Under 21's

[pete 371]

Currently second in the league with 2 matches to go. But with someteams with 6 games to go will probably end up around 4th considering investment and loanees a creditable season when we only scraped into the premier league. Still not seen any youth team players to make impact in first team. What is the future for Josh Murphy doesn''t seem to have progressed.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 2,424]

Very little can be read into the league positions in youth leagues. Players are moved around between teams too much and tactics are altered to benefit individual players.

Any youth coach worth his money will tell you the point of U21/U18 football is to develop individuals and not teams.

Arsenal are mid table in Division 2, but I wouldn''t say Norwich''s academy is better than thiers.

[nutty nigel 7,902]

You may not like it Beth but I can assure you that everyone at Norwich is extremely proud of the achievement of the developement squad. Not just for qualifying and retaining PL status but also because of the the quality of the U18s who moved up to the U21s to replace the players out on loan. In fact our developement squad and the way we do things is seen as a model by other clubs.

Arsenal wouldn''t want PL status? Funny man ;)

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 2,424]

Arsenal will retain their Premier League status - just in Division 2 not Division 1.

What they don''t want to do however is put the idea of a team before individuals - whilst this sounds counter-intuitive at youth level it is the most important thing.

Youth football is a harsh world and clubs will throw an entire team under a bus if it means they manage to progress a single player into the first team squad.

It''s great, good U18s are moving into U21, but it will all be meaningless if none of them progress into first team players.

With the massive amount of investment Norwich are putting into their academy at the moment I hope there will be a steady stream of ''local'' boys making the grade soon. But that won''t be achieved just by being near the top of the U21 Division.

[sgncfc 1,330]

[quote user="Bethnal Yellow and Green"]Arsenal will retain their Premier League status - just in Division 2 not Division 1.

What they don''t want to do however is put the idea of a team before individuals - whilst this sounds counter-intuitive at youth level it is the most important thing.

Youth football is a harsh world and clubs will throw an entire team under a bus if it means they manage to progress a single player into the first team squad.

It''s great, good U18s are moving into U21, but it will all be meaningless if none of them progress into first team players.

With the massive amount of investment Norwich are putting into their academy at the moment I hope there will be a steady stream of ''local'' boys making the grade soon. But that won''t be achieved just by being near the top of the U21 Division.[/quote]

We don''t need a steady stream - we only need one potential £10m player to make it all worthwhile. I think we all hoped one of the Murphy''s would be that player, and they still might be, but we still have several possibilities from the Youth Cup winning team.

As we know, young players develop at different rates and supporters need to be patient when they do eventually break into the team. I can remember Chris Sutton being a decent centre back........

[nutty nigel 7,902]

Of course you''re right Beth, Arsenal are in Division Two and those who did better are in Division One. Should we be relegated or you be promoted we would play eachother next season :)

Of course the term developement team makes it obvious that the main objective is to develope players for the future. The ultimate aim is for these players to make the first team of the clubs they are at. But if they make they finally end up playing at a lower level it doesn''t mean either they or their coaches are failures.

Sometimes we all seem to want to run the game rather than support the players and enjoy them. The developement league is a competition for players and supporters alike. Our players and supporters take great pride in their achievements. Regardless of the future what''s been achieved in the last two seasons is fact and can''t be changed by events. I have really enjoyed watching the games this season. Particularly enjoyed watching Ray Grant. Now whatever level Ray finally plays won''t devalue any of that.

A few years ago I watched us play a friendly against Arsenal. It wasn''t a first team game, it was like these developement games where we had youngsters and a couple of over age players. It was a great game of football. I remember being impressed by Luke Daley but of course ultimately his future has been non league. Anyway, Ray and I happened to be in reception afterwards and the Arsenal reporter was phoning in his report to their web site. This was very amusing to us because he kept spluttering about the attendance. He couldn''t believe how many people came to support our team. It''s certainly something we do well at Norwich and is the envy of many clubs, not just Arsenal. But what else are supporters meant to do......

[westcoastcanary 0]

What else are supporters meant to do? Why, moan, grump, criticise and of course, ideally, boo. Don''t tell me the support at our youth matches lets the club down nige. [:D]