Is Cat 1 Academy worth the money?

[BroadstairsR 2,138]

I suppose that the ideal for the Academy is that it should be financially self-sufficient, whilst throwing up the occasional top-draw player who would break into the first team and more.

We have some history of this, Justin Fashanu, Chris Sutton, Darren Eadie, Danny Mills and Rob Green spring to mind over the years, and perhaps we are due another in the near future. I would like to think that we continually give ourselves the best possible chance of achieving this.

Of the top of my head I can think of Rob Green, Chris Martin, Jason Shackell and Tom Adeyemi as being ex-City youth currently plying their trade at Championship level with success, which isn''t bad. I can also think of Korey Smith lower down, there may/will be others.

The fact that we currently have more of our youngsters loaned out (and successfully) at this moment in time than ever before is testament to the viability of our current expenditure on youth surely.

Hopefully these numbers are due to increase with the effects of Cat. 1, and £2m per annum is surely not to be seen as a disincentive to any self-respecting Premier League club.

It is also of added interest, to me at least, following the progress of these youngsters, even if they do not eventually succeed at Carrow Road.

[nutty nigel 7,509]

Both the U16s and the U18s won at West Ham earlier today.

[Yellowfuture 71]

Good news

[nutty nigel 7,509]

So that''s wins for U16s U18s and U21s this week. As the poor results seemed to motivate this thread I hope everyone is a bit happier now. Tonights U21 game against Man Utd we played a full quota of over age players. The game was quite fiercely contested for an U21 and there was not much between the sides. We defended well though, especially in the first half. Second half Laffs scored a screamer and then we had another good chance before Loza got the second. Great to see some youngsters gaining valuable experience including 15 year old Glenn Middleton who was a late sub this week. 5,000 there tonight and another game next Monday against Southampton. 

 

Under 18s reort here : http://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/west-ham-norwich-city-u18s-2814677.aspx

 

Under 21s report here : http://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/norwich-city-man-united-under-21s-match-report-reaction-2816213.aspx

[Indy 3,284]

It''s certainly better, for all age groups to win does make me feel better, heck it should I want all our teams to win.

Sounds like the addition of a few senior pros added helped those youngsters.

Did you see the game? If so who stood out?

[Donkey dangler 0]

I hope the idea of selling Jacob Murphy (if ture) was just an attempt to motivate him. His career hasn''t stalled and it would be crazy to sell either of the Murphys unless their careers come to a standstilll.

It will take years before we can judge whether the Cat 1 is worthwhile as they progress from 8 -10 years old to 21 years old.

Hopefully the Murphys, Toffolo and others will make it to our first team squad after gaining experience in the lower leagues first. This may then help to attract other prospects to our Academy over time rather than youngsters go to so called bigger clubs who dont offer young players much of a chance.

[nutty nigel 7,509]

[quote user="Indy"]It''s certainly better, for all age groups to win does make me feel better, heck it should I want all our teams to win.

Sounds like the addition of a few senior pros added helped those youngsters.

Did you see the game? If so who stood out?[/quote]

 

I thought we defended well and the two centre backs stood out for me. Michee Effete got MOM and I thought it deserved. I''ve been following him closely since he came from Palace when he was 16. He was given a professional contract at the end of last season and is now a regular started for U21s. He''s also played U21 for his country. I can''t tell you if he''ll make it. I can''t tell you if any of them will make it. But I enjoy watching them and if we have international U21 players coming through the ranks then surely that''s a feather in the cap for our academy.

 

Ultimately having a first team player from our cademy in the EPL is the dream. But every player we produce who goes on to earn a professional contract with us or anyone else is a success for our academy and not the failure some would have you believe.

 

You can see highlights from the game here : -

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgO8-TPrWdM&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop

 

We are at home again next Monday evening against everyone''s favourite academy Southampton U21s. It''s free to get in. Come and see if we can repeat the win againts Man Utd against the messageboard darlings[;)]

 

 

 

 

[Indy 3,284]

I''ve not been to a youth game this season, should make the effort, might well see what time I get away from work.

Thanks for the link and comment Nutty.

[Thirsty Lizard 3,155]

And a fantastic win against Southampton tonight. 7-2 - sheesh.

[nutty nigel 7,509]

I love these games Thirsty and this was especially sweet because apparently if Carlsberg made academies they would be Southampton. Tonight was a cracker but you''d never have forecast this result after Saints went 1-0 up with a good strike. Then we scored 4 in 12 minutes to go in 4-1 up at halftime. I thought we played better second half controlling the game and looking dangerous going forwards. But Kean gifted Sains with a goal to get back to 4-2. Icing on the cake was another three goals in seven minutes from Loza towards the end of a very open and entertaining game. As with the first team on Sunday I thought we handled the conditions the better. There''s obviously a great spirit in our club at the moment. Good performances all over the pitch and I am continually impressed by Michee Etette who was moved to right back to accomodate Russ at cenre half. Now that''s gotta be worth a thread of it''s own[;)]

 

Report is here : -

http://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/norwich-city-southampton-under-21s-match-report-reaction-2829173.aspx

 

Did you go Indy?

