Academy

[Lindy]

Can someone explain the point of it under Darren Moore? I thought our owners were aiming for Rovers to be a sustainable club. DM has released our young players and intends to sign loan players. If that is the policy then why not get rid of the academy and save money? That being the case I will be limiting my visits to the Keepmoat. I don’t want to watch a team full of loan players. For me two loan players on the pitch is more than enough.

[roversdude]

Ever thought that DM has his sights set higher and didn’t rate the current crop. It will be part of a bigger picture especially considering that going forward there will be a need for homegrown talent

[drfc1951]

Can someone explain the point of it under Darren Moore? I thought our owners were aiming for Rovers to be a sustainable club. DM has released our young players and intends to sign loan players. If that is the policy then why not get rid of the academy and save money? That being the case I will be limiting my visits to the Keepmoat. I don’t want to watch a team full of loan players. For me two loan players on the pitch is more than enough.

Your visits to the Keepmoat will be limited anyway due to playing behind closed doors.

[Filo]

Can someone explain the point of it under Darren Moore? I thought our owners were aiming for Rovers to be a sustainable club. DM has released our young players and intends to sign loan players. If that is the policy then why not get rid of the academy and save money? That being the case I will be limiting my visits to the Keepmoat. I don’t want to watch a team full of loan players. For me two loan players on the pitch is more than enough.

In the current climate it’s difficult to operate normally, if the U23’s have to be scaled back to get us through this crisis and hopefully maintain or improve our league position, so be it, at least we’ll have a club to support

[wing commander]

     I think any decision's made this season have to be taken in the context of the current covid climate.Revenues are being hammered and will continue to be.The club has to shrink the bubble and cut costs to as sustainable level as it can.That will be happening right now with every club outside the Premiership.You only have to look at the release lists and how few new contracts are being offered,and if the u23 programme has to take a back seat for a year or so then so be it.

That said our development/youth programmes have so far produced very very little compared to the investment it's received..We cant seem to produce many players who come through it and become first team players.Yes some do get 1 year pro contracts but then fade away..Maybe this is the time were we have a roots and branch look at it to try and work out why.So when things do return to normal maybe we can produce better...
 

[Draytonian III]

This isn’t DM fault it’s a fault of the EFL allowing 5 players in a match day squad to be loan players, he’s only doing what other managers do, I take it you didn’t go much last season, if at all

[silent majority]

Most clubs will be looking at loaning U21 players from the EPL this coming season as they don't fall into the squad cap calculation. Expect to see more not less.

[IDM]

Can someone explain the point of it under Darren Moore? I thought our owners were aiming for Rovers to be a sustainable club. DM has released our young players and intends to sign loan players. If that is the policy then why not get rid of the academy and save money? That being the case I will be limiting my visits to the Keepmoat. I don’t want to watch a team full of loan players. For me two loan players on the pitch is more than enough.

When the players wear the shirt they are DRFC players, loanees or not.

That has got to be one of the most ridiculous arguments I have seen for not going to the matches.

[Draytonian III]

Well said the previous two posters, you might not like the player but he is playing for OUR team, remember years ago when players went on loan for a month sometimes you never saw them play because of the weather or how the fixtures panned out like it could have happened in March with 5 out 6 matches away

[selby]

  I am sure that in the near future news of the next batch of scholarship young players the club have given scholarships to will be posted on the main club site.
  The situation at the moment has put things back in time as most people on here will realise, but that does not mean that things have stopped altogether, the club are committed to their youth policy and  although the time line has been extended because of the situation with training and coaching curtailed, it will begin again at the earliest convenient date.
 In the mean time  even for the youth and junior teams training schedules to do remotely and skill sessions have been sent out to the players on line so that at least they are as ready as they can be for the restart. The club have been as proactive as possible in that respect.

