Ghost of Clough

Losing 3-0 with 15 mins left. Villa also missed a penalty.
Aghatise cane off after 22 mins due to injury.
Robinson playing CB alongside a first year scholar (Cox)

19/20 top wage bills:

 
21/22 top wage bills:

Note 1: Sunderland's 19/20 figure includes players who were loaned out and were on big wages
Note 2: Sunderland's figure is for 20/21 as they haven't released accounts for 21/22 yet
Note 3: Sheff Wesd not included in 21/22 as they haven't released accounts and there's no reliable data to 'guess' what their wage bill was
In terms of transfer fees paid, only Bolton (21/22), Fleetwood (19/20), Ipswich (19/20 and 21/22), Peterborough (19/20), Sunderland (21/22), and Wigan (21/22) spent more than they received.
 
I think these figures help put our own restriction into perspective. The rumoured £12m wage budget isn't overly restrictive

Why would Sibley want to stay to be constantly played out of position, if played at all? He'd slot atriaght into a team like Coventry and play regularly in his preferred position.
The others could play for top Championship sides. I could see Knight being a squad player for a side newly promoted to the PL. All will be able to progress with their careers and earn far more than they can with us.

He's got at least another year in him at Championship level, in my opinion. I also wouldn't be surprised if someone like Millwall tried to get him if they went up.

I did wonder, either that or Wilson Palacios! 😂

With the above being for another season in L1, I thought I'd do the same for a season in the Championship:
GK: Wildsmith, Bialkowski (Millwall), Evans
RCB: Harding (Rotherham), Rooney
CB: Cashin, Bartley (WBA)
LCB: Latibeaudiere (Swansea),  Roberts (Brighton)
RWB: Coyle (Hull), Mendez-Laing
LWB:  Manning (Swansea), Barkhuizen
RCM: Knight, Wiles (Rotherham)
CM: Bird, Smith
LCM: Sibley, Hourihane
CF: Pukki (Norwich), McGoldrick
CF: Wilson (Wigan), Hardie (Plymouth)

19/20 top wage bills:

 
21/22 top wage bills:

Note 1: Sunderland's 19/20 figure includes players who were loaned out and were on big wages
Note 2: Sunderland's figure is for 20/21 as they haven't released accounts for 21/22 yet
Note 3: Sheff Wesd not included in 21/22 as they haven't released accounts and there's no reliable data to 'guess' what their wage bill was
In terms of transfer fees paid, only Bolton (21/22), Fleetwood (19/20), Ipswich (19/20 and 21/22), Peterborough (19/20), Sunderland (21/22), and Wigan (21/22) spent more than they received.
 
I think these figures help put our own restriction into perspective. The rumoured £12m wage budget isn't overly restrictive

65 seasons in the top division and 54 in the 2nd division would suggest otherwise

65 seasons in the top division and 54 in the 2nd division would suggest otherwise

65 seasons in the top division and 54 in the 2nd division would suggest otherwise

I guess that's what happens when the likes of Charlton are allowed to spend £20m on a turnover of less than £10m and Bolton £14m on a £8.5m turnover.

We already had Cashin, Bird, Knight, Sibley and Thompson in the first team - Thompson loaned out to non-League strugglers due to Warne not giving him game time to develop in the first team
Cybulski, Stretton and Rooney on the fringes. Cybulski sent out on a series of loans and Stretton sold when we didn't have a 3rd choice CF, despite Warne favouring 2 CF starters. Rooney spent the majority of the season in no match days squads, rather than staying match fit in the U21s.
Then the likes of Evans, Robinson, Hawkins, Aghatise, Richards in the U21s, and Thompson, Moloney, Brown, Davidson and Wheeldon in the U18s. 
The evidence is there which proves Warne has no experience with developing academy graduates. That's not to say he can't, because Rotherham's academy is almost nonexistent. They were recently ranked 24th out of all Category 3 academies. However, the pattern so far suggests he's taking the same approach with our Category 1 youngsters as Rotherham's Category 3 youngsters - loans to non-league rather than U21 football or the odd first team game.

ChatGBT needs to do better than that
5 players, 2 who didn't come through the academy, 1 who retired at 23, and 1 who scored 2 league goals in 39 apps before being sent out on a series of loans and eventually sold.
My version gave me slightly different answers, with marginally better choices of player:

It doesn't. The original point being made is that Warne does not have any real experience at bringing players through from the academy to the first team. He has two success stories, with one of those only becoming a success after leaving Rotherham.

ChatGBT response again..
 
