ACADEMY FOOTBALL

Recently i watched an U12 game over at Bristol City's academy,they had a lad from Cardiff playing for them.To make things worse this lad was probably there best player.Why is it that Cardiff seem to miss out on good local talent.BCFC seem to be coached to play football i.e.GK to full back to midfield.Cardiffs tactics were kick the ball up to the big lad up front,no football involved.Even the Cardiff parents were talking about the football played by Bristol.I also noticed a couple of Cardiff lads over there on trial.

Last edited by taff05 on Thu Jan 14, 2010 4:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

How do these boys get picked up,i coach u 11,s in Pontlottyn for the last 6 years and we never see a scout from any team

Recently i watched an U12 game over at Bristol City's academy,they had a lad from Cardiff playing for them.To make things worse this lad was probably there best player.Why is it that Cardiff seem to miss out on good local talent.BCFC seem to be coached to play football i.e.GK to full back to midfield.Cardiffs tactics were kick the ball up to the big lad up front,no football involved.Even the Cardiff parents were talking about the football played by Bristol.I also noticed a couple of Cardiff lads over there on trial.

Cos there are thousands of kids going through the system. South Wales and the South West clubs (plus others - though big clubs tend to pinch em at 15/16) will have a scouting network. But they can only watch 1 game at a time.

I have been involved in local football as a player, manager ref, watcher and have seen 5 players who made the football league. Ramsey, Dai the Pie, Jason Perry, David Pipe and Christian Edwards. I have seen many others go to clubs but they end up Welh League, parks or even giving up.

For every Aaron Ramsey there are 10,000 Junior Grapes.

How do these boys get picked up,i coach u 11,s in Pontlottyn for the last 6 years and we never see a scout from any team

Have u any good players? I mean stand out. Have you won anything? I have been to games under 13's top v 2nd and there are 4/5 scouts there so all the other junior football that weekend is not seen.

You have to do something to attract them as there is so much competition. I had scouts come to watch our team a few times cos Ramsey's younger brother was playing. He now egg chasing.

I,m told the lad from Cardiff was interested in moving back to Cardiff and trialed in the summer,but was not interested in moving to the club as he was not happy with the way they were being taught to play.He then returned to Bristol FC.

when i was younger, ages (12-16) that would be about 10 years ago now,our school won the welsh cup a few times, and played our final at ashton gate, (work that one out for a start), 3 of our lads got signed up for bristol city and one for rovers, scouts as far as middlesborough turned up that day and came and spoke to us, not a cardiff city scout in sight.they had a great few years of acadamy football sadly spend over the border. i spent a while in the supposadly named south wales acadamy, which went bankrupt after one year....somes it all up really lol

Someone posted on the slowboard about this. Apparently he was told his lad was the best thing on 2 legs by Bristol City, at 8yrs old.

I've been involved in football coaching at all ages, and the porblem with a good nipper is that more often than not he doesn't develop. At ages up to 12/13, all the best players are smaller types, with good ball control, dribbling skills, etc. The bigger kids are slower, lack the 'technique', and usually are given the run around.

Fast forward 3 or 4 years, and the bigger, slower kids are more comfortable with their own self. The games are much more physical, are quicker, and skills such as stamina, strength, ability to pick out a pass, tackle, etc, come more into the frame.

So many times iIve seen a lad in junior football who can literally run through the opposition, and yet 3 or 4 years later he's off the radar.

A generalisation, yes, but an observation based on experience.

a friend of mine was at middlesborough got to the age of 16 and got released due to being to small, got told to go away and bulk up and come back as a trialist the following year, that was after his family moved up there etc don't agree with that either...... and thats not just football, known the same situation to happen in cricket.

