Academy & U21s

[DeeCee]

3 hours ago, KentExile said:

Double tournament winners in Poland for some of our 2011 born and 2013 born players🏆🥇Well done to all the players staff and travelling supporters who represented the Academy and the club so well on and off the pitch

U14s & U12s (I think) have both won tournaments in Poland

I do wonder if with the first team not using the bus at the moment, they did a road trip through Europe with them, or got a last minute deal on EasyJet 😉 

"Find your own way there"

[bluebruce]

I saw yesterday that Jake Barrett has signed a new two year deal with a one year extension option, and my immediate thought was: why?

22 year old keeper (we have a lot of youth keepers) who seemingly hasn't pulled up any trees. Has he even sat our bench? Because younger keepers have. I don't get it. Whatever his wage is, just add it onto an offer for a senior player instead.

[MarkBRFC]

Cheap and easy.

That's the only goal here.

[bluebruce]

20 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

Cheap and easy.

That's the only goal here.

Aye but even with that mantra it doesn't make sense. We have more young keepers than we need, by some distance.

[MarkBRFC]

At best (for him) he's here to sit on the bench when Pears moves on.

If Pears stay, then I imagine he's just here to travel with the 1st teams as the 3rd choice keeper. 

Michelski shouldn't be used for that role at his age as it will stunt his development, he needs a season playing every week where it's for our under 21's or if he can get a National League/League 2 loan somewhere and play.

[KentExile]

Whilst the main talk of the retain list is obviously for the first team, this is what we now have available at U21 & U18 level.  Some of the below is plagiarized from a previous post I made (in case it looks familiar)

 

Do we have enough keepers with only 8 spread between 2 teams? 😉 

 

Players who will be 21 or over by the start of next season -

Barrett, Goddard, O'Riordan, Pratt, Garrett, Montgomery, Wood, Leonard

 

* = out of contract but new contract offered

 

GK - Michalski, Barrett, Goddard *, Honor, Kahn, Thompson, Wolsoncroft, Holt

CB - O'Riordan, Atcheson, Litherland, Pratt, Davies, Olson, Decandia, Kelley-Quinn

LB - Batty *, Powell,  Pates,  Leeming,

RB - Duru, Houghton, McIlroy (technically a centre back, but has played right back for the U18s this season)

CM -  Garrett, Montgomery, O'Grady-Macken,, Dunn, J.Edmondson, Farkas, Vare, Mansbridge, Potter, Ball

AM/Wingers - Tyjon, Wood, A.Doherty, Strich, Dlamini, Leatherbarrow, Sergeant, McCoy, Clanford, Lister, Mullarkey-Matthews *

S - Leonard (presumably to build fitness), Boggan, Mafoumbi, Joseph, Higgins, Cryer

 

Also Odogun, although I am not familiar of his position, from his instagram, it seems like we have taken him from Wolves

 

No mention of Silver Eze, in either the retain list or new scholarship intake, so assume he has moved on

 

I was  a little surprised to see Rhys Doherty on the released list rather than having his option triggered, Whilst never looking like he could eventually break into the first team, always looked comfortable at U21 level & could play across the back 4, which would have been useful given a lack of depth at right back (in the youth teams).   Although it should maybe be noted that Litherland, Montgomery, Leeming, Olson &  Decandia have all played at right back on occasions.

Adam Caddick by the same token always looked ok, but I can more understand his release as he was surpassed by Isaac Dunn last season and there are plenty of other options in  central midfield

Edited Tuesday at 06:52 by KentExile

[Tugayisgod]

On 19/05/2025 at 06:57, KentExile said:

Double tournament winners in Poland for some of our 2011 born and 2013 born players🏆🥇Well done to all the players staff and travelling supporters who represented the Academy and the club so well on and off the pitch

U14s & U12s (I think) have both won tournaments in Poland

I do wonder if with the first team not using the bus at the moment, they did a road trip through Europe with them, or got a last minute deal on EasyJet 😉 

 

[KentExile]

Montgomery called up for Scotland U20s

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2025/may/22/kristi-called-up/

[Polky]

That’s why he’s not signed a scholar, enjoy Italy!