Jake Cooper - 0 league games for Rotherham (3 in the Pizza Cup in 19/20) and is now on his 5th non-league loan.
Akeem Hinds - 0 league games for Rotherham (2 in the Pizza Cup in 19/20) and was released in January 2020. Now at his 6th non=league club.
Joshua Kayode - 20 league games for Rotherham and only 1 goal (he's a CF), with 2 goals in 32 games in all competitions. He's been on a season long loan at L1 strugglers MK Dons and has score 0 goals in just 9 games.
Absolutely fantastic examples of Warne bringing through academy graduates.

ChatGBT needs to do better than that
5 players, 2 who didn't come through the academy, 1 who retired at 23, and 1 who scored 2 league goals in 39 apps before being sent out on a series of loans and eventually sold.
My version gave me slightly different answers, with marginally better choices of player:

ChatGBT response again..
 
Jake Cooper - 0 league games for Rotherham (3 in the Pizza Cup in 19/20) and is now on his 5th non-league loan.
Akeem Hinds - 0 league games for Rotherham (2 in the Pizza Cup in 19/20) and was released in January 2020. Now at his 6th non=league club.
Joshua Kayode - 20 league games for Rotherham and only 1 goal (he's a CF), with 2 goals in 32 games in all competitions. He's been on a season long loan at L1 strugglers MK Dons and has score 0 goals in just 9 games.
Absolutely fantastic examples of Warne bringing through academy graduates.

ChatGBT needs to do better than that
5 players, 2 who didn't come through the academy, 1 who retired at 23, and 1 who scored 2 league goals in 39 apps before being sent out on a series of loans and eventually sold.
My version gave me slightly different answers, with marginally better choices of player:

Perhaps an important line of questioning for the next Supporters Group meeting @angieram? Some clarity on the future plans for the academy and the pathways to the first team? Apologies if that’s already been asked. 

Villa are about to start work on increasing their capacity by an extra 8,000 too.
What is 'second rate' anyway? Perhaps second tier, so 21st best or lower?
In terms of capacity, we're 16th in England, but we're also in a group of 15 with a current capacity ranging from 30k to 35k. This puts is in the 14th to 28th bracket, which incidently is roughly where a club of our size and history would typically rank - we've finished lower than 28th on 37 occasions, with 44 top 13 finishes.
The top 13 capacity stadiums are in London (5), Manchester (2), Liverpool (2), Newcastle, Sunderland, Birmingham (Villa) and Leeds.
The 'chasing pack' are mostly stadiums in smaller cities - Derby, Sheffield (2), Middlesbrough, Coventry, Southampton, Leicester, Wolverhampton, Brighton, Blackburn, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Stoke, Ipswich (and Birmingham). 
Truth is, there isn't much which sets any of those stadiums apart from the rest on that list. I feel confident in saying we still have a top 20 stadium.
 
If you also want to consider stadiums suitable to host the Euros or a World Cup, the city itself is very important. Derby is one of the smallest cities of those I've listed. It's also in a less desirable location than some which are placed closer to the middle of the city. You also have to consider accommodation, bars, restaurants, etc.
 
Until we're established in the Premier League, our stadium is more than adequate. Once we reach that level, we should improve the facilities rather than capacity. Fan park, bars, restaurants, club museum, etc. Developments to make the stadium more unique.

Rotherham had a top 6 budget in every season they had in L1.
Warne became manager of Rotherham in November 2016. He had 1 academy success in his 6 years as manager, with other not getting game time, or flopping. The majority of youngsters he plays are on loan, and others typically get limited game time.
The following players aged 21 or younger played at least 1000 minutes in his seasons as manger:
16/17
Ball - Signed by previous manager, loaned out in January 2017 by Warne
Brown - Loaned in by previous manager, send back to Chelsea in January 2017 by Warne
Yates - Academy graduate. Involvement in first team increased in the 2nd half of the season following Brown going back to Chelsea and not being able to sign a replacement. Scored 3 goals in 46 games as a CF for Warne (44 goals in 136 games since joining Blackpool).
17/18
Ben Purrington - One of Warne's first signings. Squad player for a season and a half before being loaned out and eventually sold
Josh Emmanuel - Loaned in from Hull
18/19
Rodak - Loaned from Fulham
Vyner - Loaned from Bristol City
Wiles - His real first success story in developing youngsters, and someone I expect Warne to sign in the summer. Came through the academy with only a 1 month spell out on loan in non-league.
19/20
Iverson - Loaned from Leicester
Olosunde - Arguably a success. Signed on the cheap from Man Utd and played in around 50% of the total minutes during a 2 year spell
Wiles - As per 18/19
20/21
Johansson - Free signing from Leicester and finally established himself as first choice keeper this season (22/23).
Giles - Loaned from Wolves
Wiles - As per 18/19 and 19/20
21/22
Kayode - another academy graduate. 2 goal in 28 games at CF, previously being loaned out on 4 occasions over 3 seasons before making his league debut under Warne. Loaned out again this season to MK Dons and has barely played.
22/23
Norton-Cuffy - loaned in from Arsenal by Warne and sent back by new manager in January