Good post taff05 funny enough my son was playing in that match for bcfc and have got to say the boy you are on about i know well and he also plays with my son for cardiff schools.
All i can say it will be a loss to cardiff because he has a great chance of making the grade

Just to reply to the comments made by 'A Quiet Monkfish'.You say all the best players are 'smaller' types,the lad in question at Bristol is probably 1 of there tallest and quickest players with a 'FANTASTIC Technique.In fairness you are probably right in what you are saying,but what i am trying to get to is WHY Cardiff missed this player and he has ended up playing across the bridge for BCFC.As previous posters have said it is probably because they do not send their scouts out to have a look around and i know BCFC are scouting the Cardiff area.Do they take the younger players serious enough or are they just interested in players from 14 years old up? I know all young players are just 'Potential',but future players have got to come from somewhere.Surely Cardiff should know about their local talent before BCFC.

i think our academy has done a brilliant job, look at all the players we have brought through and i bet there are many more in the pipeline to make millions
if the academy dont think players are up to it i dont think they would sign them, then its up to other clubs to come in for them if they think they are up to it which is probably the case in why players have gone to bristol

'Cefn Blue' i don't think you are quite grasping what is being said.We all know Cardiff do well with players at older ages,but they seem to miss out on the young talent,thay missed Craig Bellamy,Gareth Bale and David Cotterill(all Cardiff lads).I've watched Cardiff Academy U12's play on numerous occassions and they are not the best players around Cardiff.They sign a lot of Rhondda and surrounding valleys boys,but the talent on their own doorstep gets missed and picked up by other clubs.We are all Cardiff fans and want our club to do well but why are we losing out to surrounding clubs????

'Cefn Blue' i don't think you are quite grasping what is being said.We all know Cardiff do well with players at older ages,but they seem to miss out on the young talent,thay missed Craig Bellamy,Gareth Bale and David Cotterill(all Cardiff lads).I've watched Cardiff Academy U12's play on numerous occassions and they are not the best players around Cardiff.They sign a lot of Rhondda and surrounding valleys boys,but the talent on their own doorstep gets missed and picked up by other clubs.We are all Cardiff fans and want our club to do well but why are we losing out to surrounding clubs????

sorry mate, i did mis read what was being said, i do agree with what you are saying but the scouts cant get around every club in the area its impossible to see every game. some are bound to slip the net.

Fair comment,but you are saying exactly what i'm on about.Over the years they missed out on far to much talent.

Yeah we have i totally agree

I know the lad from Cardiff who is playing for Bristol,a great talent.He is currently captain of Cardiff schools.Cardiff had him as a nine year old played him with the U11's and still did not contact the lads parents or even talk to them at training sessions,he had 1 trial game at BCFC scored 3 within 20 mins, they signed him straightawaqy.He is highly thought of at BCFC but Cardiff were slow.......again!!!!

Im not sticking up for sam but this was his baby and he would watch most academy games at treforest and would know what was going on i bet peter has nether watched a game and i bet he doesnt relise all this tallent is going over the bridge

I know the lad from Cardiff who is playing for Bristol,a great talent.He is currently captain of Cardiff schools.Cardiff had him as a nine year old played him with the U11's and still did not contact the lads parents or even talk to them at training sessions,he had 1 trial game at BCFC scored 3 within 20 mins, they signed him straightawaqy.He is highly thought of at BCFC but Cardiff were slow.......again!!!!

SAME OLD STORY

my brothers lad who's 8 is at Cardiff's Academy and was spotted playing at Cwrt Herbert in Neath.I can remember thinking when he told me he was taking him down the Vale,why the hell wasn't he snapped up by the Swans coaching network.

Like me,my brothers a big swans fan so it was a pretty tough decision to make but hey your not going to stand in the way of one of your kids perhaps making a career for himself out of football regardless of what club it is.

He's some player too but a little small so we're hoping he has a growth spurt somewhere along the line

my brothers lad who's 8 is at Cardiff's Academy and was spotted playing at Cwrt Herbert in Neath.I can remember thinking when he told me he was taking him down the Vale,why the hell wasn't he snapped up by the Swans coaching network.

Like me,my brothers a big swans fan so it was a pretty tough decision to make but hey your not going to stand in the way of one of your kids perhaps making a career for himself out of football regardless of what club it is.

He's some player too but a little small so we're hoping he has a growth spurt somewhere along the line

I know what you mean my son is at Bristol and he loves Cardiff but is happy and still plays for me on a saturday which is great as he can still play with his mates

In recent years we've seen Collins, Gunter, Ramsey, Ledley, Matthews and Wildig all come through the youth system here. Who have Bristol City had compared to that? It's all very well playing nice football at under 12 level but that's not when they play in the Football League.