[Thirsty Lizard 3,155]

Just seen the highlights of the game. Talk about ruthless finishing! Love the fact that Loza smashed two in with his left and two with his right.

And a couple of great finishes from Cameron King too.

[Legend Iwan 30]

Without trying to be all dreary about the academy, surely its principle role is to produce players that can regularly play first-team football for Norwich. Now while a comprehensive win against Southampton is great, especially following up the impressive victory over Man Utd recently, we''ve not brought someone through in a long time.

[0ridgemanddMMyyyy0Falseen-USTrue 0]

My only gripe about the Academy is that the club paid out over £11 million in bonuses for promotion and still asks supporters (who earn only a fraction of some of the bonuses) for a £19 donation towards the Academy. I think the fans are being sold short - Community club ?

[TIL 1010 4,722]

[quote user="ridgeman"]My only gripe about the Academy is that the club paid out over £11 million in bonuses for promotion and still asks supporters (who earn only a fraction of some of the bonuses) for a £19 donation towards the Academy. I think the fans are being sold short - Community club ?[/quote]You do have the choice to pay or not. I chose not to pay.

[Duncan Edwards 2,222]

Revenue is revenue, if you don''t want to pay it, don''t.

Some will, some won''t but those that do (I''m not one of them) contribute towards the academy which presumably leaves that £19 in the budget for first team affairs.

How much difference it makes? No idea. But without a billionaire I guess it is a case of every penny counting.

As for the academy not producing players for the first team, it''d be lovely to see another Bellars or Eadie come through but while that''s the dream, the pragmatic approach is that we produce players of a value to make it self-financing or a money maker. The Murphy twins, Toffolo, Thompson etc would all trade for good money now. I still hope that one or two make it through to the first team, if we ever fielded the twins on either wing, that would be great.

The thing is that because we are in the Premier League and there is so much at stake, we simply can''t risk blooding these players with a prolonged run of games. Therefore, they''re better off out on loan, getting valuable game time and experience and while they add value to the quality of the teams they represent, the increase in financial value only benefits us.

I think Gruffalo and the twins have a real shout at making the grade and if the three of them do, people will want to copy our model just like they are envious of Southampton now.

[nutty nigel 7,509]

[quote user="Legend Iwan"]Without trying to be all dreary about the academy,

surely its principle role is to produce players that can regularly play

first-team football for Norwich. Now while a comprehensive win against

Southampton is great, especially following up the impressive victory over Man

Utd recently, we''ve not brought someone through in a long time.[/quote]

 

That''s the ultimate aim buddy. But I don''t go with the notion that players

who don''t make our first team are deemed to be failures. If we were Championship

we would be quite competitive with Rudd, Toffolo, Josh & Jacob in our squad.

If we hadn''t been so successful Smith and Adeyemi would be in our squad. Then

everyone would be saying what a great academy we have. It''s harder in the Prem

but hopefully we will produce a PL footballer soon.

 

I think there''s a lot of denial about where we are and what we are up

against. It''s like expecting Ruddy to be as good as Peter Czech. I guess I''ll be

accused by someone of having little old Norwich syndrome by recognising where

the club are and our current limitations.

 

Here''s the goals and comment from last night.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I9l3jvTGNo

 

Sometimes it''s nice just to go and watch these players and appreciate them for what they are. Five goals in a game is something to remember for Jamar and us who were there. Who was the last player anyone''s seen scoring 5 in a game for a Norwich team at Carrow Road?

 

It''s FA Youth Cup time again and we''re at Hull tomorrow. It''s going to be a very tough game for our inconsistent under 18s. here''s a preview : -

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVZaTfoT7Vk

 

 

 

 

[nutty nigel 7,509]

Great result last night for Murty''s u18s winning 3-1 at Hull to progress to the next round of the FA Youth Cup.

Hoping for a home game next.

[TIL 1010 4,722]

I see Southampton Football Club, you know the Pink Un posters darlings are having a good week. [:D]

[nutty nigel 7,509]

Academy Manager Gregg Broughton blogs on the 2015-16 season

OUR Under-18s kicked off their FA Youth Cup campaign on Wednesday with a good 3-1 win over Hull City.

Hull are a similar sized club to us, they’ve been in the Premier League for a number of recent years, but when you travel to a lower category Academy as theirs is, you’re really on a hiding to nothing.

Everybody expects you to go there and win. The key thing for us was that we were able to match their work rate, and we then knew that our players’ ability would then come through. That in the end was how it was.

We didn’t ride their passage of play just before half-time, and that allowed them to get the equaliser, but when they had a ten-minute spell in the second half, we were able to stay in the game. We then scored two very good goals towards the end.

We have to go back to what our strategy was at the beginning of the season. We decided that the Under-21s strategy this year was going to be heavily loan-based. We’ve had seven of the group out on loan this season, and that has necessitated the promotion of Under-18s and even Under-16s to the Under-21s.