[MarkBRFC]

Waiting for someone to come along and say he would be better off staying here.

[KentExile]

Montgomery starts for Scotland U20s vs Slovakia, kick off is at 14:30,

I was looking for a stream but cannot seem to locate one 

 

Edited Friday at 12:42 by KentExile

[Upside Down]

10 hours ago, Polky said:

That’s why he’s not signed a scholar, enjoy Italy!

What an awesome move for him. Italian football is on the rise again I feel.

Plus it's Milan obviously.

[Exiled_Rover]

11 hours ago, Polky said:

That’s why he’s not signed a scholar, enjoy Italy!

Genuinely why even bother with an Academy?

Potentially a top talent? Stolen for a pittance at 16.

[Upside Down]

Maybe if we were even attempting to reach the top level then we'd stand a chance of keeping hold of some of these players.

[arbitro]

7 hours ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Genuinely why even bother with an Academy?

Potentially a top talent? Stolen for a pittance at 16.

We took him from Accrington for a small fee.

Sadly we are low down in the food chain now and bigger clubs take advantage of this. It really is up to FIFA to clamp down.

[KentExile]

7 hours ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Genuinely why even bother with an Academy?

Potentially a top talent? Stolen for a pittance at 16.

 

We stole him for an even smaller pittance less than 7 months ago

It is a shitty system, that needs reforming (but likely will not be), but Rovers also take advantage of it too

 

Edited yesterday at 07:17 by KentExile

[rigger]

1 hour ago, KentExile said:

 

We stole him for an even smaller pittance less than 7 months ago

It is a shitty system, that needs reforming (but likely will not be), but Rovers also take advantage of it too

 

It has always been the same. The better clubs will get the better players.

[Southside Rover]

Teenage sensation? I don't get to watch the youth sides often but keep eye through here and the website. I don't recall Eze getting much hype to be called a teenage sensation or to the tune that Milan or Juventus would come knocking. Have I missed it?

[KentExile]

13 hours ago, Southside Rover said:

Teenage sensation? I don't get to watch the youth sides often but keep eye through here and the website. I don't recall Eze getting much hype to be called a teenage sensation or to the tune that Milan or Juventus would come knocking. Have I missed it?

He is 16 years old, and last season (whilst still at school) was fairly regular for our U18s and also  played for our U21s as well as being called up for Italy U17s, (although I do not think he has actually played at that level yet)

For comparison, Harvey Higgins (who is also 16 and was still at school last season) played slightly less games at both U18 & U21 level, and is playing at England U16 level

So purely looking at the stats, their development/potential/hype, are similar, albeit in different positions. wth us "getting lucky" with Higgins signing a scholarship deal, probably at least in part because he is a local lad who has been with us since U7s level, whilst we snapped Eze up from Accrington less than 7 months ago

For a further comparison, both Igor Tyjon & Rory Finneran, featured more at all levels in the previous season (when they were both the same age as Higgins & Eze are now *)

* obviously not perfect comparisons, as they play in different positions and 2 separate years

Edited 5 hours ago by KentExile

[Exiled_Rover]

6 hours ago, KentExile said:

He is 16 years old, and last season (whilst still at school) was fairly regular for our U18s and also  played for our U21s as well as being called up for Italy U17s, (although I do not think he has actually played at that level yet)

For comparison, Harvey Higgins (who is also 16 and was still at school last season) played slightly less games at both U18 & U21 level, and is playing at England U16 level

So purely looking at the stats, their development/potential/hype, are similar, albeit in different positions. wth us getting lucky with Higgins signing a scholarship deal, probably at least in part because he is a local lad who has been with us since U7s level, whilst we snapped Eze up from Accrington less than 7 months ago

For a further comparison, both Igor Tyjon & Rory Finneran, featured more at all levels in the previous season (when they were both the same age as Higgins & Eze are now *)

* obviously not perfect comparisons, as they play in different positions and 2 separate years

Last comment on the subject as I'm clearly in the minority - considering yourself as getting 'lucky' that a lad you've had at the club since he was 7/8 signs a scholarship deal absolutely stinks. The system is beyond broken. 

