One of our own

[Woodypie]

Where are they? Is there really no local talent that can be coached into being a first team contender? Even at this pitiful level. The team over the Trent seem to manage it regularly. Same for Stags. Do we have youth coaches or is it a strategic decision not to really bother? I'm trying to remember last local lad that made the first team. Was it Curtis? That worked out well.

[drillerpie]

Where are they? Is there really no local talent that can be coached into being a first team contender? Even at this pitiful level. The team over the Trent seem to manage it regularly. Same for Stags. Do we have youth coaches or is it a strategic decision not to really bother? I'm trying to remember last local lad that made the first team. Was it Curtis? That worked out well.

Stags have a different catchment area. Forest have a fantastic academy. Any talented youngsters in Nottingham will go to them.

Our starting point is taking youngsters Forest don't want, which doesn't make it impossible to bring young players through, but makes it hard.

[i961pie]

Colby Bisop isn't doing to bad at Pompey either, 5 in 5. but didn't make our first team.

[slack_pie]

Both teams have more money to throw at it. And as someone else said, we're competing with Forest for local talent, and they have one of the best academies in the country.

Given that we rarely play talented youngsters when we do actually have them, I don't see much of a point in investing in it. Might as well try and find more Callum Roberts-style players from other clubs and sell them on. It's probably easier and more lucrative that way.

[kill_the_drum]

With Forests academy being so good, our best hope is being a feeder club and taking them on loan. Unfortunately, Mansfield are ahead of us in the pecking order these days.

[The_Don_ORiordan]

There really should be enough talent for all three clubs.

The key is being seen as a club which gives youth players a chance, that will make some parents choose us as the best chance for their son (even if the reds are an option, only so many make it). Unfortunately we are not seen as that kind of club.

[slack_pie]

There really should be enough talent for all three clubs.

The key is being seen as a club which gives youth players a chance, that will make some parents choose us as the best chance for their son (even if the reds are an option, only so many make it). Unfortunately we are not seen as that kind of club.

The problem is, if we started playing a load of youngsters who aren't quite ready, our results would get worse. LW (and every head coach or manager before him) is under pressure to get results NOW, not in a few years. We've got fans booing at half time, four games into the season with us still unbeaten. If you were in that position, would you be willing to send an 18-year-old with virtually no experience into the first team, even if they showed a lot of promise?

Players like Colby Bishop did their developing elsewhere because when they were at Notts, they almost certainly weren't as good as the older pros we had. The manager at the time needed to get results, just like LW does now.

So it's a tricky situation. We don't have the money to invest in a top-tier academy, and our managers/head coaches don't have the time or space to develop youngsters in the first team. So it makes a lot more sense at this stage to scout young talent that's already first-team ready, like Cal Roberts, and then sell them on, or take other clubs' youngsters on loan.

[ncfcog]

List of players that have represented Notts at senior level since the academy reformed in 2008:



Goalkeepers:
Liam Mitchell
Fabian Spiess

Defenders:
Jake Wholey
Haydn Hollis
Tyreece Kennedy-Williams

Midfielders:
Nathan Fox
George Nicholas
Kyle Dixon
Curtis Thompson
Greg Tempest
Lartey Sarpong
Jordan Richards
Sam Osborne
Alex Howes
Declan Dunn

Strikers:
Romello Nangle
Colby Bishop
Montel Gibson
Remaye Campbell
Kion Etete
Tyreace Palmer

At the moment we have Tiernan Brooks, Luther Munakandafa and Brad McGregor that have been involved with the senior team albeit in friendlies.

It's not a massive list but if you consider most Prem academies have the best part of 40 odd players on their books and only a couple will be kept on it's probably not so bad.

As others have said, in our position and from a financial stand point it is an expensive exercise especially now that the funding has gone as well. Hence why we look at the likes of Roberts, Cameron, Nemane, Francis etc who have been at the big academies and have had to find their way again in the lower leagues. That's a more sustainable model for now.

[Notts78]

There really should be enough talent for all three clubs.

The key is being seen as a club which gives youth players a chance, that will make some parents choose us as the best chance for their son (even if the reds are an option, only so many make it). Unfortunately we are not seen as that kind of club.

It’s not just the 3 local sides that pick up our kids. Derby and Leicester also take kids in to a academy football in large numbers. And the top top kids end up at even bigger clubs. It’s horrendous to see 5,6 and 7 year olds treated like meat.
Let’s be honest, what parent would tell there child to go to the lowest ranked team out of all the options? Regardless of how many make it.

[slack_pie]

It’s not just the 3 local sides that pick up our kids. Derby and Leicester also take kids in to a academy football in large numbers. And the top top kids end up at even bigger clubs. It’s horrendous to see 5,6 and 7 year olds treated like meat.
Let’s be honest, what parent would tell there child to go to the lowest ranked team out of all the options? Regardless of how many make it.

Exactly. If a kid is good enough to join Forest's academy, they'll join Forest's academy. We'll only get the ones that Forest (or Leicester, or Derby) don't want or discard. No way you'd tell your kid to join a non-league academy over a Premier League one with world-class facilities.