The Sean McAuley Experiment

[Guest bigbadbreeze]

We may not have the investment of Man u and Arsenal but compared with local and teams around us in league 1 our academy must be pretty well funded, It seems to me McAuley spent quite a few quid forging relationships with a Canadian and American teams,

As we all know the top leagues in Europe are awash with Canadian players, so good job we didn’t waste any time in Ireland, Holland and Scandinavia. If he wanted air miles then maybe Africa?

[KivoOwl]

Apparently our academy has given up on Sheffield and is focusing on Durham for player recruiting as Sheffield isn't producing the goods. Funny that, cos I thought it should be the academy itself that produces the players, and that United seem to be coping just fine. McAuley's methods (playing players out of position for a full season to give them the experience) are not working. He has ruined the future careers of a lot of young lads who were highly thought of (James Cottingham & Jack Barnett)

[KivoOwl]

And on Saturday, he was a disgrace, losing 5-1 at home to Barnsley, he walked off to go and watch the under 16's with his back turned to the 18's. What an example to show. I really feel for Jack Barnett, a player who I was really excited about a couple of years ago. Two footed creative midfielder with a keen eye for goal, reduced to a bit part centre half with no chance of earning a pro contract. I always rated him above Liam Palmer out of the two Worksop lads, yet Barnett has not been allowed to flourish

[trevdi9]

I'L tell you what lads reading some of these post's, i am begining to think that my lad getting the knockback was a good thing ,tbh

[BRUCE LEE]

Apparently our academy has given up on Sheffield and is focusing on Durham for player recruiting as Sheffield isn't producing the goods. Funny that, cos I thought it should be the academy itself that produces the players, and that United seem to be coping just fine. McAuley's methods (playing players out of position for a full season to give them the experience) are not working. He has ruined the future careers of a lot of young lads who were highly thought of (James Cottingham & Jack Barnett)

Who's come out with that corker ???

[Guest BoomTownOwls]

An academy can improve players but ultimately it is only as good as the raw talent that goes into start with.

Our scouting network has been non-existent therefore we have been far less likely to spot talent.

When a miracle does happen and we spot a talented youngster the next step is to persuade them to sign. They visit "the academy" and realise that the time slots their lad will be given for training are nowhere near as attractive as those offered at other local clubs because we do not have enough pitches.

This was central to the business proposal put to The Co-op bank by WTID. Lee Strafford had already spotted that the solutiuon was to build a relatively cheap bridge over to the Niagara training ground. This would have met the guidelines put in place by the F.A. and allowed the extra pitches the club needs.

You can blame Sean MacAuley but you are misinformed. Arsene Wenger would have had similar results when operating under the same constraints. The first task with any youth scheme is to get the best youngsters available. Then once you have them improve them. Wednesday are improving their youth players but aren't getting the best ones to start with.

As the saying goes, you can't polish a t*rd!

[HOOTIE AND THE SHIT TU]

Chelsea have had a strategic plan for the last half dozen years or so which was implemented when Frank Arnesen was appointed - the programme is starting to see results with some very good young players - Jack cork, Michael Mancienne, josh mceachran, jeffrey bruma, ben gordon - and prior to those John Terry.

And it's not about money at our level - it's about vision, targets, legwork, contacts, networks - it's about getting out there and stopping with the lame excuses - Donny have u7's and u8's development squads - do we? If not, why not?

I was speaking to a youth coach the other day at a championship club and he had recently held a night of trials for lads that had been identified and put into their advanced development centre (so they had already been pre-scouted and were training with the club outside the official academy) - and he had 61 boys at the trial - and this was just one of the 5 trial nights he was hosting - so potentially 300 kids who had already been screened and deemed good enough - what are we doing?

If you sit back and whine that there's no point because everybody else will just get the kids then that's exactly what will happen - if you show enthusiasm, interest and commitment to the kids then they (and crucially their parents) will be interested in return.

There is no reason - especially money - why we have a crap academy other than it has been allowed to be crap - people at the academy and in the club have allowed that to be the case

I could tell you of loads of youth development coaches who could go in there today and improve it exponentially without spending an extra penny.

So are you saying we need a complete clear out of the academy coaching staff? I think if this is the case, and I'm not suggesting it isn't, then no-one will be able to pull the wool over Megson's eyes. I think Megson will change everything about this club, and not before time.

[BRUCE LEE]

So are you saying we need a complete clear out of the academy coaching staff? I think if this is the case, and I'm not suggesting it isn't, then no-one will be able to pull the wool over Megson's eyes. I think Megson will change everything about this club, and not before time.

