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Rekik leaving on loan and lot of people going on and on about talent close to the first team I wanted to take a look at what we got lined up.

Now I'm obviously no EDS/Academy regular but I'm mainly going by what I've seen on official page, games on loan, match reports on blogs etc. Those who have been here long enough know that I'm very curious about our youth talent. Unfortunately can't claim to be super expert about our own youth players.

So
Rekik - sent on loan to PSV which I think is a fantastic move for him. Rekik is someone I feel is guaranteed to make it in professional football. However, he seems to lack some very basic attributes needed from really top class players mainly top end pace. I think he will eventually settle to being a leftback.

Suarez - talentwise the crown jewell of our reserves. Legit chance to make it as first team player. Still needs lot of work but talent is there.

Razak - got the right base attributes and attitude. However technically not quite good enough imo. Way down the pecking order now.

Lopes - our youngest ever goal scorer and has some impressive performances in his own age level. Technically awesome. Great chance of making it in coming years.

Helan - considered great talent once, turned out not good enough.

Rusnak - his career could go lot of ways but he seems to lack some attributes. Strong loan stay somewhere needed.

Who else? Harsh truth is that even the likes of Kennedy, Bunn etc are there just to make the numbers from top 4 club point of view.

At this point it doesn't look too bright and imo all this talk about "rather having our own guys than buying someone" (I mean who wouldn't FFS) is quite silly.

Pozo.

Looks the business at EDS level, I don't think you ever know until they have exposure to the 1st team, which sadly a lot of our players have barely seen or some, not at all.

Slim wrote:Pozo.

Looks the business at EDS level, I don't think you ever know until they have exposure to the 1st team, which sadly a lot of our players have barely seen or some, not at all.

Pozo looks better than most young players to me & that includes the ones in the current Spain U20's team, incuding Suarez (who doesn't look out of place amongst their best when he plays) but as you say, you can never be sure.

I'm a firm believer though, that some players won't show up as well in the reserves as they could in the first team, because their game requires better players around them. If you can do 100m in 10.5 secs, beat 6 men & smack it in the top corner, you show up well, but if you are a pass & move player & half the team doesn't pass, or move, you are fucked. Vieira may change all that.

There are also players such as Emyr Huws who is unspectacular at this stage compared to a lopes or Pozo, but is a well built lad & very decent footballer who could turn out to be the kind of solid, reliable but quality player who sits at the back of the midfield. A tougher, less showey version of Michael Carrick perhaps ?

Apart from those mentioned, I'm more excited about the players who are just starting to emerge at that level now, & those in the age groups below them. I keep seeing snippets of players at that level who make me sit up & take notice.

There is some real raw talent down there & some are even English. There was one lad playing for the kids' team on Eurosport last summer (he has had the odd game at higher level & scored etc) but he just looked brilliant at basically everything everywhere, & fast as fuck to go with it. Can't remember his name now but I recon we will all know it in another year or two.

Can't wait for the new season and I think that's how it is for the young players at City with Patrick Vieira in charge.I had the pleasure of talking with George Evans yesterday at a cricket match and he certainly was.He talked about Vieira almost as a god like figure and already feels the training/coaching has upped big time.What a top young man George is as well

Interesting that one of the players he mentioned alongside Pozo and Lopes was Ruznak who maybe started to shine and show some real progress towards the latter part of last season.Pozo is still in a rehab phase so it will be quite a while yet before we see him on the field.

I will be interested to see some of the younger age groups play this season as we have brought in some top young talent from abroad.I can't recall the names now but hopefully we will get to know them as the season progresses.

Emyr huws looked promising in them post season games vs Chelsea out in the states. I know that was only 2games but he didn't look out of place in the mf

I'd put money on Rekik ending up as a central defender.

How young are we talking? I'm very interested to see how Ntcham turns out. I'd argue that Pozo is the real crown jewel of the youth system - he looks to be almost on par with Suarez except he's about 4 years younger.

Ted Hughes wrote:
I'm a firm believer though, that some players won't show up as well in the reserves as they could in the first team, because their game requires better players around them. If you can do 100m in 10.5 secs, beat 6 men & smack it in the top corner, you show up well, but if you are a pass & move player & half the team doesn't pass, or move, you are fucked. Vieira may change all that.

I think that is absolutely spot on....and under Mancini we appeared forever destined to not have a clue how some of these kids may have looked in a more rarified playing atmosphere. I think it was you that posted it the other day but why Mancini wouldn't give some of the kids a run when we were 3-0 up after 65 minutes is beyond me.

Rusnak played one of the games vs Chelsea didn't he? He looked alright in that.

