A team made in Tottenham

[willy white wonka]

Are you a wonka

No I'm a Willy, seriously though if we populated a team with just young players from the academy we'd probably get relegated first season, get real, nice fantasy though.

 

[yido_number1]

No I'm a Willy, seriously though if we populated a team with just young players from the academy we'd probably get relegated first season, get real, nice fantasy though.

Agreed you need the experience in a team to guide the young players. Signings like Naybet and Davids have really helped us in the past when bringing through young players. I do feel we need someone like that in our squad to guide a young talented core. EVen if they don't play as much you need the mentality...

 

[Locotoro]

I would love this to be the case and whilst we can integrate a number of our youth into the squad those using Barca as a reference point are forgetting one key thing.

Aside from the fact they can plug the gaps with the world's best and they have access to the world's best youth and more flexible immigration laws, Barca have a B team that plays in a competitive division. That means that they have a whole squad of players getting good football experience whilst under the tutelage of excellant coaches and learning the Barca way of play. Whereas currently have 1 or 2 players who can really be considered to have had successful loans. How long would we have to wait before we could fill a squad full of Academy players

 

[willy white wonka]

Agreed you need the experience in a team to guide the young players. Signings like Naybet and Davids have really helped us in the past when bringing through young players. I do feel we need someone like that in our squad to guide a young talented core. EVen if they don't play as much you need the mentality...

Yes balance is the key, a blend of experience and youth with a sprinkling of top quality players.

 

[IGSpur]

I think our problem areas would be GK and the CB's but we would look something like this:

Prichard Kane Townsend

Bentaleb Carroll Mason

Rose Veljkovic ????? Fredericks

?????​

If we played Vertonghen and Dier at CB and Lloris in goal I think we'd probably finish mid table.

Including players we have sold, granted they have been relegated now but they both have significant PL experience, you could add Caulker and Livermore to the team.

Additionally Adam Smith has been promoted with Bournemouth and there are talks that Nathan Byrne could be signed by WBA. Lastly, Luongo has an Asia Cup MVP and will be in the PL next year with QPR.

So from our u21 team that got to the final. We could make a best XI and subs bench of players who are currently playing PL/Championship football. Bar Veljkovic though, he had an injury plagued loan but has played CB for Serbia u21s.

I don't think many can say that.

I would love this to be the case and whilst we can integrate a number of our youth into the squad those using Barca as a reference point are forgetting one key thing.

Aside from the fact they can plug the gaps with the world's best and they have access to the world's best youth and more flexible immigration laws, Barca have a B team that plays in a competitive division. That means that they have a whole squad of players getting good football experience whilst under the tutelage of excellant coaches and learning the Barca way of play. Whereas currently have 1 or 2 players who can really be considered to have had successful loans. How long would we have to wait before we could fill a squad full of Academy players

You make a good point about the Barca B team, but as it is we could have potentially 11 players in the squad next year from the academy and I don't we'd do any worse. We have the current 5 at the moment. Add Pritchard, Fredericks, Veljkovic, Winks, Onomah then one of KWP or CCV.

Agreed you need the experience in a team to guide the young players. Signings like Naybet and Davids have really helped us in the past when bringing through young players. I do feel we need someone like that in our squad to guide a young talented core. EVen if they don't play as much you need the mentality...

Though I'm not against it I do believe the needing experience players is somewhat overrated. Unless they are over 30.

Capoue, Adebayor, Soldado, Kaboul, Paulinho even Lennon are all meant to be our expereinced players to help bring the young players through but it is the young payers that have carried them.

I like him but it was Fazio (ex Sevilla captain and EL winner) that gave away that goal at Chelsea trying to dribble out, not Dier. Again it was Fazio doing something against Fiorentina. Soldado screwed up that 2 on 1 chance against Fiorentina. People misplace passes etc but these are genuine screw up mistakes that have cost us, in important games and made thigns difficult.