He's got enough on his plate with the first team.

[scram]

When a miracle does happen and we spot a talented youngster the next step is to persuade them to sign. They visit "the academy" and realise that the time slots their lad will be given for training are nowhere near as attractive as those offered at other local clubs because we do not have enough pitches.

This was central to the business proposal put to The Co-op bank by WTID. Lee Strafford had already spotted that the solutiuon was to build a relatively cheap bridge over to the Niagara training ground. This would have met the guidelines put in place by the F.A. and allowed the extra pitches the club needs.

You can blame Sean MacAuley but you are misinformed. Arsene Wenger would have had similar results when operating under the same constraints. The first task with any youth scheme is to get the best youngsters available. Then once you have them improve them. Wednesday are improving their youth players but aren't getting the best ones to start with.

As the saying goes, you can't polish a t*rd!

With respect but that's wrong - there are loads of ways to get round the amount of pitches - and i'm presuming the academy teams play matches?

So there must be somewhere they can train.

It's all excuses that other clubs can easily fall prey to - but they get around them by having some energy and drive - and before you say it - it's not all about money

[scram]

So are you saying we need a complete clear out of the academy coaching staff? I think if this is the case, and I'm not suggesting it isn't, then no-one will be able to pull the wool over Megson's eyes. I think Megson will change everything about this club, and not before time.

I'm saying something needs to change - and it was totally wrong to give the academy manager a 5 year contract without at least putting targets in there that had to be met - and not just for the youth team but right through the club.

I would like an academy manager to know every single player in the academy - not just the 16-18 group - they should really know of every good young kid in their catchment area - that's their job for crying out loud - and a very important and coveted job it is too.

Something has gone wrong and it needs putting right - if the current staff can't rectify it then it needs fresh people - which is probably how i would go tbh.

As for GM - he might not have the power to make those changes - i know at some clubs the academy is kept as a seperate entity to the 1st team in terms of line management - a good academy coach will outlast most 1st team managers and the academy cannot be victim to the vagaries of short termism of the latest 1st team guy - that's no way to build consistency and instill loyalty that is the hallmark of a good academy.

[owlinexile]

It seems to me there's three things we need -

1) A network in place to spot talented youngsters

2) A proposition that makes them want to choose us over other clubs

3) The right facilities and staff to turn them into quality professional footballers

I'm not convinced we have any of these at the moment. The club has been hollowed out by previous owners from top to bottom and its going to take a while before we are back on our feet again here as with everywhere else.

[Guest BoomTownOwls]

With respect but that's wrong - there are loads of ways to get round the amount of pitches - and i'm presuming the academy teams play matches?

So there must be somewhere they can train.

It's all excuses that other clubs can easily fall prey to - but they get around them by having some energy and drive - and before you say it - it's not all about money

You are SO missing the point.

The very top players take their pick. They pick their club, not the other way around. You can have all the enrgy and drive you want. You can promise them the earth but at the end of the day why would you send your kid to Wednesday instead of Leeds or Sheff Utd when their academy has more pitches, better equipment, more coaches and generally better resources?

And "with respect", this wasn't something I just made up. It was based on extensive research and consultation by WTID which came on the back of extensive research by Lee Strafford. This is why the best players have turned Wednesday down and gone elsewhere, like it or not.

[Ronnie Starling]

Chelsea have had a strategic plan for the last half dozen years or so which was implemented when Frank Arnesen was appointed - the programme is starting to see results with some very good young players - Jack cork, Michael Mancienne, josh mceachran, jeffrey bruma, ben gordon - and prior to those John Terry.

And it's not about money at our level - it's about vision, targets, legwork, contacts, networks - it's about getting out there and stopping with the lame excuses - Donny have u7's and u8's development squads - do we? If not, why not?

I was speaking to a youth coach the other day at a championship club and he had recently held a night of trials for lads that had been identified and put into their advanced development centre (so they had already been pre-scouted and were training with the club outside the official academy) - and he had 61 boys at the trial - and this was just one of the 5 trial nights he was hosting - so potentially 300 kids who had already been screened and deemed good enough - what are we doing?

If you sit back and whine that there's no point because everybody else will just get the kids then that's exactly what will happen - if you show enthusiasm, interest and commitment to the kids then they (and crucially their parents) will be interested in return.

There is no reason - especially money - why we have a crap academy other than it has been allowed to be crap - people at the academy and in the club have allowed that to be the case

I could tell you of loads of youth development coaches who could go in there today and improve it exponentially without spending an extra penny.

