Development/Youth Squads 2022/2023 Thread - U18/U21

[MGsDad]

2 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

That’s horrific - imagine the number of families that agree to relocate (chasing a dream) and then their kid is ‘tossed away’ a few years later …

Tell me about it... I wouldn't do it because I have other kids too. Imagine 2 years later at 10 or 11 your lad turns round and says "I don't want to play anymore". Sod that. 😂😂😂

 

Be a bit different when they get to 14/15 with full time boarding school on offer though. 

[st albans fox]

2 minutes ago, MGsDad said:

Tell me about it... I wouldn't do it because I have other kids too. Imagine 2 years later at 10 or 11 your lad turns round and says "I don't want to play anymore". Sod that. 😂😂😂

 

Be a bit different when they get to 14/15 with full time boarding school on offer though. 

Boarding school at 14/15 is different though as you don’t  have to relocate - I assume it’s officially against the rules 

[StanSP]

8 minutes ago, MGsDad said:

It's the last year or so I'd say. They've lost quite a few physios, haven't seen many sports science around either. It's like there's been gradual cuts. Quite a few parents have said the same thing. 

Wonder if it's the same around other clubs similar in stature to us i.e. not the top 6 which clearly have unlimited funding across all of their ranks. Cuts galore. And that's a crying shame considering our new training ground. I'd hope that there's some improvement in staff numbers and people willing to take advantage of the resources in due course to benefit the younger groups.

[MGsDad]

8 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

Boarding school at 14/15 is different though as you don’t  have to relocate - I assume it’s officially against the rules 

Not at that age. I think you can recruit nationally from U12 with full time education. 

[Ric Flair]

33 minutes ago, StanSP said:

Wonder if it's the same around other clubs similar in stature to us i.e. not the top 6 which clearly have unlimited funding across all of their ranks. Cuts galore. And that's a crying shame considering our new training ground. I'd hope that there's some improvement in staff numbers and people willing to take advantage of the resources in due course to benefit the younger groups.

It possibly is, it's logical Seagrave costs an absolute wedge to run but this can't have come as any great surprise when they planned all this. I don't see anything that's changed that should have caught the club so ill prepared. But from day dot of this new era we haven't done what you'd expect where the best coaches would be employed and the academy would be invested heavily in to given its the biggest marginal gain of having the world's best facilities.

[Ric Flair]

Yet more long term injuries in the academy. Ethan Fitzhugh out for several months.

 

There's got to come a point where serious questions have got to be asked of Seagrave.

[StanSP]

1 minute ago, Ric Flair said:

Yet more long term injuries in the academy. Ethan Fitzhugh out for several months.

 

There's got to come a point where serious questions have got to be asked of Seagrave.

What's his injury?

[ALC Fox]

30 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

It possibly is, it's logical Seagrave costs an absolute wedge to run but this can't have come as any great surprise when they planned all this. I don't see anything that's changed that should have caught the club so ill prepared. But from day dot of this new era we haven't done what you'd expect where the best coaches would be employed and the academy would be invested heavily in to given its the biggest marginal gain of having the world's best facilities.

Energy prices maybe? Considering how prices have about doubled in the last year and it would've cost an incredible amount to keep going before that anyway.

[sacreblueits442]

40 minutes ago, ALC Fox said:

Energy prices maybe? Considering how prices have about doubled in the last year and it would've cost an incredible amount to keep going before that anyway.

...you would have thought it would have been future proofed, in respect of the energy method needed to run it!!!

[ALC Fox]

15 minutes ago, sacreblueits442 said:

...you would have thought it would have been future proofed, in respect of the energy method needed to run it!!!

Yeah, I've no idea, I was just speculating. But yeah, you'd think there would be solar panels and wind turbines all over the place, for example.

