What if? McInnes is ousted...

[Feck_the_Huns]

The club have afforded Robson the last 3 years to study for his UEFA Pro license, which I think he attained in the summer so, rather than spending his time learning off the master, and setting out the cones etc etc, he’ll be off to a lesser club pretty soon I’d have thought.

And Sheerin hasn’t exactly set the heather alight as a manager or a coach recently has he?

[afc1903mad]

The club have afforded Robson the last 3 years to study for his UEFA Pro license, which I think he attained in the summer so, rather than spending his time learning off the master, and setting out the cones etc etc, he’ll be off to a lesser club pretty soon I’d have thought.

Quite possibly and in reality, probably the best thing to do.
Go off and gain experience at lower levels so you're better prepared if and when a better offer comes in.

And Sheerin hasn’t exactly set the heather alight as a manager or a coach recently has he?

Don't be fooled by a couple of results.
Development is so much more than the final result, especially with young players.

The reserves won 3-0 against Huddersfield reserves, but we don't know the depth of each team and what they were trying to implement.
The Huddersfield team I gather was from their U-19 squad, whilst ours was U-21. They could have been blooding some much younger lads as a simple example.
So no need to get all high with wins or very low with heavy losses.
the boys will have likely learned more in those losses than yesterdays win and that's what development is about for them.

[NEM83]

Nah, he’ll look internally to Sheerin / Robson.

Sheerin doing a pretty ****e job with the youths and "third place" Robson has a loser mentality. No thanks

[Feck_the_Huns]

Quite possibly and in reality, probably the best thing to do.
Go off and gain experience at lower levels so you're better prepared if and when a better offer comes in.




Don't be fooled by a couple of results.
Development is so much more than the final result, especially with young players.

The reserves won 3-0 against Huddersfield reserves, but we don't know the depth of each team and what they were trying to implement.
The Huddersfield team I gather was from their U-19 squad, whilst ours was U-21. They could have been blooding some much younger lads as a simple example.
So no need to get all high with wins or very low with heavy losses.
the boys will have likely learned more in those losses than yesterdays win and that's what development is about for them.

Fair point. And player development is a whole different arguement.

Case in point. Saturday's starting 11 had ONE player that has come through our development system - Considine, and another who came off the bench - MacLennan. Two players out of 14 is a helluva indictment on AFC's youth policy, when you compare it to Motherwell's, for example. How the hell can they churn them out, and how also is their scouting policy, both at development and senior level, MILES better than our's?

What was the target - half the team should be home developed? Or was it a third? Either way, we've failed miserably.

With our current midfield injury crisis, will we have development lads champing at the bit to get the shirts v Livvy this weekend? No chance, it will be Vyner shoe horned into midfield, Wilson as holding midfielder, etc etc

How much of that is down to Simmie/Sheerin, or how much of it is down to McInnes simply not being interested?

Discuss.....

[Mason89]

I’d ditch the youth team. The won the league & McInnes still didn’t think it was enough. What’s the point?

[RedStarTorphins]

Fair point. And player development is a whole different arguement.

Case in point. Saturday's starting 11 had ONE player that has come through our development system - Considine, and another who came off the bench - MacLennan. Two players out of 14 is a helluva indictment on AFC's youth policy, when you compare it to Motherwell's, for example. How the hell can they churn them out, and how also is their scouting policy, both at development and senior level, MILES better than our's?

What was the target - half the team should be home developed? Or was it a third? Either way, we've failed miserably.

With our current midfield injury crisis, will we have development lads champing at the bit to get the shirts v Livvy this weekend? No chance, it will be Vyner shoe horned into midfield, Wilson as holding midfielder, etc etc

How much of that is down to Simmie/Sheerin, or how much of it is down to McInnes simply not being interested?

Discuss.....

Part of is down to expectation levels maybe, and the other factor is playing budget?

For example, if Motherwell finish 7th or 8th but bleed in 3 or 4 youngsters, their fans won't be demanding the head of the manager.

If McInnes does that, he'd be gone more than likely.

Also, if Motherwell had our playing budget, they'd be far less likely to play the youngsters.
They are perhaps forced to feed in 3 or 4 younger players, whereas we don't "have" to?

[RedStarTorphins]

I’d ditch the youth team. The won the league & McInnes still didn’t think it was enough. What’s the point?

The stars of that youth team were Cammy Smith & Lawrence Shankland.
Neither was good enough to be a first team regular.
Shankland by his own admission was overweight and not deserving of a place.

[Feck_the_Huns]

Part of is down to expectation levels maybe, and the other factor is playing budget?

For example, if Motherwell finish 7th or 8th but bleed in 3 or 4 youngsters, their fans won't be demanding the head of the manager.

If McInnes does that, he'd be gone more than likely.

Also, if Motherwell had our playing budget, they'd be far less likely to play the youngsters.
They are perhaps forced to feed in 3 or 4 younger players, whereas we don't "have" to?

Yeah, maybe.

However, look at Celtic, and the amount of home grown players in their starting 11 and bench. With all their wealth, and it's still a helluva higher ratio than ours. Still not a huge amount of players but it proves that they still see youth development as a large part of their overall player recruitment strategy.

What is AFC's strategy? If we are to believe youth developent is still key, (and you would have to imagine it is) then what is going wrong?

As mentioned earlier, is it the case that Simmie is overseeing the recruitment and development of decent enough players, but a) Sheerin isn't developing them further or b) McInnes wouldn't be interested anyway?

The answer is probably somewhere in between. Either way, it ain't working

[afc1903mad]

Discuss.....

There is no doubt that our youth development over the years has been poor, with the exceptions that have come through over the years i.e Fraser, Grimmer, Bebo, Rat, and even McLean (yes he was an Aberdeen youth).

This is like a conveyor belt though and there are signs that we are starting to see improvements. Campbell, McLennan, Ross, Ross, Anderson etc and hopefully this increases more in the coming seasons.

What we need to watch out for is losing talent too early i.e. Mair

The secondary part is whether they get game-time. It's a myth that McInness doesn't give youth a chance as the likes of Ferguson and McKenna shows that if your good enough, you'll get your opportunity and can stake a claim to keep your place.

It's up to the Campbell's (was getting plenty opportunities this year till his injury), Ross's and McLennan's (I've pretty much given up on Wright regardless of his injury to be honest) to grab their place

[Mason89]

The stars of that youth team were Cammy Smith & Lawrence Shankland.
Neither was good enough to be a first team regular.
Shankland by his own admission was overweight and not deserving of a place.

Plenty of first team regulars haven’t been good enough to be first team regulars