[DonnyOsmond]

Can someone explain the point of it under Darren Moore? I thought our owners were aiming for Rovers to be a sustainable club. DM has released our young players and intends to sign loan players. If that is the policy then why not get rid of the academy and save money? That being the case I will be limiting my visits to the Keepmoat. I don’t want to watch a team full of loan players. For me two loan players on the pitch is more than enough.

When the players wear the shirt they are DRFC players, loanees or not.

That has got to be one of the most ridiculous arguments I have seen for not going to the matches.

I think it is frustrating giving game time to lads, helping them develop and then receiving nothing for them. A lot of people would prefer to see us develop assets of our own then make money for big teams.

[selby]

  Amos and Jones might get a chance of that this season Donny with a bit of luck, but only if they are good enough to hold down a place, basically it is up to them and Horton wants to be looking at shoving on. In the two full backs cases they are up against two of our successes of last season so have a lot to do.

[Draytonian III]

I would rather have loan players in for a year ie Kane, Wilks , Houghton etc than players on short terms contracts,Cole ,Bingham

[IDM]

Can someone explain the point of it under Darren Moore? I thought our owners were aiming for Rovers to be a sustainable club. DM has released our young players and intends to sign loan players. If that is the policy then why not get rid of the academy and save money? That being the case I will be limiting my visits to the Keepmoat. I don’t want to watch a team full of loan players. For me two loan players on the pitch is more than enough.

When the players wear the shirt they are DRFC players, loanees or not.

That has got to be one of the most ridiculous arguments I have seen for not going to the matches.

I think it is frustrating giving game time to lads, helping them develop and then receiving nothing for them. A lot of people would prefer to see us develop assets of our own then make money for big teams.

What we receive may not be monetary directly, but is given in their performances on the pitch.  That’s where the value is..

[adamtherover]

     I think any decision's made this season have to be taken in the context of the current covid climate.Revenues are being hammered and will continue to be.The club has to shrink the bubble and cut costs to as sustainable level as it can.That will be happening right now with every club outside the Premiership.You only have to look at the release lists and how few new contracts are being offered,and if the u23 programme has to take a back seat for a year or so then so be it.

That said our development/youth programmes have so far produced very very little compared to the investment it's received..We cant seem to produce many players who come through it and become first team players.Yes some do get 1 year pro contracts but then fade away..Maybe this is the time were we have a roots and branch look at it to try and work out why.So when things do return to normal maybe we can produce better...
 

I read the other day Liverpool had over 200 players registered aside from the first team squad, which is incredible. How many of them a season actually make a league start? 1 or 2 at most? By comparison we have very little options to chose from, plus all the local talent is cherry picked by bigger clubs long before their 16th birthday.  Hence why we have almost zero local talent holding down first team spots. 

[since-1969]

Can someone explain the point of it under Darren Moore? I thought our owners were aiming for Rovers to be a sustainable club. DM has released our young players and intends to sign loan players. If that is the policy then why not get rid of the academy and save money? That being the case I will be limiting my visits to the Keepmoat. I don’t want to watch a team full of loan players. For me two loan players on the pitch is more than enough.

Is it Moore or DRFC who look long term , IMO Moore wants success on the pitch and would not want to wait for players to come through the ranks . Loans are the cheapest way to success but fraught with dangers as they often move back to to their parent clubs and you have to start again anyway . Rovers are not going ever to put money before success . So with Covid 19 being in charge of events it’s going to be another none season and the clubs finances being restricted to the point of a lower L2 team .

[Alan Southstand]

Wing Commander, you can’t expect much from a group of lads that are playing at Cat3 level. We can’t afford the step up to Cat2, so we have to do the best we can with what we can get in! It’s not easy, as investing the increased levels of funding to the youth set-up, robs us of that level of investment in the first team squad.

Last season, the u18 lads were winning their league at a canter, with something like a 12 point lead over their rivals. So, you can’t say the Club aren’t doing something right. There are 1 or 2 young lads who are well worth keeping on and I hope we hear some news on that, soon.