Phillips and Finneran were stolen for nothing - and those are just the higher profile ones we know about (I know City stole a winger of ours a few years ago). 

Boro are able to player trade partly because they actually sell their Academy products for good value. What are they doing that we're not? How do they get players to sign on and show some loyalty?

[Mashed Potatoes]

5 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Last comment on the subject as I'm clearly in the minority - considering yourself as getting 'lucky' that a lad you've had at the club since he was 7/8 signs a scholarship deal absolutely stinks. The system is beyond broken. 

Phillips and Finneran were stolen for nothing - and those are just the higher profile ones we know about (I know City stole a winger of ours a few years ago). 

Boro are able to player trade partly because they actually sell their Academy products for good value. What are they doing that we're not? How do they get players to sign on and show some loyalty?

We got £2.5m plus contingencies for Phillips so hardly nothing. There will have been a settlement for Finneran as well. I think there is a degree of luck here in how fast players develop. Ideally you want a player through your academy to be very good indeed but not to have proven that until they are 18+ and so have been put on a long term contract rather than picked off earlier- as was the case with Adam Wharton who unlike Phillips, Tygon and Higgins didn't play for the England youth teams. Presumably that may be true of Boro players as well, certainly true of Spence.

[KentExile]

1 hour ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Last comment on the subject as I'm clearly in the minority - considering yourself as getting 'lucky' that a lad you've had at the club since he was 7/8 signs a scholarship deal absolutely stinks. The system is beyond broken. 

Phillips and Finneran were stolen for nothing - and those are just the higher profile ones we know about (I know City stole a winger of ours a few years ago). 

Boro are able to player trade partly because they actually sell their Academy products for good value. What are they doing that we're not? How do they get players to sign on and show some loyalty?

 

On 24/05/2025 at 08:02, KentExile said:

 

We stole him for an even smaller pittance less than 7 months ago

It is a shitty system, that needs reforming (but likely will not be), but Rovers also take advantage of it too

 

I did mean to put getting lucky in quotation marks, which I have now done

I would hazard a guess that Boro keep their youngsters for longer periods because their youngsters know that if they break through that they will be paid a decent wage for a couple of years until they are sold off, whereas at Rovers, they will be lowballed until they are shunted out of the door. 

Completely agree that the system is broken, as I stated yesterday, but Rovers (as well as every other club) also take advantage of it when they can

 

Edited 4 hours ago by KentExile

[MarkBRFC]

1 hour ago, Exiled_Rover said:

What are they doing that we're not? How do they get players to sign on and show some loyalty?

We don't offer competitive salaries when they go pro.

Although not academy, look at Dolan. A pro deal when he signed, an improved deal 6 months later and then nothing for 4 years.

Edited 3 hours ago by MarkBRFC

[1874]

4 hours ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Last comment on the subject as I'm clearly in the minority - considering yourself as getting 'lucky' that a lad you've had at the club since he was 7/8 signs a scholarship deal absolutely stinks. The system is beyond broken. 

Phillips and Finneran were stolen for nothing - and those are just the higher profile ones we know about (I know City stole a winger of ours a few years ago). 

Boro are able to player trade partly because they actually sell their Academy products for good value. What are they doing that we're not? How do they get players to sign on and show some loyalty?

Sunderland are a better example. They have grown the value of their squad by keeping hold of their Academy starlets. Then selling when in a strong position. I think they had the most academy players playing in the championship this season

[Tomphil2]

I think here all the focus is getting them into the first team whilst they are still on youth wages.

Then just hoping the odd one is worth big wonga before they have to be paid a big enough wage to keep them here.