Ajay Matthews - Fabrizio Romano

They do but a failure in their academy might still be a championship player where a failure for our academy will be playing at Spennymoor.
Not so sure, seen loads of stories of city and Chelsea academy grads ending up in Iceland, or India etc. they have bigger name successes but the failure rates are really high still. For every player that has huge potential that makes it there are loads held back and not getting the games even at u18 and u21 level and not meeting potential
 
I suppose it's 'flattering' that one of the world's leading agents is talking about one of our youngsters.

Although it's hard to get wrapped up in the hype due to his age. Many many really good footballers fall by the wayside during teens and early 20s. We've have many 'next big things'. Harry Chapman / Porrit and Josh Walker to name recent ones.

They were also a few years further along in terms of age and experience.

I'm not sure where we stand on getting much financially out of anyone wanting him? I doubt it would be much. You'd think he would be better served staying with us. Although that's easy to say if a big gun is offering him 5k+ a week.

I think a few clubs have been sniffing around the likes of Cartwright and Finch. I'd be more 'worried' about losing them.
 
On the subject of agents. Has anyone seen the latest Stick to Football with Gary Neville?

An ex-NFL player who is involved with Burnley mentions agents briefly. He says it’s one of the big differences from US sports. In America agents get a fixed 3% regardless of the player. In England (and probably Europe) he said it’s like the Wild Wild West. Agents demand huge sums of money.
 
Yup, let them get on with improving because we’ve all seen arnel jakupovic, ronnie O’Brien move to big European clubs and slip. We’ve seen Liverpool and Chelsea sniff around Nathan porritt and flop.

Best thing kids at a champo club can do, is get their heads down, and play for a contract, then push for a first team chance. It’s far better for them than trying the quick route to a Chelsea, juventus or any other big club youth academy
Unless your name is Jude Bellingham or Endrick Moreira de Sousa.
 
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I suppose it's 'flattering' that one of the world's leading agents is talking about one of our youngsters.

Although it's hard to get wrapped up in the hype due to his age. Many many really good footballers fall by the wayside during teens and early 20s. We've have many 'next big things'. Harry Chapman / Porrit and Josh Walker to name recent ones.

They were also a few years further along in terms of age and experience.

I'm not sure where we stand on getting much financially out of anyone wanting him? I doubt it would be much. You'd think he would be better served staying with us. Although that's easy to say if a big gun is offering him 5k+ a week.

I think a few clubs have been sniffing around the likes of Cartwright and Finch. I'd be more 'worried' about losing them.
I’m not sure you could could those as recent, poritt left the club 14 years ago, as did Josh walker.
 
I suppose it's 'flattering' that one of the world's leading agents is talking about one of our youngsters.

Although it's hard to get wrapped up in the hype due to his age. Many many really good footballers fall by the wayside during teens and early 20s. We've have many 'next big things'. Harry Chapman / Porrit and Josh Walker to name recent ones.

They were also a few years further along in terms of age and experience.

I'm not sure where we stand on getting much financially out of anyone wanting him? I doubt it would be much. You'd think he would be better served staying with us. Although that's easy to say if a big gun is offering him 5k+ a week.

I think a few clubs have been sniffing around the likes of Cartwright and Finch. I'd be more 'worried' about losing them.
He’s signed a pro contract so we would be financially served by asking for a big pay day. Whatever big is for a 17 year old that might or might not make it. It would be in the millions certainly
 
This may be a controversial opinion but I don’t think these lads are getting an opportunity with us any time soon. We’ve assembled a huge senior squad and showed absolutely zero interest in using our category 1 academy during the worst injury crisis in living memory. I just don’t think they’re going to be given a chance to play for Boro.

The club is focused on promotion and I’ve felt for years and years that all the managers we’ve had have felt that you can’t develop your youth team players AND challenge to go up. They’ve not been the right appointments imo because the Boro has always, always been about developing our own players. I don’t think the commitment to bringing them through is there.

It’s just my feeling. I posted a week or two back that if our category 1 isn’t producing anyone that can get 10, 15, 20mins in a second-tier team whose promotion hopes were all but done before Easter then I think there’s something wrong.
 
This may be a controversial opinion but I don’t think these lads are getting an opportunity with us any time soon. We’ve assembled a huge senior squad and showed absolutely zero interest in using our category 1 academy during the worst injury crisis in living memory. I just don’t think they’re going to be given a chance to play for Boro.

The club is focused on promotion and I’ve felt for years and years that all the managers we’ve had have felt that you can’t develop your youth team players AND challenge to go up. They’ve not been the right appointments imo because the Boro has always, always been about developing our own players. I don’t think the commitment to bringing them through is there.

It’s just my feeling. I posted a week or two back that if our category 1 isn’t producing anyone that can get 10, 15, 20mins in a second-tier team whose promotion hopes were all but done before Easter then I think there’s something wrong.
I know for a fact that there is a lot disgruntled lads in the 17-19 age range who are starting to look for moves away because they are frustrated at the lack of opportunities.
 