I've seen players at my level be skillful enough to make it but they lack one of three things. One, strength. Two, agility. Three, positional awareness. Cardiff are doing something right and maybe at under 12 level, hoofing it and teaching them to play dirty to bulk themselves up is the right thing to do at that stage.

We've got one of the best youth production lines in British football over the last decade so I'm not complaining. It's all very well and good being great at under 12 level, but how about under 16 and higher levels?! That's where the cream comes to the top and where we flourish.

In recent years we've seen Collins, Gunter, Ramsey, Ledley, Matthews and Wildig all come through the youth system here. Who have Bristol City had compared to that? It's all very well playing nice football at under 12 level but that's not when they play in the Football League.

I've seen players at my level be skillful enough to make it but they lack one of three things. One, strength. Two, agility. Three, positional awareness. Cardiff are doing something right and maybe at under 12 level, hoofing it and teaching them to play dirty to bulk themselves up is the right thing to do at that stage.

We've got one of the best youth production lines in British football over the last decade so I'm not complaining. It's all very well and good being great at under 12 level, but how about under 16 and higher levels?! That's where the cream comes to the top and where we flourish.

At the moment all that have come through are from sams error you wont find many now also hoofing the ball at that level is the right thing to do? remember what we are getting now im afraid is the last for a while

I'll make my judgments on that in 5-10 years. Until then I am basing my opinion on what we have seen up until here and now.

I'll make my judgments on that in 5-10 years. Until then I am basing my opinion on what we have seen up until here and now.

But is hoofing the ball a good thing i run my own team and teach them to pass maybe im doing things wrong

Ideally I agree with you. I'd love to get players playing attractive football. How many times does ugly football succeed over attractive football in real life though? Sometimes ugly is better!

Ideally I agree with you. I'd love to get players playing attractive football. How many times does ugly football succeed over attractive football in real life though? Sometimes ugly is better!

agree there the premier has gone really ugly with so many shit teams who can only play ugly football

All the academys are teaching drills brought over from abroad,I.E Holland.I can't remember any coaching manual at any level teaching hoof the ball up front and bully players.The drills are to teach and progress a players touch & technique from a young age and hopefully they will progress into pros.1% of academy players become pros,so in my reckoning you should be grabbing all the top talent no matter how young (especially in your own area) and hope you turn up with a gem.Good discussion as it is close to my heart,all very good points.

In recent years we've seen Collins, Gunter, Ramsey, Ledley, Matthews and Wildig all come through the youth system here. Who have Bristol City had compared to that? It's all very well playing nice football at under 12 level but that's not when they play in the Football League.

I've seen players at my level be skillful enough to make it but they lack one of three things. One, strength. Two, agility. Three, positional awareness. Cardiff are doing something right and maybe at under 12 level, hoofing it and teaching them to play dirty to bulk themselves up is the right thing to do at that stage.

We've got one of the best youth production lines in British football over the last decade so I'm not complaining. It's all very well and good being great at under 12 level, but how about under 16 and higher levels?! That's where the cream comes to the top and where we flourish.

A healthy dose of realism

In recent years we've seen Collins, Gunter, Ramsey, Ledley, Matthews and Wildig all come through the youth system here. Who have Bristol City had compared to that? It's all very well playing nice football at under 12 level but that's not when they play in the Football League.

I've seen players at my level be skillful enough to make it but they lack one of three things. One, strength. Two, agility. Three, positional awareness. Cardiff are doing something right and maybe at under 12 level, hoofing it and teaching them to play dirty to bulk themselves up is the right thing to do at that stage.

We've got one of the best youth production lines in British football over the last decade so I'm not complaining. It's all very well and good being great at under 12 level, but how about under 16 and higher levels?! That's where the cream comes to the top and where we flourish.

A healthy dose of realism

Hoofing the ball & bulking kids up is the way forward my arse.That's like a kid asking you to teach him play guitar & you give him Status Quo's greatest hits to learn to play.