]

 Trigger, on 15 May 2025 - 03:08 PM, said:

Picking them up at this age is the best we can hope for but would still give us plenty of time to assess them/make them better players.

Does anyone know what happened to the youth players that left us years ago for nowt? 1 was really young and went to Everton, there was someone else we had that went to Watford more recently too. Sure there were 1 or 2 others aswell. Would be interesting to know if they managed to do any good leaving us

I think the short answer is "No." I remember the young lad going to Everton but can't recall his name.

Laken Torres signed pro for Watford but moved to Spanish 4th-tier side Gimnastica in January 2025.

Will Russ left our academy in 2018 for Leicester for a fee. He played for them in the NL Cup against Rochdale but was freed to Fleetwood's U-21 team. He spent the end of 23-4 at Southport - not sure if he's still there.

[Trigger]

 Looker-on, on 15 May 2025 - 03:40 PM, said:

I think the short answer is "No." I remember the young lad going to Everton but can't recall his name.

Laken Torres signed pro for Watford but moved to Spanish 4th-tier side Gimnastica in January 2025.

Will Russ left our academy in 2018 for Leicester for a fee. He played for them in the NL Cup against Rochdale but was freed to Fleetwood's U-21 team. He spent the end of 23-4 at Southport - not sure if he's still there.

That was it, Laken Torres. Thanks for all that

[Ernie Ernie Ernie]

 Osborne again, on 14 May 2025 - 04:55 PM, said:

Most of the squad we have already, are capable of making a good show of themselves in league one, but it needs to be a fit squad firing on all cylinders. It's the injuries that's stopped us having a good stab at the automatic promotion places, not the quality of player.

“Most” of our squad is nowhere near league one. If we went up very few of those out of contract would get another I suspect.

[newwhitblue]

 Benno Spire, on 14 May 2025 - 04:50 PM, said:

Have you not heard the rumour of Ronaldo coming is as a player/owner or the number of Saudi princes who have been in the lounges at recent matches?

There is plenty of faqirs around the lounges most mach days.

[ash_cfc]

 rodney, on 15 May 2025 - 02:35 PM, said:

I’m afraid there is no chance of this being sustainable. We have some of the best academies in the country near us..: Derby, Forest and Sheff Utd to name a few. The top class talent will go there. We may pick up some after they leave these at U16s…..

Even further afield.. the amount of local kids under the age of 10 who are knocking about the facilities at Man City regularly is quite startling.

[JonB]

 ash_cfc, on 15 May 2025 - 05:49 PM, said:

Even further afield.. the amount of local kids under the age of 10 who are knocking about the facilities at Man City regularly is quite startling.

Think there used to be some rule a while ago that kids up to a certain age could only travel up to an hour or something like that. Whatever it was meant the likes of City were within catchment for chesterfield.

This post has been edited by JonB: 15 May 2025 - 06:05 PM

[Valley Blues]

 JonB, on 15 May 2025 - 06:05 PM, said:

Think there used to be some rule a while ago that kids up to a certain age could only travel up to an hour or something like that. Whatever it was meant the likes of City were within catchment for chesterfield.

Up to U15 ( I think, possibly U14 ) clubs can only scout players into their academy from a certain distance from the academy.

After this they can go nationwide.

[Osborne again]

ash_cfc, on 15 May 2025 - 05:49 PM, said:

Even further afield.. the amount of local kids under the age of 10 who are knocking about the facilities at Man City regularly is quite startling.

Kids of that age should not be travelling those distances. It puts a big burden on, both the child and the family and for what, unless he's one of the lucky few who go on further. It's a case of hoovering up whilst hoping to find a gem amongst the fluff and dust. Local kids should go to local clubs in the first instance, and if the richer clubs fancy picking up a youngster, then they should pay the local clubs to develop the lad or lass until they've left school. I know it won't happen, but the kids and their parents are being sold a dream that more than likely won't come true.

[rodney]

Osborne again, on 16 May 2025 - 02:28 PM, said:

Kids of that age should not be travelling those distances. It puts a big burden on, both the child and the family and for what, unless he's one of the lucky few who go on further. It's a case of hoovering up whilst hoping to find a gem amongst the fluff and dust. Local kids should go to local clubs in the first instance, and if the richer clubs fancy picking up a youngster, then they should pay the local clubs to develop the lad or lass until they've left school. I know it won't happen, but the kids and their parents are being sold a dream that more than likely won't come true.

Totally agree, but from experience the parents swallow the dream more than the child!!

[Osborne again]

rodney, on 16 May 2025 - 04:05 PM, said:

Totally agree, but from experience the parents swallow the dream more than the child!!

You may well be right mate. One of my ex workmates thought that if his son got on at Sheffield Wednesday, he would have the next David Hurst in the family, but instead his lad works at Meadowhall and doesn't play anymore.