Banksy

Derby have already offered him a professional contract for when he turns 17 which means that if a club comes in now then we can demand a transfer fee.

Phew......Derby win 10-9 on penalties. Thank goodness.

1-1 latest score. Staveley's goal from a free kick:
 
COYR we can beat these...they're from Step 6.

The work undertaken by Craig Fleming in defining a compatible style of play for the academy and the first team is beginning to take place. Hence the recent restructuring of the U21 squad where some U18 players have been moved up as they have been identified as potentially having a longer term future in the advancement of the club. This is fundamental to the owner's vision that the academy has to be sustained and progressed as it is key to a brighter future for the whole club. What we are seeing presently is the first green shoots in the rebuild from the damage caused by administration. The people brought in to direct the academy have been carefully selected and come from proven backgrounds. So hopefully the quality you refer to will be recognised sooner rather than later as the restructure progresses.

I take @ExiledinDerby's comments on "close to the first team" as being regular starter in L1 standard - anywhere from Bolton/Portsmouth down to Cheltenham/Exeter (which overlaps with the best of L2). When categorised as such, I would only include DRobinson and Weston as being "close", whilst some others would be 'close to being close'.
Some may take a couple of years playing through the levels before they are ready for the first team, others may just need a short non-league loan. I think DBrown is more likely to fall into that 2nd group than anyone else.

I know that Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington were taking a direct interest before this to be fair. Back in October the academy coaches had considered putting Jack Thompson into the U21 side. Discussions surrounded as to whether or not he was ready to step up at 16. Hamshaw and Warrington watched him in the U18 team and said they wanted to see him in the U21s because they thought he was ready and so he was put in. A friend of mine watched the game on the TV stream last night and he says that Bradley Johnson commented that having Thompson in goal is almost like having an extra defender because he is so good with the ball at his feet and the defence use him in passing out from the back.

In fairness to Warne and his staff this is the first time they have been at a club with an academy. Using the available resources at the right time may be a learning curve for them. The interviews I have seen with Matt Hale, Craig Fleming, Bucko and Danny Maye  are very encouraging for me and I think we may be seeing positive signs of a closer bonding between the first team and academy coaches. I hope so because it can only be for the greater good of the club.

I think it's great they was there last night, especially the night before the first team have an away game too. I don't think this would have happened before "the talk" that sunny Sunday morning at Clowes pad though.
But, it's all good and well them sat in the stands, we need to see more action on the training pitch and appearances as a first team player. 
You don't produce Bellingham players by them playing U21's and below. 

I know that Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington were taking a direct interest before this to be fair. Back in October the academy coaches had considered putting Jack Thompson into the U21 side. Discussions surrounded as to whether or not he was ready to step up at 16. Hamshaw and Warrington watched him in the U18 team and said they wanted to see him in the U21s because they thought he was ready and so he was put in. A friend of mine watched the game on the TV stream last night and he says that Bradley Johnson commented that having Thompson in goal is almost like having an extra defender because he is so good with the ball at his feet and the defence use him in passing out from the back.

In fairness to Warne and his staff this is the first time they have been at a club with an academy. Using the available resources at the right time may be a learning curve for them. The interviews I have seen with Matt Hale, Craig Fleming, Bucko and Danny Maye  are very encouraging for me and I think we may be seeing positive signs of a closer bonding between the first team and academy coaches. I hope so because it can only be for the greater good of the club.

I know that Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington were taking a direct interest before this to be fair. Back in October the academy coaches had considered putting Jack Thompson into the U21 side. Discussions surrounded as to whether or not he was ready to step up at 16. Hamshaw and Warrington watched him in the U18 team and said they wanted to see him in the U21s because they thought he was ready and so he was put in. A friend of mine watched the game on the TV stream last night and he says that Bradley Johnson commented that having Thompson in goal is almost like having an extra defender because he is so good with the ball at his feet and the defence use him in passing out from the back.

In fairness to Warne and his staff this is the first time they have been at a club with an academy. Using the available resources at the right time may be a learning curve for them. The interviews I have seen with Matt Hale, Craig Fleming, Bucko and Danny Maye  are very encouraging for me and I think we may be seeing positive signs of a closer bonding between the first team and academy coaches. I hope so because it can only be for the greater good of the club.

I really like Hawkins and he reminds me a lot of Bird. He seemed completely at ease last night and never needed to get out of 2nd gear. 

I know that Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington were taking a direct interest before this to be fair. Back in October the academy coaches had considered putting Jack Thompson into the U21 side. Discussions surrounded as to whether or not he was ready to step up at 16. Hamshaw and Warrington watched him in the U18 team and said they wanted to see him in the U21s because they thought he was ready and so he was put in. A friend of mine watched the game on the TV stream last night and he says that Bradley Johnson commented that having Thompson in goal is almost like having an extra defender because he is so good with the ball at his feet and the defence use him in passing out from the back.

