Academy players

Agreed, it might toughen a few of the youngsters up ahead of what should be more game time next season.

 

Yes we were. I don’t buy it.

I think it was Bobby who claimed it was the greatest group we’ve produced. I find that very hard to believe.

Stones, Clark, Rose, Digby, Noble-Lazarus & Maris were all the same sort of age.

If Jalo, Yoganathan, Wilkinson, Marsh & anyone else from this crop do as well as that bunch did between them I’d be amazed.

 

Not exactly an academy player as we got him after Sheff Utd released him but I’ve liked the look of Connor Barrett when I’ve seen him a couple of times for the under 21’s.

It’s just hard to see a progression in the near future for him or the more highly rated James & then there’s Shepherd & young Wilkinson.

 

The U21's play against kids. Agree we play U18"s in the side at times but the club don't even advertise the matches or give a report as the matches are poor. We have played a few games recently and I only find out on newnowbarnsleyfc as the opponents talk about it, so it gets captured. On loan, Yoganathan, 2 sub appearances in 3 games, Marsh, forget him, Jalo, always injured. Only goalkeepers do well on loan, pair at Peterborough Sports playing regularly but all others are quickly dropped and sent back. Poor academy costing a fortune.

 

Yoganathan hasn't had a start.

8 minutes against Fylde
Rochdale he was an unused sub.
14 minutes against Solihull

22 out of a possible 270 minutes so far in division five.

 

How so?

 

Glad I wasn’t remembering wrong. The statement looks a bit daft as of right now

Let’s hope in a few years it turns out Bobby was right.

 

It’s a long while ago now, well before Patrick passed away and I tbh I don’t remember that much about it. I think they saw it as an asset for the local community where the lads education carries on at the side of the football coaching thus providing alternative options for the many that don’t make the grade in football. If they hadn’t I think it would have closed along time ago.

 

I don't get why fans that criticise the club's lack of ambition then want Clarke to bin off the season and play the academy players. Just a tad contradictory..

The academy is a complete mess, Jalo is the only player who looks even close to first team level right now and he's injured. Hassell is very lucky to still have this job based on the success of the academy.

 

The club pay for the academy. Patrick said years ago it cost over a million a season, it must be double that at least now with the cost of living rise and all the staff it has, academy manager, coaches, medical team, groundsman, catering, coach travel and on and on

 

Since the inception of the EPPP some years ago now, the Premier League funds the majority of academies.

It obviously still costs BFC as well, but I'd be surprised if it's a million pounds per year.

 

It's not a case of binning off the season, there's little to play for realistically, we simply aren't good enough in both boxes to be anywhere near the top 6, we've taken a measly 6pts from a possible 27 against the top 6, 2pts per game average for the next 16 games only gives us 75pts, it won't be enough.
I think most fans knew what we needed from last summer let alone January, had we shown ambition we would still have been in the hunt, it now gives us more or less meaningless games, provided we get another 10pts, utilise the time blooding academy players, after all Mladen said they want to utilise the academy more next season, well here's your chance.

 

Didn’t they win the league last season or season before?

 

The under 18’s won the equivalent of the 2nd tier in 2023. Basically means they were the best of the non ‘Category A’ academies.

I had high hopes for Jalo, Yoganathan, Bland and James out of that side. There’s still time for them I guess, but they need mens football sooner rather than later.