As for the next batch, talk to Selby about the potential in the u16’s, they sound very promising!

[DonnyOsmond]

Can someone explain the point of it under Darren Moore? I thought our owners were aiming for Rovers to be a sustainable club. DM has released our young players and intends to sign loan players. If that is the policy then why not get rid of the academy and save money? That being the case I will be limiting my visits to the Keepmoat. I don’t want to watch a team full of loan players. For me two loan players on the pitch is more than enough.

Is it Moore or DRFC who look long term , IMO Moore wants success on the pitch and would not want to wait for players to come through the ranks . Loans are the cheapest way to success but fraught with dangers as they often move back to to their parent clubs and you have to start again anyway . Rovers are not going ever to put money before success . So with Covid 19 being in charge of events it’s going to be another none season and the clubs finances being restricted to the point of a lower L2 team .

Do you think Covid 19 only affects us?

[DonnyOsmond]

Wing Commander, you can’t expect much from a group of lads that are playing at Cat3 level. We can’t afford the step up to Cat2, so we have to do the best we can with what we can get in! It’s not easy, as investing the increased levels of funding to the youth set-up, robs us of that level of investment in the first team squad.

Last season, the u18 lads were winning their league at a canter, with something like a 12 point lead over their rivals. So, you can’t say the Club aren’t doing something right. There are 1 or 2 young lads who are well worth keeping on and I hope we hear some news on that, soon.

As for the next batch, talk to Selby about the potential in the u16’s, they sound very promising!

By U16 will they be first years in the U18s this coming season?

[steve@dcfd]

Times have changed when we played Northern intermediate league there were about 15 teams. There was no academy premier league competitions. The likes of Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United and Barnsley are academy Cat 2 and playing in those leagues.

Our under 18s have won the league by a canter but they are not playing the better U18 sides week in week out. That’s the academy and I hope at least three of those players get their first professional contract but have we got the money for U23 team.
Having watched the U23 side this season the best players have been retained for me. DM has said the priority for him is to use the money we have to put a first team together GB said we will use the loan market as history as shown teams with loan players have finished more regularly in the play offs. 4 of Wycombe squad tonight are loans from higher clubs it would have been 5 but they could not continue to pay the left back so he returned to his parent club in lockdown.
Darren Moore’s background as been at U23 level it will hurt him if we can’t have a team but yet again the level of the teams we play is not brilliant.

[since-1969]

Can someone explain the point of it under Darren Moore? I thought our owners were aiming for Rovers to be a sustainable club. DM has released our young players and intends to sign loan players. If that is the policy then why not get rid of the academy and save money? That being the case I will be limiting my visits to the Keepmoat. I don’t want to watch a team full of loan players. For me two loan players on the pitch is more than enough.

Is it Moore or DRFC who look long term , IMO Moore wants success on the pitch and would not want to wait for players to come through the ranks . Loans are the cheapest way to success but fraught with dangers as they often move back to to their parent clubs and you have to start again anyway . Rovers are not going ever to put money before success . So with Covid 19 being in charge of events it’s going to be another none season and the clubs finances being restricted to the point of a lower L2 team .

Do you think Covid 19 only affects us?

No ..,but we will not benefit either .

[steve@dcfd]

Lindy and Since-1969 who was the last player to come out of the U 18 side and progress into the first team, them go on to play for a higher club. The answer was Paul Green who started at Sheff Weds then at 16 came to DRFC. As I’ve said Youth football as changed. Loans are part and parcel of football from higher teams. Wycombe have had 5 this season and they are in the playoffs. You may think it’s the cheap way to run a club but this is the way GB and club believe we will progress and DM will do his best to get good loans to supplement our own players.