[davieG]

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/leicester-city-notebook-40-club-8037122

 

The latest from inside Leicester City as they look to improve their academy pathway, sign up a few youngsters to professional deals
SPORT
ByJordan Blackwell
16:44, 16 JAN 2023UPDATED16:55, 16 JAN 2023

Ruben Amorim, the Sporting Lisbon manager who won their first Portuguese league title in 19 years using a squad that had 11 academy players in it. Leicester City are looking to learn from Sporting's academy pathway (Image: Joao Rico/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Four straight Premier League defeats, including one to their next-door neighbours, a limp exit from the Carabao Cup, and still no new transfers, it's not been good since domestic football resumed.

However, life goes on at the club. Here's a few stories from behind the scenes at City.

City attend 40-club summit at Sporting

While there has not been much to celebrate on the pitch at City this season, the continued success of their academy should be applauded. The results are not great for the Under-21 nor Under-18s at the moment, but the ultimate goal of an academy is to progress players into the first team, and that’s what they’ve done.

 

Harvey Barnes, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Luke Thomas, Kasey McAteer, Sammy Braybrooke, and Will Alves have all played senior football this season. It means City’s streak of senior matches in which they have had at least one academy player in the matchday squad now stands at 206 games, a run of more than four years.

But, that does not mean they can’t continue to learn and improve that pathway. And that is exactly what they are trying to do.

Last month, City were one, according to Portuguese press, one of 40 European clubs represented at a three-day event at Sporting Lisbon, looking to learn from their approach to youth development and how they progress players into the first team. Also among the clubs represented were Ajax, PSV, Bayer Leverkusen, Inter Milan, Genk, Lyon, Dinamo Zagreb, and Lech Poznan.

Sporting are a fine club to learn from given their recent success. They were the winners of the Football Training category at the European Club Association awards in 2021 for their ‘Player-Centred Model’ project, which aimed to raise the potential of academy prospects and develop them into more well-rounded athletes.

Their success has been shown on the pitch, as they won the Portuguese title for the first time in 19 years in 2021. In the victorious squad were 11 players they had promoted through their academy.

Tomaz Morais, Sporting’s director of youth football said of the three-day event: “This visit by 40 directors of European academies is an important point in this project and in the path that is being built day by day. They have the opportunity to discuss with us what each area does, what our football is, the football we want to see in the future, how we work at the academy, how we process all the multi-disciplinary work, the integration and the holistic vision and how it is actually put into practice on the pitch.”

Four youngsters get contracts

First-team contracts are a big talking point right now, particularly regarding Youri Tielemans and James Maddison. As things stand, it’s possible the club lose both of them in the summer, Tielemans departing on a free transfer at the end of his deal, with Maddison sold while there is a year left on his contract.

City want both to sign new deals, but there has been little positive news. Asked a few weeks ago about the latest on Maddison’s potential new contract, Brendan Rodgers said: “Jon (Rudkin, director of football) will be doing that work, outside of myself. He’s always in communication with the agents of the players. He has regular meetings. There’s nothing new to add to it.”

But in the past few weeks there have been youngsters signed to professional contracts, including three of the club’s most promising Under-18s. Centre-back Tom Wilson-Brown and central midfielder Henry Cartwright, who both featured for the first team in the behind-closed-doors friendly against Troyes in December, signed their first deals, along with Logan Briggs, an attacking midfielder with quick feet who scored in the Under-18s’ FA Youth Cup defeat at Sheffield Wednesday last Friday.

The other player to get a deal was left-back Deniche Hill. An international for Caribbean island Bermuda, he was on trial with City over the summer and has earned himself a contract. He had been studying and playing at Brooke House College in Market Harborough.

[FoxesTez]

Wasn’t sure where to put this, but England u21 v France u21 at King Power in March. 
 

Wonder if any of our lads will be involved. 

[Foxy-Lady]

On 14/01/2023 at 11:42, MGsDad said:

My son has been there for 6 years since he was 6. He had offers with Man City, Arsenal, Utd, Villa amongst others but we chose to sign with Leicester at U9 because of the new facility being 7 minute drive from our house. We've seen the decline in atmosphere over the past 2 years and like I said something doesn't feel right throughout the ages. My son is one of the better players in the age group and yes you are right there is certainly a factor of making up numbers. We have 25 odd kids with trialists and you most definitely don't have 25 stars there. There's a definite core of players that are standout though. 