This may be a controversial opinion but I don’t think these lads are getting an opportunity with us any time soon. We’ve assembled a huge senior squad and showed absolutely zero interest in using our category 1 academy during the worst injury crisis in living memory. I just don’t think they’re going to be given a chance to play for Boro.

The club is focused on promotion and I’ve felt for years and years that all the managers we’ve had have felt that you can’t develop your youth team players AND challenge to go up. They’ve not been the right appointments imo because the Boro has always, always been about developing our own players. I don’t think the commitment to bringing them through is there.

It’s just my feeling. I posted a week or two back that if our category 1 isn’t producing anyone that can get 10, 15, 20mins in a second-tier team whose promotion hopes were all but done before Easter then I think there’s something wrong.
the production line certainly isn't matching what it did under Dave Parnaby. But we do have a handful of players in the first team that came from there. Hackney got in and stayed in last season, Coburn got in and around the year before that, Coulson 2 years before that and Fry a couple before that.

Maybe some project players like Rav have denied players like Sykes and Silvera and Gilbert have held back Willis or Lennon. It's a tougher path to the first team, in which case we have to get better at matching our player out for a loan. A lot of our young player seem to struggle on loans. I hope the club regularly liaise with the players and the clubs they are at to smooth the journey.

Very few kids get in the first team at 17 or 18. There are just 7 players 18 or younger that have played 500 minutes in the champo. Of those Jobe Bellingham and Archie Gray are the only ones that could be deemed regular and successful. 19 or 20 is a more realistic age, maybe Sykes, Willis or Finch will get some game time in teh last 2 games, and a number of players will join the first team in pre-season with the opportunity to impress.
 
I know for a fact that there is a lot disgruntled lads in the 17-19 age range who are starting to look for moves away because they are frustrated at the lack of opportunities.
very few 17 or 18 year olds ever get a chance at any club. 19 maybe, but who in that 19 year old group should be in and around?
 
very few 17 or 18 year olds ever get a chance at any club. 19 maybe, but who in that 19 year old group should be in and around?
I'm not putting the names on here but I'm sure you have an idea.
I have no idea if they are good enough or not. I've not watched the U21s at all this season.

I just know that there is a few getting a bit annoyed and not getting their chance as they are looking for senior football. It might be that loans are the right moves for them rather than sitting on the bench for the senior squad and playing U21 football.
 
I'm not putting the names on here but I'm sure you have an idea.
I have no idea if they are good enough or not. I've not watched the U21s at all this season.

I just know that there is a few getting a bit annoyed and not getting their chance as they are looking for senior football. It might be that loans are the right moves for them rather than sitting on the bench for the senior squad and playing U21 football.
A few players in the kids have been unfortunate with injuries at the wrong time, like Finch might have had more game time when we didn't have a CF, but got injured himself.

The U21 bits I've seen, I can't say I've seen anyone and thought, yes, far too good to playing kids footy, should be in the Boro first team. Carrick does involve a handful of kids in first team training, so they obviously haven't done enough yet to impress.
 
I do have some sympathy with viv's position above and have expressed similar sentiment but I think it does depend on the player to an extent. We have a batch of 20/21 year olds (eg Hannah, Sykes, Gitau) who are on pro deals who look unlikely to make it with us now and haven't had any opportunities despite all the injuries. We have also struggled to get them out on loan bar short term non league loans.

Whereas someone like Finch who is younger than all of those, Carrick talks about as part of the squad and does give him game time. I think we have a stronger batch of u18s coming through (eg McCabe, Matthews, Cartwright, Lennon) who may well get more opportunities.
 
I do have some sympathy with viv's position above and have expressed similar sentiment but I think it does depend on the player to an extent. We have a batch of 20/21 year olds (eg Hannah, Sykes, Gitau) who are on pro deals who look unlikely to make it with us now and haven't had any opportunities despite all the injuries. We have also struggled to get them out on loan bar short term non league loans.

Whereas someone like Finch who is younger than all of those, Carrick talks about as part of the squad and does give him game time. I think we have a stronger batch of u18s coming through (eg McCabe, Matthews, Cartwright, Lennon) who may well get more opportunities.
Agreed. I don’t see any of those 20/22 year olds being championship ready. But the 17/18 year olds are an exciting crop
 
Whereas someone like Finch who is younger than all of those, Carrick talks about as part of the squad and does give him game time. I think we have a stronger batch of u18s coming through (eg McCabe, Matthews, Cartwright, Lennon) who may well get more opportunities.
Yes hearing that there is a lot more talent in that age range. AJ Bridge is another one.
But some of these lads are getting to an age where the want senior game time whether that is at Boro or somewhere else
 
I know for a fact that there is a lot disgruntled lads in the 17-19 age range who are starting to look for moves away because they are frustrated at the lack of opportunities.

Only 4 players under the age of 18 have played more than 200 minutes in the championship this season - Archie Gray, Jobe Bellingham, Kian Best and Chris Rigg.

I think there's less than 10 under the age of 19 too.

So unless our academy guys genuinely think they're the best in the league... I don't see how they can be disgruntled.
 
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