[DonnyOsmond]

Lindy and Since-1969 who was the last player to come out of the U 18 side and progress into the first team, them go on to play for a higher club. The answer was Paul Green who started at Sheff Weds then at 16 came to DRFC. As I’ve said Youth football as changed. Loans are part and parcel of football from higher teams. Wycombe have had 5 this season and they are in the playoffs. You may think it’s the cheap way to run a club but this is the way GB and club believe we will progress and DM will do his best to get good loans to supplement our own players.

Try again. There's a 26 year old who came through our academy who has 80+ appearances in the Championship.

[adamtherover]

Lindy and Since-1969 who was the last player to come out of the U 18 side and progress into the first team, them go on to play for a higher club. The answer was Paul Green who started at Sheff Weds then at 16 came to DRFC. As I’ve said Youth football as changed. Loans are part and parcel of football from higher teams. Wycombe have had 5 this season and they are in the playoffs. You may think it’s the cheap way to run a club but this is the way GB and club believe we will progress and DM will do his best to get good loans to supplement our own players.

Try again. There's a 26 year old who came through our academy who has 80+ appearances in the Championship.

husband?  Who considering we signed from Leeds as a 16 year old, can hardly be described as coming through our academy?

[DonnyOsmond]

As an alternative look at Crewe, of the 16 players that made 20+ appearances for them this season 10 were given their pro debut by Crewe, majority of which came from the academy.

[RoversAlias]

Lindy and Since-1969 who was the last player to come out of the U 18 side and progress into the first team, them go on to play for a higher club. The answer was Paul Green who started at Sheff Weds then at 16 came to DRFC. As I’ve said Youth football as changed. Loans are part and parcel of football from higher teams. Wycombe have had 5 this season and they are in the playoffs. You may think it’s the cheap way to run a club but this is the way GB and club believe we will progress and DM will do his best to get good loans to supplement our own players.

Try again. There's a 26 year old who came through our academy who has 80+ appearances in the Championship.

husband?  Who considering we signed from Leeds as a 16 year old, can hardly be described as coming through our academy?

I think we can, and anyway Husband counts if Green does, since we got Green from Sheffield Wednesday's academy.

[Alan Southstand]

Another point for Lindy to chew on:

As far as having an u23’s next season - how many u23 sides do you think there will be next season? It’s one thing to have an u23 squad, but if they have no-one to play against, how will their development progress? IF we did have a side next season, they would be lucky if they played 10 games, and those games would largely be down to playing in the Premier Cup competition (if we were invited in it next season).

I think the u23’s will be put on ice until such time as we know whether there are enough teams that would make it feasible to have some sort of competitive set-up.

All that means is that the circumstances that we find ourselves in have absolutely nothing to do with Darren Moore, or DRFC! If you can’t see that, then you’re missing something very fundamental. Maybe time for a bit of reflection?

[DonnyOsmond]

Lindy and Since-1969 who was the last player to come out of the U 18 side and progress into the first team, them go on to play for a higher club. The answer was Paul Green who started at Sheff Weds then at 16 came to DRFC. As I’ve said Youth football as changed. Loans are part and parcel of football from higher teams. Wycombe have had 5 this season and they are in the playoffs. You may think it’s the cheap way to run a club but this is the way GB and club believe we will progress and DM will do his best to get good loans to supplement our own players.

Try again. There's a 26 year old who came through our academy who has 80+ appearances in the Championship.

husband?  Who considering we signed from Leeds as a 16 year old, can hardly be described as coming through our academy?

I think we can, and anyway Husband counts if Green does, since we got Green from Sheffield Wednesday's academy.

Yeah, otherwise we're going even further back.

[adamtherover]

Anyone know the last true academy graduate who joined drfc as a kid, without being rejected from elsewhere, who has gone in to make a career in the EFL?

[DonnyOsmond]

Anyone know the last true academy graduate who joined drfc as a kid, without being rejected from elsewhere, who has gone in to make a career in the EFL?

Darius Henderson apparently. Looks like he played for our youth then went to Reading around 17-18.