I just think mentality is more important than experience, you either want it or you don't. Focus is something you control. Bentaleb has been our most experienced head playing well beyond his years.

 

[chinaman]

We'll soon be known as Pocket's Babes.

 

[Spursidol]

A lot of activity on the wires about an own grown team.
It's for long been a dream, fantasy delusion of mine. Call it what you will.

Own grown players give you greater commitment and passion and the willingness to go the extra mile or three.
See the many testimonies to Harry Kane's dedication, first on: last off the training ground stuff.

However good the foreign stars are they lack that extra element which can make a difference.
And It gives the fans something to be proud of and identify with.

What they obviously lack is experience and of course an element of quality which pure home grownism cannot necessarily supply. But who would not pick Bentaleb over all of our Magnificent Seven midfielders.

Paulinho is clearly a talented player but generally speaking it's just a job, he could have gone anywhere in Europe and earned the same money and plays as if he can't really be bothered.He's not Tottenham and never will be. Well not unless he stays ten years which seems unlikely with Carroll and Winks breathing down his neck

We have nearly a dozen Academy boys waiting to join the five who played this year. Several played in the post season tour and did themselves no harm. There is plenty of quality there.Now's the time for the Geat Experiment which might change the face of English football.

Do we have a keeper anywhere in the ranks. McGee maybe but he didn't get the chance to show us on the bigger stage.

I wrote a little tongue in cheek about our Academy being the modern equivalent of the Medieval Philosopher's Stone turning base metal into gold. That would make Mauricio the Alchemist and he has some of the faith in youth to go some way towards it.

How far could such a team go? I know, I know you win nothing with kids. But I would be more than ready to watch the experiment get under way.

We would miss the Berbatovs, the Modric's, the Lloris's of course and foreign stars have added much to the quality of the Premiership and to the history of Spurs But Arsenal, City and Chelsea amongst others have let it get out of hand, fielding virtually all foreign signings and either not producing their own or not playing them with any conviction.

I would love it, love it to see an Academy team walk out at White hart Lane in the Premiership. But I'm not so Spursified to think that it could happen.But I bet we could get damn close to fielding one and for them to finish top half and maybe more.. I'd settle for that.

There is no-one in our current squad apart from Eriksen and Lloris that demand to be made Honorary Spurs.
Perhaps Vertonghen on a good day.

Come on Mauricio give it a go. You know you want to and Daniel Levy too but for different reasons. Am I serious? You bet. Am I deluded. Almost certainly.

Has Ledley got his badges yet? Is Bale ready to return? I love my dreams. I'm off to bed.

Its perfectly possible within the next 5 seasons - we seem to have averaged about 2 academy players per season being brought into the first team proper, - Caulker/Livermore, Rose/Townsend and after missing a season out Kane/Mason/Bentaleb - and next season Pritchard, Veljkovic and/or Carroll ?

Followed by Onomah, Winks, KWP, CCV..... ? Lots of good youngsters coming through that the youth watchers have seen from a little of who are currently 14/15/16, the future is undoubtedly bright - and Lilywhite !.

So over 5 seasons we might get 10 players from the academy into the first team squad to add to the 5 already there. And the 5 we have now will be at their peak with lots of experience, so the blend of youth and experience is there

Problem could be to get a goalkeeper in that timeframe (although McGee and/or Glover could make it in that timespan - but if we could buy back David Button (possibly the best GK in the championship last season with Brentford) an academy GK sold against the advice of Spurs then GK coach, even that hole would be filled.

 

[IGSpur]

Problem could be to get a goalkeeper in that timeframe (although McGee and/or Glover could make it in that timespan - but if we could buy back David Button (possibly the best GK in the championship last season with Brentford) an academy GK sold against the advice of Spurs then GK coach, even that hole would be filled.