Same thing happened to the son of a friend of mine who had a lot of interest from Everton, Man Utd and "others" a few years back when he was 14-15.....but they were all put off by the compensation fees as leicester refused to release him once they saw the possibility of financial compensation.

No criticism of the club on that point as the clubs do invest heavily and the system was well designed to protect smaller cubs having their players "poached" by bigger clubs after they have spent years developing them.

The issue for me that i witnessed was that like many others at that time, the development of the player stalled from 16-19 at LCFC (Peake and Beaglehole!) so by the time they released him at 19, the interest from other clubs had receded primarily due to his lack of development and opportunity... and his opportunities elsewhere were no longer what they once were as a very promising 14-15 year old.

Thankfully, he is still playing professionally as he did find another club but LCFC lost out on any compensation fee.....but still incurred all his wage and training costs for those "lost" 4 years.

 

What some folk dont really appreciate is that its sometimes harder for a player to get out of an academy than it is for them to get into one....!

 

 

 

[Happy Fox]

20 hours ago, davieG said:

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/leicester-city-notebook-40-club-8037122

 

The latest from inside Leicester City as they look to improve their academy pathway, sign up a few youngsters to professional deals
SPORT
ByJordan Blackwell
16:44, 16 JAN 2023UPDATED16:55, 16 JAN 2023

Ruben Amorim, the Sporting Lisbon manager who won their first Portuguese league title in 19 years using a squad that had 11 academy players in it. Leicester City are looking to learn from Sporting's academy pathway (Image: Joao Rico/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Four straight Premier League defeats, including one to their next-door neighbours, a limp exit from the Carabao Cup, and still no new transfers, it's not been good since domestic football resumed.

However, life goes on at the club. Here's a few stories from behind the scenes at City.

City attend 40-club summit at Sporting

While there has not been much to celebrate on the pitch at City this season, the continued success of their academy should be applauded. The results are not great for the Under-21 nor Under-18s at the moment, but the ultimate goal of an academy is to progress players into the first team, and that’s what they’ve done.

 

Harvey Barnes, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Luke Thomas, Kasey McAteer, Sammy Braybrooke, and Will Alves have all played senior football this season. It means City’s streak of senior matches in which they have had at least one academy player in the matchday squad now stands at 206 games, a run of more than four years.

But, that does not mean they can’t continue to learn and improve that pathway. And that is exactly what they are trying to do.

Last month, City were one, according to Portuguese press, one of 40 European clubs represented at a three-day event at Sporting Lisbon, looking to learn from their approach to youth development and how they progress players into the first team. Also among the clubs represented were Ajax, PSV, Bayer Leverkusen, Inter Milan, Genk, Lyon, Dinamo Zagreb, and Lech Poznan.

Sporting are a fine club to learn from given their recent success. They were the winners of the Football Training category at the European Club Association awards in 2021 for their ‘Player-Centred Model’ project, which aimed to raise the potential of academy prospects and develop them into more well-rounded athletes.

Their success has been shown on the pitch, as they won the Portuguese title for the first time in 19 years in 2021. In the victorious squad were 11 players they had promoted through their academy.

Tomaz Morais, Sporting’s director of youth football said of the three-day event: “This visit by 40 directors of European academies is an important point in this project and in the path that is being built day by day. They have the opportunity to discuss with us what each area does, what our football is, the football we want to see in the future, how we work at the academy, how we process all the multi-disciplinary work, the integration and the holistic vision and how it is actually put into practice on the pitch.”

Four youngsters get contracts

First-team contracts are a big talking point right now, particularly regarding Youri Tielemans and James Maddison. As things stand, it’s possible the club lose both of them in the summer, Tielemans departing on a free transfer at the end of his deal, with Maddison sold while there is a year left on his contract.

City want both to sign new deals, but there has been little positive news. Asked a few weeks ago about the latest on Maddison’s potential new contract, Brendan Rodgers said: “Jon (Rudkin, director of football) will be doing that work, outside of myself. He’s always in communication with the agents of the players. He has regular meetings. There’s nothing new to add to it.”

