25 Jun 2020 16:54:17
A little surprised to see Largie Ramazani as one of the academy players who are leaving this summer. Apparently he turned down a contract offer. Shame he's had a very good season this year.

{Ed002's Note - It is the same with Deji Sotona (LW) another kiddie who wants out - a "third party" has explained that the kid sees no plan for himself going forward and has made it clear that Manchester United is not the place for him to be. WEith no clear route forward players will be looking at other options at more progressive clubs.}

1.) 25 Jun 2020
25 Jun 2020 18:10:32
Surprised and disappointed to see the Ed say this a few times. Nick Cox is the head of academy right? What are we doing wrong?
Fact is I see very few academy players make it as first team regulars at the very big clubs, certainly in England.
Ed is it all about the lack of a development plan and route to the first team, or is it also agents/ third parties driving some of these kids’ demands?
We still seem to be able to sign some top prospects from around Europe (at least when we splash the cash on wages) .

{Ed002's Note - It is largely the failure to have a plan for each player - that might include loans, training with the first team squad and moving forward. There is also a growing issue where youngsters want too much too soon - and that is why several German sides are constantly attending youth games in England.}

2.) 25 Jun 2020
25 Jun 2020 18:40:02
I get that not having a specific plan for each young player could be unsettling for a youth player.

I'd have hoped seeing Henderson and Tuanzebe do well on loan, while players like Williams, McTominay, Rashford and Greenwood all playing regularly in the first team might be enough to convince them that they will get a chance at United.

3.) 25 Jun 2020
25 Jun 2020 19:24:24
Joining this page years ago was like joining the Matrix. Take the red pill and the ugly truth will be revealed. The truth being that we have serious issues running from the top to the bottom of the club.

Should have taken the blue pill safe in the knowledge that we're the biggest club in the world, United D. N. A and all that tribal nonsense.

We seem to be going in the wrong direction off the pitch whilst being left behind by our main rivals on it.

P. s

7 more of those performances and Ole may get my blessing.

4.) 25 Jun 2020
25 Jun 2020 18:54:41
Thanks Ed. To my untrained eye those seem easily solvable issues. I guess it’s when they start to make demands about guaranteed opportunities or silly money it starts to get complicated.
Yes seems a clear business model for the German clubs, trading these kids as financial assets (which is ultimately what footballers now are? ) . Working well for Dortmund.

5.) 25 Jun 2020
25 Jun 2020 19:53:27
I would imagine that German teams attending UK youth games with the plan to take our young players to Germany will do wonders for the England team a decade from now.

6.) 25 Jun 2020
25 Jun 2020 22:43:17
should make penalties a less tense affair.

7.) 26 Jun 2020
26 Jun 2020 07:04:14
Not sure I can agree. No clear path to the first team?

Rashford, McT, Williams, Greenwood, Tanzuebe, Chong have all come through this season and Gomes has emerged slowly too (Alberti he is off) .
Henderson has broken through to be a very strong Premier League keeps on loan. ,

These players are kiddies - and are too young to be making demands - get your head down, work, and the fame and the money and the game time will come if you’re good enough.

8.) 26 Jun 2020
26 Jun 2020 09:30:23
Is Alberti that Italian wonder kid Eric? 😐.

9.) 26 Jun 2020
26 Jun 2020 09:40:08
I think demands for first team football, or excessively high wages from players who have at most made a handful of professional appearances isn't acceptable.

However, having gone to University as a mature student I have seen that young people need clear direction more now than I did at their ages, and I probably needed it more than my parents did.

Twenty years ago when a 18 year old lad in the academy asked his coach what he needed to do to get into the first team he would have likely been met with an answer something like "work hard, keep your head down, listen to you coaches" or words to that effect. Very nondescript, quite vague, advice you could give to anyone. That might have been fine 20 years ago, but the young people of today live in an information world, they want/ expect much clearer advice and direction. Very specific, they want to see a pathway so they know what they need to do and when, rather than aimlessly working without any idea about what or where they are going.

You need to be far more open when coaching kids these days. You need to start with the why rather than the what.

I don't know if the club is doing this or whether they have their 1980's heads on and just think "well it was fine for me" ignoring the fact that these kids have grown up in a very different world to the one that the coaching and managerial staff free up in.

10.) 26 Jun 2020
26 Jun 2020 13:56:27
“Young people want to be told what to do and when” to paraphrase shappy.

Half the problem young people face today is the inability to think for themselves and are constantly looking for the path of least resistance.

11.) 26 Jun 2020
26 Jun 2020 17:11:02
To me it seems a blend of what SAF had with Pogba, the clubs lack of proper organization and possibly societal pressure among others.
When you throw agents, impatient kids, inadequate personal coaching and the absence of well laid out plan together with social media and the likes, we are sure to get a sh*t storm.

12.) 26 Jun 2020
26 Jun 2020 17:51:13
Shappy that’s the same in any walk of life. I a manage men and women in their 20s who act like kids expecting us to map out their careers for them. Grow up and take responsibility and perform. Then it’ll take care of itself.

13.) 26 Jun 2020
26 Jun 2020 21:48:13
Interesting we have focussed on the players who have left, (none of which stood out massively to me) rather than the large number of players we have kept on. We have also offered to look after the players that are going and help find them new clubs with dvd packages etc, good from the club in these tough times.

Ramazani was the best of the ones that are going but he’s never set the world alight really so not to worried.

14.) 27 Jun 2020
27 Jun 2020 07:09:46
I think it’s pretty understandable really. When youth players see the likes of Sancho, Haaland and co making a name for themselves playing first team football, it’s only natural that their heads are going to turn. Sure we can point to our successes integrating youth into the first team, but for every Rashford there are probably 10+ players with unrealized potential passing through our academy.

I feel like we need to improve the way we loan out our younger players and maximize their game time in instances where they stay at the club rather than go out on loan (we made 5 substitutions when the game was won in our last match and iirc, not one of them was an academy player) .

We’re probably better than most clubs in the UK when it comes to developing our youth prospects, but clubs on the continent seem to be doing a better job at this point.

15.) 28 Jun 2020
28 Jun 2020 07:36:25
That’s the same anywhere red seven. Players like Rashford are rare and those conversion stats of players who make it are the same globally in every club. Should give you an appreciation of just how good the top players are not only skill wise but strong mentally.

16.) 28 Jun 2020
28 Jun 2020 09:29:21
Shappy

Interesting you say that youngsters need more direction and wonder whether the club instead have their 1980’s head on. Isn’t that what our direction is now, led by our manager in a cultural reboot back to the old ways?

Moaning teenagers always happen, they all think they deserve more but it is also likely a sign the club structure and planning from top down is not what it should be and yes back to the traditional SAF way.