If we made a whole team and lacked the GK, if he had another great season in the Championship I'd buy him back for the sake of it. Crewe or another team did it last game of a season in L2. We could faesibly be in a position to have a whole outfield team made up next season, with only positions being doubtful at CB. If we did that in the Prem and still finished in Top 6 that would be incredible

 

[yido_number1]

Including players we have sold, granted they have been relegated now but they both have significant PL experience, you could add Caulker and Livermore to the team.

Additionally Adam Smith has been promoted with Bournemouth and there are talks that Nathan Byrne could be signed by WBA. Lastly, Luongo has an Asia Cup MVP and will be in the PL next year with QPR.

So from our u21 team that got to the final. We could make a best XI and subs bench of players who are currently playing PL/Championship football. Bar Veljkovic though, he had an injury plagued loan but has played CB for Serbia u21s.

I don't think many can say that.



You make a good point about the Barca B team, but as it is we could have potentially 11 players in the squad next year from the academy and I don't we'd do any worse. We have the current 5 at the moment. Add Pritchard, Fredericks, Veljkovic, Winks, Onomah then one of KWP or CCV.



Though I'm not against it I do believe the needing experience players is somewhat overrated. Unless they are over 30.

Capoue, Adebayor, Soldado, Kaboul, Paulinho even Lennon are all meant to be our expereinced players to help bring the young players through but it is the young payers that have carried them.

I like him but it was Fazio (ex Sevilla captain and EL winner) that gave away that goal at Chelsea trying to dribble out, not Dier. Again it was Fazio doing something against Fiorentina. Soldado screwed up that 2 on 1 chance against Fiorentina. People misplace passes etc but these are genuine screw up mistakes that have cost us, in important games and made thigns difficult.

I just think mentality is more important than experience, you either want it or you don't. Focus is something you control. Bentaleb has been our most experienced head playing well beyond his years.

Its the quality of experience that counts and instilling the right mental capacity and leader in a squad can make all the difference. We've played some of our best stuff with players like Gallas (Much Maligned but a winner), Davids, Parker and Naybet in the squad.

Having someone that just has a lot of game time isn't the same as someone that has won stuff and been a key to it. Something that we have lacked is big game management over the last couple of years and having someone who knows about this can be invaluable.

 

[eddiebailey]

I think our problem areas would be GK and the CB's but we would look something like this:

Prichard Kane Townsend

Bentaleb Carroll Mason

Rose Veljkovic ????? Fredericks

?????​

If we played Vertonghen and Dier at CB and Lloris in goal I think we'd probably finish mid table.

add Button and Caulker who we sold and it shows that it is viable in theory, though realsitically we would always need to but in some additional quality; but we should be buying quality not quantity.

 

[mpickard2087]

Its a long term project, to make best use of the academy and for it to provide players for the squad. Currently the hard work and emphasis on getting it up to very good standard is still in its infancy, if you take the starting point of 04/05 when Arnesen came in and the appointment of McDermott. The Mason/Townsend/Caulker 1991 age group was really the first one that you could say has come right through the revamped setup... And already we see players able to compete for first team places. As things have been refined, further improved, and with the new facilities now in place, its not unrealistic to expect the quality of these youth players to be of even higher standard and indeed we all know of some of the really promising kids that are lighting up age-group football who will come in to contention in the next few years.

If we are using Barca as an example, from when Cruyff set up the academy there it took the best part of 30 years before they reached the point where they had their all conquering team made up primarily of homegrown players. It takes time and patience and its a very long term approach. I don't want to make predictions, as a lot of things can change such as the financial model/buying strategy/football vision at board/coach level etc, but in the next 5-10 years I wouldn't be shocked if (way) over 50% of the first team squad had come through the academy.

 

[beats1]

Barcelona have the world's best youth and most of the best players on the planet queuing to play for them.

The person said if you have the worlds best academy

Also we have some of the best youth players in one of the most densely populated places in Europe which has people coming all over the world to live in

Dont underestimate the youth players we have coming through

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

surely 'tino's bambinos?

