al_pacino
woo
- Feb 2, 2005
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How many teams have this century?
Strikers seem to be the hardest to produce, which is why they get the biggest bucks when they do make it.
Spurs under 21, under 18 Leagues and other youth news
- Thread starter Spursidol
- Start date
How many teams have this century?
Strikers seem to be the hardest to produce, which is why they get the biggest bucks when they do make it.
But not to have produced a striker who made it at the club in more than 30 years? That's poor.
I'd love us to produce a superstar striker who comes through the ranks on fire like Owen at Liverpool or Rooney at Liverpool
To be fair though its not just us really - how many EPL clubs have produced their own top strikers in recent years? most seem to have been brought in from over seas
The days of Shearer, Cole, Wright, Ferdinand and Sheringham topping the EPL scoring charts seem a thing of the past
Its only really Rooney and Sturridge performing to a high level now days
(even Southampton's amazingly successful academy with its Shaw's, Walcot's Ox-C and Bale has not really produced a striker as such yet)
Agreed that it's not easy to find strikers but I can't think of another club that has failed to have one come through its youth system in over 30 years!
We're overdue!
C0YS
Just another member
- Jul 9, 2007
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Crouch I guess? He cam through the system and did alright for us when he came back..
well for one different clubs will have different policies in regards to youth and buying over the last 30 years - we've been a club that has maybe put more focus on the transfer market than youth development in that time which in turn makes the demands of a striker from the youth more difficult to break in (as they have to dislodge more established players brought in for relatively big money and maybe don't get the opportunities that would have at other clubs)
I'm trying to think what top clubs have produced - ie clubs who in that time will have had similar policies to us with regards to buying and promoting youth strikers.
If we take them clubs to be - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City and say Newcastle for the sake of argument.........
Arsenal - Andy Cole was their youth product though he had to go else where to make his name, pretty much all their top strikers in the last 15-20 years have been bought (Giroud, Van Persie, Henry, Anelka, Wright, Smith)
Was Kevin Campbell a youth product of theirs? if so he probably wouldn't have been good enough to break in under Wenger
Chelsea - They had Kerrie Dixon.....a Spurs youth product, They can't claim Sturridge as he'd already been a first team player at Man City and been educated at the likes of Coventry and Villa, off the top of my head I can't think of a decent striker they've had who's not been bought for them (Drogba, Hasslebank, Gudjohson, Flow even back as far as Furlong, Spencer, Fleck they were always buying strikers not producing them)
Liverpool - obviously they stand out as they produced Fowler and Owen though not much else and their main strikers more recently have been expensive signings
Man U - famed for producing youth and winning the treble with the graduates of a successful crop of youngsters....yet that did not include a striker and all the strikers of that time were externally brought in (Cole, Yorke, OGS, Sheringham).
Rooney, RvP, RVN and on and on their main strikers have always been incoming transfers back to the days of Mark Hughes and Brian McClair
Ok they have Welbeck now - but for a team capable of attratcing the best youth products and one who's produced so much great youth players there's a massive lack of strikers proportionately
Who has anyone else brought through of note really? Everton had Rooney and Jeffers but they're a team who hadn't had money to spend on transfers so had to depend more on youth which probably aided the development of youth players
I agree its poor that we've basically produced no strikers who've gone on to have successful PL careers let alone become superstars (Crouch like Cole at Arsenal had to move away to break into first team football but went on to be an international striker) - but if you look at the first team strikers we've had in that time they'd need to be overtly outstanding from young to so much as get a first team opportunity with us as we've generally had good strikers or at least expensive first team strikers and no lack of depth normally so chances are few and far between for kids to play up front in the last 20 plus years and you only need to look at the other big clubs who buy in strikers to see that they too have not really produced much in the way of successful strikers either
eddiebailey
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- Oct 12, 2004
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Too early to say that I think. His obvious limitation is pace, but that he has got so so far without pace indicates that he has something about him. So far we have only seen flashes of his quality in a Spurs shirt.
As for other candidates for stardom Rose, Bentelab and Veljkovic can all be considered youth products, sort of.
Livermore will have a good career, though probably not with us. But I have high hopes of Carroll and Townsend.
Spursidol
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- Sep 15, 2007
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Spurs have always had a youth academy or youth development system but its only in the last 5 or 6 years that we've put any real effort/thought/money into it - starting with Frank Aarnesen drawing up a blueprint as to how young players should be trained and developed, and the subsequent recruitment of John McDermott.
The first real intake in the revamped acadeemy was probably the 1991 year group which included the likes of Andros Townsend, who has just broken into .the Spurs first team. I had great hopes of several of his contemporaries such as Ryan Mason - who scored almost 30 goals a season for 2 successive seasons in the academy at a rate of almost a goal a game - but alas he's sufferred injuries over the last few years and for the place I had hoped he would fill we've recruited Erikssen. Jon Obika was always a long shot, but I syuspect now will only be a Championship level striker.
I am hoping we get 1 or 2 youth products into the first team squad, and strikerwise we'll see Kane, Coulthirst and looking past that into the current Academy Year 2, but with only 1 or 2 a year and 1 in 5 or 10 of the successful ones being strikers it may well take a few years (maybe 5 years) to see enough of the conveyor belt to get a top class first team striker into the first team, if Kane/Coulthirst do not make it.