Are we including Rooney and Tommo, as they have been largely ignored this season?
Cybulski and Stretton would have been useful squad players, but someone made the decision to loan them out, and in Stretton's case, sold in January.
Aghatise has been the standout for me in the U21s (when fit) and his versatility means he could have been given minutes this season on the wing in the first team. He's physically ready for first team football too.
Hawkins and DRobinson could breakthrough in the next 2 or 3 years, but have a lot of competition in the CM position.
Moloney (LB/LWB) and Richards (RW/RWB) have started playing more for the U21s and have a shot at.
Evans and JThompson (both GK), Cox (CB), Davidson (W/CF), DBrown (CF) and Wheeldon (CF) are all players I see playing for the first team eventually.

Rotherham had a top 6 budget in every season they had in L1.
Warne became manager of Rotherham in November 2016. He had 1 academy success in his 6 years as manager, with other not getting game time, or flopping. The majority of youngsters he plays are on loan, and others typically get limited game time.
The following players aged 21 or younger played at least 1000 minutes in his seasons as manger:
16/17
Ball - Signed by previous manager, loaned out in January 2017 by Warne
Brown - Loaned in by previous manager, send back to Chelsea in January 2017 by Warne
Yates - Academy graduate. Involvement in first team increased in the 2nd half of the season following Brown going back to Chelsea and not being able to sign a replacement. Scored 3 goals in 46 games as a CF for Warne (44 goals in 136 games since joining Blackpool).
17/18
Ben Purrington - One of Warne's first signings. Squad player for a season and a half before being loaned out and eventually sold
Josh Emmanuel - Loaned in from Hull
18/19
Rodak - Loaned from Fulham
Vyner - Loaned from Bristol City
Wiles - His real first success story in developing youngsters, and someone I expect Warne to sign in the summer. Came through the academy with only a 1 month spell out on loan in non-league.
19/20
Iverson - Loaned from Leicester
Olosunde - Arguably a success. Signed on the cheap from Man Utd and played in around 50% of the total minutes during a 2 year spell
Wiles - As per 18/19
20/21
Johansson - Free signing from Leicester and finally established himself as first choice keeper this season (22/23).
Giles - Loaned from Wolves
Wiles - As per 18/19 and 19/20
21/22
Kayode - another academy graduate. 2 goal in 28 games at CF, previously being loaned out on 4 occasions over 3 seasons before making his league debut under Warne. Loaned out again this season to MK Dons and has barely played.
22/23
Norton-Cuffy - loaned in from Arsenal by Warne and sent back by new manager in January

Villa are about to start work on increasing their capacity by an extra 8,000 too.
What is 'second rate' anyway? Perhaps second tier, so 21st best or lower?
In terms of capacity, we're 16th in England, but we're also in a group of 15 with a current capacity ranging from 30k to 35k. This puts is in the 14th to 28th bracket, which incidently is roughly where a club of our size and history would typically rank - we've finished lower than 28th on 37 occasions, with 44 top 13 finishes.
The top 13 capacity stadiums are in London (5), Manchester (2), Liverpool (2), Newcastle, Sunderland, Birmingham (Villa) and Leeds.
The 'chasing pack' are mostly stadiums in smaller cities - Derby, Sheffield (2), Middlesbrough, Coventry, Southampton, Leicester, Wolverhampton, Brighton, Blackburn, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Stoke, Ipswich (and Birmingham). 
Truth is, there isn't much which sets any of those stadiums apart from the rest on that list. I feel confident in saying we still have a top 20 stadium.
 
If you also want to consider stadiums suitable to host the Euros or a World Cup, the city itself is very important. Derby is one of the smallest cities of those I've listed. It's also in a less desirable location than some which are placed closer to the middle of the city. You also have to consider accommodation, bars, restaurants, etc.
 
Until we're established in the Premier League, our stadium is more than adequate. Once we reach that level, we should improve the facilities rather than capacity. Fan park, bars, restaurants, club museum, etc. Developments to make the stadium more unique.

Did he? Name me some players he used and developed from Rotherham's academy?
There are 2 I can think of that were any good. Ben Wiles and Jerry Yates, but Yates had already broken through by the time Warne was manager.