In fairness to Warne and his staff this is the first time they have been at a club with an academy. Using the available resources at the right time may be a learning curve for them. The interviews I have seen with Matt Hale, Craig Fleming, Bucko and Danny Maye  are very encouraging for me and I think we may be seeing positive signs of a closer bonding between the first team and academy coaches. I hope so because it can only be for the greater good of the club.

David Clowes and the first-team coaches sat together near to where I was sitting. They also attended the previous tie at Mansfield. Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington watched the last 70 minutes of the U21 game against Arsenal on Friday. It's a very recent phenomenon and good to see. None of them joined Nigel Clough on the bench at the U21 game at Mansfield early in the month. Maybe it's not just a coincidence that this has come about since @Ghost of Clough and @Bald Eagle's Barmy Army raised their concerns. I hope so because it's very positive to think that those running the club will take notice of what they see as valid fan opinions.

A few points I would like to pick you up on, but I'll comment on the 3 big ones.
Whilst we may have produced the likes of Hughes and Hendrick prior to our increase academy spending, how many other league players did we produce? Between the U18 intakes in 2008 and 2015 we have produced: Hendrick (2008), Hughes (2011), Bennett, Hanson, Rawson (all 2012), Lowe, Guy, Vernam, Zanzala (all 2013), Kellan Gordon, MacDonald (both 2014)
As you can see, that's only 1 player of significant value every other year, sometimes not even producing a single league level player.
With the increased spending, we achieve greater consisitency - higher number of league level players, and even the bad years produce players of significant value: Bogle (2016), JBrown, Buchanan, Bird, Knight, Whittaker (all 2017), Cashin, Ebosele**, ABrown*, Sibley, LThompson, Stretton (all 2018), Delap (2019), Gordon, Williams (2020), etc...
*Some may argue Serie A is a higher level of football than League 2 or higher
**Technically not league football either, but just transferred to Gent for £3.5m
Reduced expenditure on the academy means the best prospects will almost certainly be snapped up by Cat 1 clubs, and because of the reduced training hours, the players we do retain aren't as developed as they otherwise could have been under a Cat 1 academy. 
  Perhaps because it planning for the long term future and not immediate results? No one is saying the academy players should be thrust into the first team and play regularly. It's just one off games or helping to see the last 15 minutes of games out, especially when 2 or 3 goals up. It gives a clearer indication of how far off regular first team football they are than U21 football ever will. If they aren't ready for our first team, those experiences will help them earn loan moves out so they can progress as quickly as possible.
  You've taken this comment completely out of context. The point made wasn't that Warne has never given youth an opportunity at Rotherham, but that he has no experience in doing so because of their youth setup. It's like going down to your local pub side and questioning why they haven't developed any England internationals. At no point in his career has Warne been at a club where it is expected to develop youngsters, so it's unsurprising that his view on bringing players through is different to other Cat 1 clubs, especially those outside of the Premier League. Rooney trusted Thompson to play in a Championship squad, accumulating 1611 minutes on the pitch. Despite being in a league below, and being in the first team squad longer than just a few months, Warne has so far only given him 792 minutes across all competitions. It doesn't give much hope to those further behind him in the pecking order.
Sunderland gave a 16 year old Bali Mumba 2 consecutive starts in League 1, before loaning him out to a National League North side towards the end of the season.

I know that Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington were taking a direct interest before this to be fair. Back in October the academy coaches had considered putting Jack Thompson into the U21 side. Discussions surrounded as to whether or not he was ready to step up at 16. Hamshaw and Warrington watched him in the U18 team and said they wanted to see him in the U21s because they thought he was ready and so he was put in. A friend of mine watched the game on the TV stream last night and he says that Bradley Johnson commented that having Thompson in goal is almost like having an extra defender because he is so good with the ball at his feet and the defence use him in passing out from the back.

In fairness to Warne and his staff this is the first time they have been at a club with an academy. Using the available resources at the right time may be a learning curve for them. The interviews I have seen with Matt Hale, Craig Fleming, Bucko and Danny Maye  are very encouraging for me and I think we may be seeing positive signs of a closer bonding between the first team and academy coaches. I hope so because it can only be for the greater good of the club.

I know that Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington were taking a direct interest before this to be fair. Back in October the academy coaches had considered putting Jack Thompson into the U21 side. Discussions surrounded as to whether or not he was ready to step up at 16. Hamshaw and Warrington watched him in the U18 team and said they wanted to see him in the U21s because they thought he was ready and so he was put in. A friend of mine watched the game on the TV stream last night and he says that Bradley Johnson commented that having Thompson in goal is almost like having an extra defender because he is so good with the ball at his feet and the defence use him in passing out from the back.