As others have said, it's Pozo who looks the most exceptional from everything re youth teams I have seen but I would like to see quite a few of them; Lopes, Suarez, Guidetti, Evans, Huws given the chance to play amongst a proper first team line up (ie. not in a weakened cup side).

A more obscure player I'd like to see come good is Greg Leigh, based on how scarce decent left backs seem to be. Think he started nearly every EDS match, so hopefully he'll have another good season

more likely to end up in strangeways than the first xi

Nigels Tackle wrote:more likely to end up in strangeways than the first xi

I trust you are being funny or trying to be when you say that.In any event I hope it's not remotely aimed at Greg Leigh.

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:
I trust you are being funny or trying to be when you say that.In any event I hope it's not remotely aimed at Greg Leigh.

Sadly, Its the kind of support our players will have to learn to accept of some of the tourist morons.

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:
I trust you are being funny or trying to be when you say that.In any event I hope it's not remotely aimed at Greg Leigh.

Isn't that where a lot of our academy products have ended up?

Twobob wrote:

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:
I trust you are being funny or trying to be when you say that.In any event I hope it's not remotely aimed at Greg Leigh.

Sadly, Its the kind of support our players will have to learn to accept of some of the tourist morons.

tourist morons?

s'pose having watched us play in 60 different stadia, you might have a point.

dick

Stadia ? Bloody hell what happened to grounds ?

Nigels Tackle wrote:
tourist morons?

s'pose having watched us play in 60 different stadia, you might have a point.

dick

Perhaps you sound like one, mimic or wanna-be? maybe its the fashion in stadia this season. I like it rough when your sucking thanks.

Mattias Bosartes (don't know how to spell his name) looks to be the next Kompany

The players we've signed/will probably sign this summer seem to be around 27. The negative view is that it's about short term success by buying players at their prime. However, it could also be we're planning for the youth players to step up in the next 3-4 years, which fits with the Barca model.

Hopefully we'll see a lot more of the youngsters over the next couple of seasons, either with us or through loans. As good as some of the EDS and European opposition can be, a year in the Championship or even League 1 can make a difference to the best players at 17/18. It's something the rags did very well over the years - those who won't make it get moved on but the ones who will be good stand out as good players at that level and toughen up. If they're tough but technically lacking, send them abroad. If they look like a young Nasri, give them to Brentford and see if they can man up.

Just hope us as fans give them chance. Now we're at a higher level, fewer will make it and it may take longer before they're ready, but it's sad to see how fans write them off or complain about injuries they've had. Surely there's nothing better than someone coming through the ranks to be a hero?

Mase wrote:

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:
I trust you are being funny or trying to be when you say that.In any event I hope it's not remotely aimed at Greg Leigh.

Isn't that where a lot of our academy products have ended up?

Your definition of "a lot of" is ......?

Blue Since 76 wrote:The players we've signed/will probably sign this summer seem to be around 27. The negative view is that it's about short term success by buying players at their prime. However, it could also be we're planning for the youth players to step up in the next 3-4 years, which fits with the Barca model.

Hopefully we'll see a lot more of the youngsters over the next couple of seasons, either with us or through loans. As good as some of the EDS and European opposition can be, a year in the Championship or even League 1 can make a difference to the best players at 17/18. It's something the rags did very well over the years - those who won't make it get moved on but the ones who will be good stand out as good players at that level and toughen up. If they're tough but technically lacking, send them abroad. If they look like a young Nasri, give them to Brentford and see if they can man up.

Just hope us as fans give them chance. Now we're at a higher level, fewer will make it and it may take longer before they're ready, but it's sad to see how fans write them off or complain about injuries they've had. Surely there's nothing better than someone coming through the ranks to be a hero?

I mentioned in another thread that I think it's quite possible we are targeting players of that age group for the very reason you suggest.

The 'Barca model' doesn't require all the young players to be instant world beaters either. I mean it's great if they are, but if we could create a number of solid Premier League standard players, a Barry, a Milner, another Micah, perhaps a decent 3rd striker etc, it saves absolute millions in future transfer fees. To fill those four places alone, with signings of reliable Prem players, especially homegrown, would cost anything from 60 to 100 million quid. That's the equivalent of a Ronaldo level transfer.

If you were to then create just one real star, there's another 50 mil saved. The whole academy project could pay for itself in just a few years.

I think some of the players we now have at the club will be regular first team squad members, perhaps even first choice starters, over the next 4 or 5 years, & one or two may just become stars.

That will enable us to be in the bidding for any huge player that becomes available.

Just one more player to mention; I thought ol Dedryk looked right back on it at the end of last season. Wonder if the Count will think he is worth another chance ? Physically etc, he should be better than Nastasic but for some reason went to shit.