Saturday, 21 April 2012

The Kids Aren't Alright

One glance at the Premier Academy League table tells you everything you need to know. West Ham sit exactly half way down the 10 team table on 46 points from 27 games behind the might of Charlton, Southampton, Arsenal (to be fair) and Fulham.

The OS, of course is trying to put a positive spin on things, telling us Carr is delighted with the season and highlighting that three Academy youngsters have made their first team debuts. But the truth is, the kids have not looked spectacular either out on loan, nor when given a rare chance by Big Sham, and the mid table league position suggests we shouldn't hold out a lot of hope that there is a crop of Johnsons, Carricks and Coles waiting to break through.

We are again perhaps living in the past when we talk of ourselves as the Academy of Football - it is Southampton, not ourselves, who seem to be generating the gems these days.
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4 comments:

  1. Anonymous21 April 2012 at 12:13

    to be fair, only 6 points separate you in 5th and arsenal and saints in 1st and 2nd... give them a break!

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  2. FarehamHammer21 April 2012 at 13:30

    Great post Fanno !A lot of supporters do live in the past.Painful too admit ,but the kids aren't up to scratch.Imagine if we had to rely on the likes of Sears,Spence,Stanilas and Hines to gain promotion.We would of been relegated too league one !Sears and Spence can't even get into the Colchester United and Bristol City team,Hines is on loan to Bournemouth,Stanilas struggles to make the Burnley team,and Nouble has hardly set Barnsley alight.It's been a case of quantity over quality in recent years.Apart from Robert Hall,i can't see any of them making the grade.You correctly say that Southampton is the Academy of Football nowdays.But im not surprised with the amount of money they invest in their Academy.At present they are building a state of the art training ground

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  3. fred14921 April 2012 at 17:24

    I agree with anon and our u18s have been unlucky with injuries and goals against the run of play this year. Also some our main youngsters either went up to development squad or international duty so werent able to play every game. That young eliiot lee could be a star

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  4. Anonymous21 April 2012 at 20:09

    Turgott, Fanimo, Vose and Elliot Lee are the 4 to watch, apparently. Know for a fact Turgott and Fanimo have represented England (although that can mean nothing, some Blue Square players have represented u-21's) and Vose might have too. Vose, you might remember was the one embroiled in the rape scandal, aged 16 hahaha

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