But in the past few weeks there have been youngsters signed to professional contracts, including three of the club’s most promising Under-18s. Centre-back Tom Wilson-Brown and central midfielder Henry Cartwright, who both featured for the first team in the behind-closed-doors friendly against Troyes in December, signed their first deals, along with Logan Briggs, an attacking midfielder with quick feet who scored in the Under-18s’ FA Youth Cup defeat at Sheffield Wednesday last Friday.

The other player to get a deal was left-back Deniche Hill. An international for Caribbean island Bermuda, he was on trial with City over the summer and has earned himself a contract. He had been studying and playing at Brooke House College in Market Harborough.

We should hire Reuben Amorim I know he was on the club’s radar before.

[Foxy-Lady]

3 hours ago, Happy Fox said:

We should hire Reuben Amorim I know he was on the club’s radar before.

Or any "other" recognised world class or leading youth development coaches to go with our state-of-the-art "world class" Academy facilities...!

 

A simple thought maybe, but one that has been suggested by many others for a long, long time...!

 

Barnes, KDH and Chilwell developed quicker as players when they were "away" from our U21s system.....not because of it!

[Ric Flair]

On 14/01/2023 at 13:19, StanSP said:

What's his injury?

Wait for it..... ACL

[ALC Fox]

17 hours ago, Happy Fox said:

We should hire Reuben Amorim I know he was on the club’s radar before.

Tell me about it. Imagine playing good, exciting, winning football with a load of academy stars. 'Tis but a dream!

 

But, clearly it's an example of if we spend in the right areas, we can overcome these FFP issues we find ourselves confronted with.

[AjcW]

59 minutes ago, ALC Fox said:

Tell me about it. Imagine playing good, exciting, winning football with a load of academy stars. 'Tis but a dream!

 

But, clearly it's an example of if we spend in the right areas, we can overcome these FFP issues we find ourselves confronted with.

I think even at the minute it would still be worth a go/achievable. 

 

If fit... do you honestly think our XI from last week would be any 'worse' if you swapped Youri for Sammy and Barnes for Alves? Like at worst a couple more missplaced passes... at best, no fear, taking on players, taking shots etc.

 

There's other teams in the league who do it, Leeds are one and they're in a similar position to us.

It's all about having a coach with the balls to give it a go. 

[CosbehFox]

13 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

Wait for it..... ACL

Beginning to think there's no turf academy at Seagrave but instead all the pitches are played on a base of concrete and asphalt Ala every inner city school tennis court in 1998

[filbertway]

@davieG do NOT ever post an article with Ruben Amorim in, unless it's accompanied with a headline of "Foxes get new boss"

 

For a brief moment I got very excited haha

[Spudulike]

Fitzhugh done his ACL now. 

 

 

Sorry, just realised its already been posted. 

Edited 18 January 2023 by Spudulike

[An Sionnach]

If the rumours are correct and we are going to replace Thomas with a kid even younger and less experienced , it will send a terrible message to our academy players. How stupid can you get.

[scinnell]

13 minutes ago, An Sionnach said:

If the rumours are correct and we are going to replace Thomas with a kid even younger and less experienced , it will send a terrible message to our academy players. How stupid can you get.

Less experienced? How have you worked that out? Did you watch Thomas against Forest?

[An Sionnach]

2 minutes ago, scinnell said:

Less experienced? How have you worked that out? Did you watch Thomas against Forest?

He has played 80 times for us and yes he had a poor match , he wasn't the only one - by far. We encourage and support our academy players or we are in serious trouble. 

[baldeagle]

29 minutes ago, An Sionnach said:

If the rumours are correct and we are going to replace Thomas with a kid even younger and less experienced , it will send a terrible message to our academy players. How stupid can you get.

Not really , It will show them that just because you’re an academy player it doesn’t gift you the right to automatically play and you have to work on improving your game . Something Thomas doesn’t look like he’s done .Also  look at Barnes there is absolutely no competition for his spot so he know however he plays he’s not getting dropped .