Come on Scram Chelsea's academy can't claim John Terry as their's. He was at West Ham until he was 14.

We do have development squads for U7's and U8's. You can't blame the coaches if they don't have the resources as if they have there hands tied they will struggle to do their jobs. If you have 1 scout out on Sunday morning compared to another team with 10 scouts then logic shows the team with 10 scouts will have more chance of getting the best players. I do firmly believe that in time the academy will improve with more resources which are being put in while other teams will see theirs in decline.

[Guest Mason9]

The players to come out of the current academy set up are Jameson, Palmer, Modest. O'Donnell, Spurr and Beavers came through the old system it just happened that Sean McAuley had just taken over when those players made the breakthrough so you cannot say he had much impact on there development

[Ronnie Starling]

You are SO missing the point.

The very top players take their pick. They pick their club, not the other way around. You can have all the enrgy and drive you want. You can promise them the earth but at the end of the day why would you send your kid to Wednesday instead of Leeds or Sheff Utd when their academy has more pitches, better equipment, more coaches and generally better resources?

And "with respect", this wasn't something I just made up. It was based on extensive research and consultation by WTID which came on the back of extensive research by Lee Strafford. This is why the best players have turned Wednesday down and gone elsewhere, like it or not.

Correct as Wednesday have no chance while the likes of Man Utd and Man City are lurking around in our area.

[scram]

You are SO missing the point.

The very top players take their pick. They pick their club, not the other way around. You can have all the enrgy and drive you want. You can promise them the earth but at the end of the day why would you send your kid to Wednesday instead of Leeds or Sheff Utd when their academy has more pitches, better equipment, more coaches and generally better resources?

And "with respect", this wasn't something I just made up. It was based on extensive research and consultation by WTID which came on the back of extensive research by Lee Strafford. This is why the best players have turned Wednesday down and gone elsewhere, like it or not.

I don't think i am missing the point but anyway...

You're saying the sole reason we don't have better kids is because we don't have enough pitches? And that it's an insurmountable problem?

Where do our kids play if not on pitches?

And the best academies get the best players because they have a strategy to get the players and keep them - the reason poor academies like ours don't get the pick is because we're a poor academy and not doing anything to turn it around apart from make rumblewitted excuses like we don't have enough pitches.

Without spending our academy could be much better than it is - too many people let money be an excuse when it absolutely needn't be - player development isn't about that

[BRUCE LEE]

but at the end of the day why would you send your kid to Wednesday instead of Leeds or Sheff Utd when their academy has more pitches, better equipment, more coaches and generally better resources?

How many pitches do you need ?

Equipment..... the top players didnt like the balls we use ?

More coaches.... then thats the role of the academy manager to address

What are the better resources elsewhere ?

I'm interested.... i know nowt about academy football. Apart from we're poo poo at it.

[sheffield_dave]

I wonder how many pitches an academy like that at Crewe has, what with their limitless pool of resources and all that. And they're closer to both Manchester clubs and Liverpool than we are.

Nonsense point.

[scram]

Come on Scram Chelsea's academy can't claim John Terry as their's. He was at West Ham until he was 14.

We do have development squads for U7's and U8's. You can't blame the coaches if they don't have the resources as if they have there hands tied they will struggle to do their jobs. If you have 1 scout out on Sunday morning compared to another team with 10 scouts then logic shows the team with 10 scouts will have more chance of getting the best players. I do firmly believe that in time the academy will improve with more resources which are being put in while other teams will see theirs in decline.

Of course Chelsea can claim JT - scouting and recruitment is a huge part of academy football which you yourself are acknowledging in this thread!

As for scouts - if we don't have enough then get some more!

Cultivate contacts with local managers - managers/officials in Leeds/Hull/Scarborough/Carlisle/Nottingham/Leicester/Newcastle etc etc etc - get to know the people in the know - just like successful youth development coaches do!

I know LOADS of scouts - they work for free usually - sometimes they want their petrol paid and other times happy to get a flat fee (say £25for the younger players up to maybe £75 for the youth team) for every kid they introduce that the academy signs - while others will take their chance on a percentage of any transfer fee (a mate of mine got £275k by doing this)

As i keep saying - stop the excuses and get the legwork done - it costs nothing

[Ronnie Starling]

I wonder how many pitches an academy like that at Crewe has, what with their limitless pool of resources and all that. And they're closer to both Manchester clubs and Liverpool than we are.

Nonsense point.

So if a kid is offered a chance to sign for Wednesday or Man Utd then what do you think he will do?