 

[Bulletspur]

Am I the only one who has detected a whiff of Xenophobia?

 

[IGSpur]

Am I the only one who has detected a whiff of Xenophobia?

In what sense? In the quite literal sense of not wanting a foreigner, as being someone outside of the academy, I guess so, but isn't that the point in having an academy, to develop your own players to save/make money. Isn't it xenophobic to have a friendship group and not to let anyone new into it?

I assume when you say xenophobic, you mean preferring English players other foreign nations. If so that's not the case. As preferring an academy trained XI over non-academy trained players isn't nation dependent.

We have Bentaleb, Veljkovic, Azzaoui, Glover and maybe Yahaya. I'd rather those 5 came through with us, than us buy Rodwell, Keane, Redmond, Butland and Lindgard.

 

[JimmyG2]

Am I the only one who has detected a whiff of Xenophobia?

Do we not have overseas players in the Academy?
Bentaleb is French Moroccan(edit Algerian) for a start.
Harry Kane is from Chingford. I rest my case.

 

[dk-yid]

The person said if you have the worlds best academy

Also we have some of the best youth players in one of the most densely populated places in Europe which has people coming all over the world to live in

Dont underestimate the youth players we have coming through

Point well made. And I am not underestimating our youth. Just the pulling power of Barcelona is huge.

 

[beats1]

Point well made. And I am not underestimating our youth. Just the pulling power of Barcelona is huge.

I agree but people think of barcelona who have this fountain of youth with players coming out of it reborn, like the new Cryuff, the new Guardiola, the new xavi, the new iniesta and etc. who are essentially the same player that comes out of the system to replace the guy before them

I think people forget how bad barcelona was 12 years ago, they were a mess, financially, on the pitch and inside the dressing room

They were getting close to relegation, I was a barcelona member at the time, it was shocking what the club became.

The fans always demanded a big new signing hence they tried to sign beckham(failed), demanded better from their manager and were well behind their rivals. They went further in debt to try and buy a big team.

In the end what saved was wise signings and a mix of bringing youth and experience. Davids is widely hailed as the guy who said barcelona, stopping them from going further down the table, saving Rijkaard job and help the team with his experience to create one of the greatest teams in spain.

They still had a strong pulling power but after Ronaldinho, they didn't have the money or power to bring in another big gun yet they trusted the youth team to kick on.

The season before they had a shocking season finishing 12 but they were close to the relegation zone and similar us had a manager who gave a lot minutes to youth who did get slated for not playing the bigger players. Yet the season after the decision to play those players had heavily impacted on the first team for the good(iniesta, Valdes, Oleguer and etc)

The point is that Barcelona had this great pull but they had to rely on their academy because of the financial issues with the club and in the end were forced to get rid of some big players to keep their big player(ronaldinho) and rely on the academy for the rest of the team and cheap signings.

We should be thinking the same with regards to our academy no longer rely on squad signings and buy players that we think will genuinely improve our first 11 unless we believe a player needs to signed as he will become world class. There are a couple of players in our academy, who imo if they don't become top PL players, something has gone wrong.

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

The better your non-youngsters are, the more youngsters you can use. The worse your seniors are, the fewer youngster you can use.

 

[Bulletspur]

In what sense? In the quite literal sense of not wanting a foreigner as being someone outside of the academy I guess so, but isn't that the point in having an academy, to develop your own players to save/make money. Isn't it xenophobic to have a friendship group and not to let anyone new into it?

I assume when you say xenophobic you mean preferring English players other foreign nations. If so that's not the case. As preferring an academy trained XI over non-academy trained players isn't nation dependent.

We have Bentaleb, Veljkovic, Azzaoui, Glover and maybe Yahaya. I'd rather those 5 game threw with us, than us buy Rodwell, Keane, Redmond, Butland and Lindgard.

Well argued. I stand corrected and do retract my first impression!