The first real intake in the revamped acadeemy was probably the 1991 year group which included the likes of Andros Townsend, who has just broken into .the Spurs first team. I had great hopes of several of his contemporaries such as Ryan Mason - who scored almost 30 goals a season for 2 successive seasons in the academy at a rate of almost a goal a game - but alas he's sufferred injuries over the last few years and for the place I had hoped he would fill we've recruited Erikssen. Jon Obika was always a long shot, but I syuspect now will only be a Championship level striker.
I am hoping we get 1 or 2 youth products into the first team squad, and strikerwise we'll see Kane, Coulthirst and looking past that into the current Academy Year 2, but with only 1 or 2 a year and 1 in 5 or 10 of the successful ones being strikers it may well take a few years (maybe 5 years) to see enough of the conveyor belt to get a top class first team striker into the first team, if Kane/Coulthirst do not make it.
Do you not hold any hope what so ever of Coulilbaly becoming a first team player then? (he seems to have been back amoungst the goals for the youth teams lately)
Or are you not including him because while a youth product we bought him in from Siena?
Spursidol
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- Sep 15, 2007
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I think Coulthirst is a better bet. I don't dismiss Coulibaly's chances, but even in his first season at Spurs he seemed to be more of a goalscorer without much more to his game. The flip side of that of course is that if he's not scoring he does not contribute that much to the side.
Atm he seems to be missing a number of chances and scoring less - so until he becomes prolific again, he'll struggle.
BTW, he's scored 3 this season, 2 against Colchester in a Spurs X1 and 1 against Newcastle, he's been injured I grant you, but not sure I'd call him prolific !
http://www.myfootballfacts.com/TottenhamHotspurReservesAcademy2013-14.html
I wasn't suggesting he was prolific - just that he seemed to have been all but written off and sent out on an unsuccessful loan spell and recently I have noticed his name back in the team and scoring goals on a couple of occasions so I asked you (as someone who knows about the youth teams) whether you were not including him because he was unlikely to make the break through or because he's not a conventional youth player having come in from outside
Coulthirst has already made a first team appearance now - although being the knee jerk judgemental fool that I am I was displeased with his reactions and positioning to fail to take advantage of a chance from a shot which rebounded off the keeper (not that this is anything like enough to judge him - I just think a more natural striker may have pounced)
Do you personally think Coulthirst will ever become a first team Spurs player? What about Lancaster? I seem to remember him making his way up to the Europa league bench once or twice also
IGSpur
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- Jan 11, 2013
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I disagree, of course Im putting my neck on the line, but I really think he can be in the Sheringham/Berbatov mould with maybe a bit more strength (now I'm really putting the pressure on). His vision, ball control, one touch play combined with his strenght and shot power and finishing make him unpredictable and dangerous in and around the box. Also he isn't THAT slow, but he's not dependent on pace. If we give him chances for the rest of the season I think he'' come good. He has never once looked out of place this season when he's come on for us and he only recently turned 20 I think. When he played against Hull, the way he took his goal with his weak foot as well holding off players, plus he hit the post and scored a pen, shows he can mix it at this level adn surely can only improve.
Also as @Shea said it's hard to criticise our striker deficiencies as noone has really produced any of note, but that's not an excuse as we should try to do better than our comp.
Haven't seen much or heard much about Lancaster think he's a write off tbh. Coulthirst is decent I would say offers a bit more than Coulibaly as he can play as a winger too and is on better form of late.
Anyone else remember but I think earlier in the year we were getting reports that our coaching really rated Akindayini but I think he got injured as Harrison has been playing uptop for a while now.
Yes, I already mentioned Crouch.
But he had to leave to make a career for himself. Only came back to Spurs after 10 well travelled years. And while a very decent and useful striker, he's not of the top drawer level that I'm talking about.
What I'm longing to see is a striker equivalent of Ledley, coming through the ranks and establishing himself as a Spurs legend and top class international.
There was a guy on glory-glory who was waxing lyrical about Daniel Akindayini a year or so ago.
But I have a sneaking suspicion that the poster in question might well have been Daniel Akindayini. Or his Dad.
TottenhamLegend
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- Jun 13, 2012
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Is that definite?
I ask, because I remember he replaced George Green in a previous squad. Just checking you haven't read an old article!
Hi everyone. Does anyone know which players from the under 16's (or elsewhere) that have been offered / or signed to become a scholar from July 2014. I only know of 3 :-
Cameron Carter-Vickers , Christian Maghoma , Joseph Muscat
I know nothing of Kash Wallace and I think that Jayden Brown, Alfie Whiteman and Marcus Edwards are u15's so not old enough to be scholars in July.
Cameron Carter-Vickers , Christian Maghoma , Joseph Muscat
I know nothing of Kash Wallace and I think that Jayden Brown, Alfie Whiteman and Marcus Edwards are u15's so not old enough to be scholars in July.
Kendall
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- Feb 8, 2007
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It is, but probably the case for the likes of United as well. They've always bought their strikers in for as long as I can remember (I'm sure somebody is going to tell me of an obvious striker that came through United's youth team as a superstar) and nobody could argue with United's academy of a few years back!
*Please don't start mentioning Welbeck.
Romulus
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- Jun 14, 2012
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the fa tweeted it about an hour ago
Welbeck is probably the best striker they've produced over the past 30 years.
Although it should be remembered that Paul Scholes began his career as a striker - and he genuinely was a world class player.
Remember also that the last decent striker to come through our youth ranks to the first team was Mark Falco. And while decent, he probably wasn't even at Welbeck's level.
Come to think of it, have we ever produced a top drawer striker?
Certainly none come to mind post WW2. Les Bennett of the Push and Run team probably as good as it gets but he never even represented England.
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