Am I the only one worried by what most of us want?

PC once said he'd love a BFCXI consisting of local or academy/homegrown lads, well so would I. An absolute ideal scenario if achievable. There's nothing I'd like to see more....... here comes the but!

For varying reasons we may produce on average less than one per season who has an reasonable chance of successfully sustaining a full time first team spot. It could be argued that generally most haven't been given a proper shot by previous managers to show their worth in the first team. That's maybe true. But when (baring in mind they're with them training etc 24/7 in training terms) one does come along eg Stones then that chance is given.

I keep hearing RNL, Digby and Rose as the shining lights we have. All good players from what I've seen, heres the second but...... 2 are quite obviously injury prone and will fare well to complete 30-40 tough games in L2 and the other is a decent enough squad player at best. All IMHO of course. I'm not slating the lads as as I said at the top, the local 11 would be my utopia.

I'm only confident of Oates from the current young uns who'd be anywhere near a squad place on a regular basis.

So my question is, who and where are these much sorted after new generation of home grown, local lads coming from? It's IMO
a utopia scenario that at present I'd give very long odds at becoming a reality!

Opinions

 

I think you're spot on, I doubt we will ever field a team of locals. However, if we could get four or five in there I'd be happy with that, assuming they were there because they were good enough and not just to meet a quota.

I doubt there's a professional club in the land that fields a homegrown side, it's pretty much an impossibility to do so and be competitive with how the game has changed. The Class of 92 are probably the high point and last example of such an ideal (and even then they weren't all local lads, they were brought into the academy from other areas in some cases).

 

Will never happen. Not just at Jokewell but anywhere else in the Football League.

 

It won't happen. We'd be extremely lucky to have at least 11 good enough at the same time. Like you say we tow to get one a season up to it

 

I agree. I missed a full planned sentence outta my original post.....

'I know this is impossible in reality but Bens post relegation interview intimated that the club would go down a similar route'

Well we'll be lucky to see 2-3 in the squad, nivver mind the XI

 

Correct. A noble aim but ultimately futile IMHO

 

If we looked back since the days of David Hirst would we have produced eleven players good enough for the Championship? Watson, Stones, Tiler, Austin (?) Kay, Digby, Butterfield, RNL? Any others?

 

No chance of ever happening. Even if we produce six guys of Stones ability at the same time they will only be sold on a few months down the line. It's a nice thought that one day we can be proud fans like Southampton watching a bunch of homegrown talent doing well and sticking with the club, but not very likely.

Players in this day and age for us are harder to feel attached to and much harder to call a legend or future legend because many don't hang around long enough anymore.

 

Eaden, Moses, Jones, Burton, Williams, Jackson, Morgan to name a few. Again in 30 years that ain't anywhere near a full team/squad. My original point wasn't to slate the academy etc, far from it. But I'm getting the feeling Ben is intimating the youth/local route is where we're going. It's apparant that we've minimal young lads with a chance of fulfilling that vision anytime soon.

 

Eaden and Moses bloody hell. Forgot Liddell too. Not many though over thirty years as you say. Just shows what a pipe dream it is.

 

I don't think a Barnsley XI will ever happen, I just want to see kids that have the potential to be good enough to be thrown in so we can find out whether they're up to it.

E.g Rose is now 20 & has only just been out on loan for the first time. He was been mentioned as in & around the 1st team during Robins' reign. It's took way too long for him to develop.

That loan spell should've happened 2 years ago

 

They don't really have to be locals but they should be more permanent signings, too many loan players who don't really care and there's a good chance you'll go down, not just barnsley but look at Birmingham this season, Doncaster a couple of seasons ago.

 

Danny's no mug. He'll be as keen as mustard to get us back up at the first attempt, and will want to rub Bristol, Swindon and Blunt noses in it I expect. So if there's no decent kids in his opinion, he won't be picking em. It's his job to lose remember. Mansford/Cryne can't make him select a load of kids 'just because'.

However, I think RNL, Digby and Rose are good enough, IF THEY STAY FIT. And I've liked the look of Abbott, Smith and Oates on limited viewing. Plus, the likes of Wardle, Bree and Nana get rave reviews for the u18's. We'l see I suppose. But I think we're unlikely to see more than three or four in a matchday 18. Pre season will be the time for some of them to stake their claims.

 

A full XI of Barnsley lads is a bit unrealistic, if you do that you're basically accepting the status of someone like Crewe as even if you get three or four that are of real quality you can't progress because someone will want to buy them and/or the players will want to leave.

I've got a lot of respect for how Crewe do things, I think they fielded a full team of their academy lads at the end of last season but it doesn't provide a model for progression, even when we've had our own youth products feature regularly in the past there's never been more than a couple of them in the team on a regular basis.

The last time I saw a lot of our youth players play in the same team was the friendly at Halifax before this season - as a team they looked poor. Digby and Rose are surely the only viable candidates for the first team in League One, I won't count RNL as he has been something of a first team player for the last five managers we've had.

 

And me with Lidds! One of my all time faves:-/

 

Liddell is me of my all time favourites. Great bloke as well.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Very underrated when he was with us I reckon and with hindsight we shouldn't have let him go.

 

You forgot Simon Bochenski...

 

Chris Hedworth football genius. Or the legendary Willy Ferry.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Ha ha, like every other club were littered with the Griff Jones, Barraclough, Joynes, Bennett, Baker etc etc. I'm just worriedBens pushing the whole 'local' dream when in reality it's a slim chance at best.