In fairness to Warne and his staff this is the first time they have been at a club with an academy. Using the available resources at the right time may be a learning curve for them. The interviews I have seen with Matt Hale, Craig Fleming, Bucko and Danny Maye  are very encouraging for me and I think we may be seeing positive signs of a closer bonding between the first team and academy coaches. I hope so because it can only be for the greater good of the club.

I know that Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington were taking a direct interest before this to be fair. Back in October the academy coaches had considered putting Jack Thompson into the U21 side. Discussions surrounded as to whether or not he was ready to step up at 16. Hamshaw and Warrington watched him in the U18 team and said they wanted to see him in the U21s because they thought he was ready and so he was put in. A friend of mine watched the game on the TV stream last night and he says that Bradley Johnson commented that having Thompson in goal is almost like having an extra defender because he is so good with the ball at his feet and the defence use him in passing out from the back.

In fairness to Warne and his staff this is the first time they have been at a club with an academy. Using the available resources at the right time may be a learning curve for them. The interviews I have seen with Matt Hale, Craig Fleming, Bucko and Danny Maye  are very encouraging for me and I think we may be seeing positive signs of a closer bonding between the first team and academy coaches. I hope so because it can only be for the greater good of the club.

I know that Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington were taking a direct interest before this to be fair. Back in October the academy coaches had considered putting Jack Thompson into the U21 side. Discussions surrounded as to whether or not he was ready to step up at 16. Hamshaw and Warrington watched him in the U18 team and said they wanted to see him in the U21s because they thought he was ready and so he was put in. A friend of mine watched the game on the TV stream last night and he says that Bradley Johnson commented that having Thompson in goal is almost like having an extra defender because he is so good with the ball at his feet and the defence use him in passing out from the back.

In fairness to Warne and his staff this is the first time they have been at a club with an academy. Using the available resources at the right time may be a learning curve for them. The interviews I have seen with Matt Hale, Craig Fleming, Bucko and Danny Maye  are very encouraging for me and I think we may be seeing positive signs of a closer bonding between the first team and academy coaches. I hope so because it can only be for the greater good of the club.

David Clowes and the first-team coaches sat together near to where I was sitting. They also attended the previous tie at Mansfield. Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington watched the last 70 minutes of the U21 game against Arsenal on Friday. It's a very recent phenomenon and good to see. None of them joined Nigel Clough on the bench at the U21 game at Mansfield early in the month. Maybe it's not just a coincidence that this has come about since @Ghost of Clough and @Bald Eagle's Barmy Army raised their concerns. I hope so because it's very positive to think that those running the club will take notice of what they see as valid fan opinions.

A coincidence it all started visibly happening after DC and Warne's little 'rock on' chat? I think not. 

David Clowes and the first-team coaches sat together near to where I was sitting. They also attended the previous tie at Mansfield. Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington watched the last 70 minutes of the U21 game against Arsenal on Friday. It's a very recent phenomenon and good to see. None of them joined Nigel Clough on the bench at the U21 game at Mansfield early in the month. Maybe it's not just a coincidence that this has come about since @Ghost of Clough and @Bald Eagle's Barmy Army raised their concerns. I hope so because it's very positive to think that those running the club will take notice of what they see as valid fan opinions.

David Clowes and the first-team coaches sat together near to where I was sitting. They also attended the previous tie at Mansfield. Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington watched the last 70 minutes of the U21 game against Arsenal on Friday. It's a very recent phenomenon and good to see. None of them joined Nigel Clough on the bench at the U21 game at Mansfield early in the month. Maybe it's not just a coincidence that this has come about since @Ghost of Clough and @Bald Eagle's Barmy Army raised their concerns. I hope so because it's very positive to think that those running the club will take notice of what they see as valid fan opinions.

David Clowes and the first-team coaches sat together near to where I was sitting. They also attended the previous tie at Mansfield. Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington watched the last 70 minutes of the U21 game against Arsenal on Friday. It's a very recent phenomenon and good to see. None of them joined Nigel Clough on the bench at the U21 game at Mansfield early in the month. Maybe it's not just a coincidence that this has come about since @Ghost of Clough and @Bald Eagle's Barmy Army raised their concerns. I hope so because it's very positive to think that those running the club will take notice of what they see as valid fan opinions.

Not worrying about this. It's almost the identical story to when Jack Thompson was offered his contract. Then it was Chelsea, City and Spurs; always top six clubs that are suddenly interested. Agents feeding desperate  journalists a story knowing they'll print it and it gives publicity for the client. I think the need for a pathway is recognised within the club and it will be defined. That's how Hale worked at Southampton. He and Fleming and the other academy coaches have not come here to be messed about. The academy as a resource is vital to the club and we simply have to make best use of it. I'm sure Warne will come to realise that very soon if he doesn't already.