That means our young players have had exposure in stadiums against opposition in high-tempo games. When it came to it on Wednesday, it was no surprise that the backbone of the team really shone. The boys who had been consistently in that Under-21s group – Joe Crowe, Todd Cantwell, Benny Ashley-Seal, Glenn Middleton – really took the game by the scruff of the neck.

We have big expectations for individuals within the group, but we have to remind ourselves that it is still a very young group. We had five first-years and one U16 starting against Hull.

The age-group is a year away from fully maturing at this level, however there are boys who are also in their second year, so this is their opportunity. If they can keep adding the leadership that they gave last night, then the group can do well.

A huge thanks to the 1,914 people who braved the rain and wind to support our Under-21s at Carrow Road on Monday – the backing worked as we won 7-2!

It was a very strange game of football. It was probably the oldest Under-21s team we’ve ever put out, and that was actually to do with the fact that we wanted to go full strength for the Under-18s game on Wednesday.

I think that seniority shone through against Southampton, who struggled defensively at times – as we have been guilty of in previous games. Every time they gave us an opportunity, we punished them.

Having said that, key individuals stepped up. Cameron King scored a fantastic header, and Jamar Loza has quite rightly been all over the press this week because to score five in a game at any level deserves plaudits.

There was a host of Football League scouts at the game. Jamar deserves another opportunity out on loan. He is a confidence player – the moment he scored his goal against Manchester United last week, you noticed a change in him. He was walking around what seemed two feet taller, and smiling all the time!

He’s just expanded on that, and everything he touched went right for him the other night. It’s now about him continuing to do that to make sure the first team staff are fully aware of him, and also to ensure that other teams are aware of him so that come January when the loan window reopens, he can get another loan experience. I believe he will score goals in the Football League.

We rightly focus at the top end of the Academy, but at the bottom end I’ve seen a lot of our Under-9s to Under-12s over recent weeks.

The three staff working with those age groups – Ali Colman, Adrian Forbes and Greg Crane – are doing a tremendous job.

I watched our Under-12s against Ipswich on Sunday, and the players and coaches put in an excellent performance. The coaches are doing a really good job to make sure that we’ve got a continuous stream of players coming through over the next few years.

[nutty nigel 7,509]

Highlights from the Youth Cup win here : -

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZuM3J3buyU

 

(Great goal from Todd Cantwell.)

 

 

 

 

 

[nutty nigel 7,509]

The Under 18s followed up with a 3-2 win against Leicester. Report and Graeme Murty''s comments here : -

 

http://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/norwich-city-u18s-leicester-2838970.aspx

 

Heartening for Tom Walters.

 

 

[nutty nigel 7,509]

Rubbish FA Youth Cup draw! We are away to Sunderland or Mansfield. Was hoping for a home game. We''ll just have to win it the hard way...

 

http://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/norwich-city-fayc-4-draw-2845225.aspx

 

[nutty nigel 7,509]

http://www.communitysportsfoundation.org.uk/news/City_legend_on_the_lookout_for_talented_youngsters/

 

More good news for our academy and especially for local youngsters.

 

The programme is for 16 to 18-year-olds, and combines 11-a-side football

development with a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science

at Easton & Otley College.

Drury will head up the football element, which will see the players

compete as the ‘Norwich City Canaries’ against similar sides from other

professional clubs such as Chelsea, Tottenham, Watford, and Crystal

Palace.

The new EFDP will shadow the existing Norwich City Academy Under 18

squad. Academy manager Gregg Broughton stressed the importance of increasing the

Club’s player base:

“It’s an exciting step for us as a Football Club. With Premier League

players making their professional debuts at an increasingly later age, it’s

essential that our player base gives us the chance to monitor more of the best

players in the area up until the age of 18.”

 

 

[nutty nigel 7,509]

Defeat today for a young U21 side against Sunderland at Colney: -

 

http://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/norwich-city-sunderland-under-21s-match-report-reaction-2851610.aspx

 

Ex Arsenal youngster Arinse Uade who we''ve seen in the last couple of games at Carrow Road has been signed for the rest of the season : -

 

http://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/norwich-city-arinse-uade-2845386.aspx

 

 

[nutty nigel 7,509]

Another chance to see the development team tonight when they play Liverpool at Carrow Road 7pm. Free admission as usual. I''ve treated the family again....

[lappinitup 629]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]Another chance to see the development team tonight when they play Liverpool at Carrow Road 7pm. Free admission as usual. I''ve treated the family again....[/quote]Great opportunity to meet up with Indy then. After all, it was him who started this thread.............

[nutty nigel 7,509]

It was an entertaining 0-0 draw tonight. Again we fielded quite a young side with 15 year old Glen Middleton playing the whole game. I was impressed by him and also Todd Cantwell who looks a very talented and clever footballer to me. Over 9,000 there tonight with a lot of kids as it''s school holidays. Great to see!

 

The team have a run of away fixtures after Christmas with the next home game not scheduled until March 4th.

 

A proper report is here : -

 

http://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/norwich-city-liverpool-under-21s-match-report-reaction-2863514.aspx