Oliver Wilkinson

100% agree with this .

 

I agree he’s taking a risk as his pathway to the 1st team here would’ve been much ‘smoother’ had he continued to develop. However, I think you’re way out with ‘big fish in little pond’ comments. Even John Stones, with his obvious potential wasn’t that.

 

Well if that’s the case I take back what I said, & im not surprised to be honest.

 

How many youngsters have paved their way to the first team in the last 10 years.
Were too busy helping other teams in developing theirs ,instead of our own.
Far too many really good kids released as they have not progressed into the first team .

 

It was a dig at the "top 6" academies, really, if you can call them that. Hoovering up talent and then having them stagnate, on loan the some Belgian feeder club

 

The club is in a mess from top to bottom unfortunately. The whole point of the academy is to develop players for the first time and eventually sell them on for profit.

if we can’t keep our brightest prospects and tie them into a pro contract then there’s something wrong.

Football is broken, I fully understand that. There’s kids in top premier academies who are being paid £30k a week and will never play in anger for their parent club.

Chelsea have already been in trouble with the FA over this but they continue to flout the rules.

 

Having spoken to a parent of a well thought of youngster at the academy, I got the sense that the club were looking to get some money in for highly rated players.

 

Not at all. Good prospect had his head turned by looks. Not 1st young lad to won't be last.

If you mean Marsh. Sadly he wasn't good enough.

 

can’t help reading that in a Roy Keane accent

I wasn’t the most mature at 16 either, probably scared of the reaction

 

Apparently 0.5% of academy kids in this country end up with professional contracts. Hoovering the available talent up is therefore essential for the top clubs. Whether it is good for the kid himself is debatable. John Breckin, formerly of this parish, told me about a relative of his who was ‘recruited’ from Sheffield United by one of the big clubs over the Pennines. The incentives offered to his parents were incredible.

 

ITS HIS JOB.

Fair point though, tbf.

 

From reading that Chronicle report I'm happy we've put £5m on DKD.

Let the young un do what he wants, it'll be the parents pushing for a move.

 

I don't understand why the EFL clubs agreed to this policy, as for many, like Little Old Barnsley, rely on developing and selling players to survive. It now seems that the EFL clubs do all the work, spend all the money, take all the risk, and then a PL club takes a player for the equivalent of a Week's NI Contributions of fringe first team player.

 

I’ve seen some comments on twitter & facebook that it’s basically ok as the tribunal means we’ll get a decent amount from him leaving.

I have to say I couldn’t care less. I have no faith in the powers that be to recruit well with the money & more importantly I want to see local lads playing for the first team.

 

His job? We've not paid him anything yet. We offered him to start an under 18 scholarship this season. He's declined.

 

Would guess would be similar to the TV money, it’s guaranteed money whereas finding a player isn’t.

 

Incredibly short sighted if so. Keep the best young players - it’s a lot cheaper than buying first teamers to replace them.

 

I have a sense that ‘guaranteed money’ just pushes player wages up, and as a consequence, almost by default, it’s immediately eaten up as if the clubs never had it.