30 Apr 2015 16:46:51
Does anyone else feel alarmed by the lack of good young players we have produced in the past few years?

Lets not compare ourselves to others by saying "so what even Man City and Chelsea' haven't produced any good players". They might not have but that is their problem, let's just worry about our own club.

The only players that have gotten through into the first team and have had any sort of impact are Cleverley, Evans, Welbeck (wouldn't really call Rafael an academy player) and we all know none of them have lived upto the expectation.


I know people will say we have Wilson, McNair and Blackett playing in first team this season and Januzaj was a major player last season but how many of these players will be able to nail down a place in the first team?

It seems McNair and Blackett get a game only when all our other defenders are injured. Let's exclude Wilson from the discussion at this point because he hasn't really featured much and looks like Januzaj will be out on loan next season whereas after 2013-14 season under Moyes we would've thought that Januzaj would be our starting winger in 2015-16 season.


Where are we lagging? Why are we not producing good youngsters? (or maybe we are just afraid to play them?)

I am not interested if all the other clubs are doing the same, the point is why have we stopped playing youngsters?


You might say that if we play youngsters and start losing the fans will be the first ones to criticize the manager.

At this point when I look at our club I just don't get the confidence that there will be academy players becoming regular starters for this club anytime soon and mind you that is not because i think we don't have good youngsters but it just that i feel the attitude of the club is shifting maybe?

Sorry for being so negative and I hope someone has something positive to say about this.

Banter please EDs, would love to hear what others think about this. Eds opinion is also sought after as always.

1.) 30 Apr 2015
30 Apr 2015 17:07:16
I agree completely, the class of '92 will never be repeated but we are struggling to bring people through and I have no idea why. Is it something to do with how far youngsters are allowed to travel now?

2.) 30 Apr 2015
30 Apr 2015 17:16:37
In Current Academy I am very impressed by Periera(think he will make it), very much like Coutinho in his playing style.
Have high hopes for Harrop, let's see if he can develop into a player or not.
I thought Ben Pearson will do well.but he has hardly impressed on loan and will not make it. Janko had his chance but is very much like Valencia imo.

3.) 30 Apr 2015
30 Apr 2015 18:15:29
Timothy Fosu Mensah is a player that has massive potential at CB. He is only 17 but has been promoted to u21s and there is talk of him going on tour with the first team. Andreas Pereira and Wilson are the obvious ones. Also,we have been linked with a player who is apparently the next big thing from south America. He is called Gerson and he is a apparently like Pogba. Any eds know if we are truly in negotiations over a transfer?

4.) 30 Apr 2015
30 Apr 2015 18:24:39
I agree that not many young players have made the grade at united but am not surprised by it and think positively about the work being done. The class of 92 were unique as already stated by others and we may never see such a talented bunch come through all at once. Today's youngster has to be good enough to replace the experienced pro he most likely replaces in a league with more title challengers (city and Chelsea money joining arsenal etc) than in the premierships infancy. In my opinion our squad was a lot stronger back then so bedding in a young player carried less risk of dropping points. To me it is a strange quandary as bringing in talent like hummels etc could stifle opportunities for youth or alternatively make it easier for them to integrate. However I am positive about the amount of quality coming through and if you look around the premiership, championship, league 1 etc you will see plenty of ex united youth earning a living within the game. This may not be beneficial to the playing side but does bring in revenue and the right education helps those not able to make the grade earn a decent living elsewhere.

5.) 30 Apr 2015
30 Apr 2015 20:05:22
The class of 92 were also at the tail end of the old premier league before the influx of all the foreign players and the big money. It's not the same world. In this days we had 1 player from outside the Home Countries. Our revenues in 1992-3 were £25m compared with £391m now and £525 projected in 2016.

Leave the nurturing to the second tier clubs who can make a handsome profit at it if they do it well, but the top clubs need Champions League football and high profile international players with marketing credibility to meet their financial goals. It may be regrettable but that's what it takes. Wishful nostalgia won't take us back to those halcyon days.