Breaking News Allegations of a Top Departure

[Kevin Hogg]

Is good to hear that somebody who has done a great job at Southend United has not been overlooked by the big boys. That is a positive and shows that Mr Wenger and his club appreciate some work being done behind the scenes at Roots Hall.
Best of luck to RD.

 

[DTS]

In fairness its good to have a route up the league for employees be the players or staff.

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

Would we get any money or reward for him? It would help a little but, if he does go, replacing him would be the biggest thing. fingers crossed we get someone good.

it's amazing that people have such contrasting views on him.
i've always been dismayed we don't have as many kids coming through our system into the first team as other comparible teams such as bOrient

 

[Somerset Ex-TTB]

Other than Moussa I can't think of any that have come through over the last 5 years and are playing at a reasonable level. (Maybe Bentley will now)

We have had a production line of Conference and Ryman level players.

Don't get me wrong, I think he has done a reasonable job with limited resources, but I just don't think he is irreplaceable.

 

[Tinks]

It could also work the other way with him departing for Arsenal.
Those that Don't meet the grade could be forwarded or referred onto Southend youth dept. from what I hear PB is quite passionate about having a youth set up

 

[Shrimper95]

Other than Moussa I can't think of any that have come through over the last 5 years and are playing at a reasonable level. (Maybe Bentley will now)

We have had a production line of Conference and Ryman level players.

Don't get me wrong, I think he has done a reasonable job with limited resources, but I just don't think he is irreplaceable.

Poleon scored yesterday for Leeds and Ngoo has scored quite regularly for Hearts.

 

[chapperzUK]

Other than Moussa I can't think of any that have come through over the last 5 years and are playing at a reasonable level. (Maybe Bentley will now)

We have had a production line of Conference and Ryman level players.

Don't get me wrong, I think he has done a reasonable job with limited resources, but I just don't think he is irreplaceable.

What about Michael N'Goo?

Most of the players that have come through our youth team and moved on are still quite young.

 

[Ricey]

Other than Moussa I can't think of any that have come through over the last 5 years and are playing at a reasonable level. (Maybe Bentley will now)

We have had a production line of Conference and Ryman level players.

Don't get me wrong, I think he has done a reasonable job with limited resources, but I just don't think he is irreplaceable.

Kane Ferdinand?

 

[fredheim_holm]

Poleon scored yesterday for Leeds and Ngoo has scored quite regularly for Hearts.

Didn't realise he had a stint with us. Hope he didn't mean anything by that push that seriously hurt their keeper, wasn't nice to see.

 

[Somerset Ex-TTB]

Ngoo has scored quite regularly for Hearts.

As I said, Conference and Ryman level :tease:

 

[Kevin Hogg]

I am really pleased to see the recognition.

However, I do agree that our youth system has not benefited the club that much. Even with Ricky Duncan in control - few players come through and virtually none command a decent transfer fee for us.

I wish him well..but have seen very little actual benefit. As someone wrote above - lots of good footballers that are not quite good enough for league football. In that case - pointless.

I am happy RD may get an opportunity at Arsenal and am sure he is extremely capable. It may be our club, the area? Who knows? But very little talent has actually emerged in recent years.

 

[chapperzUK]

Not really sure what people expect of the youth system. It seems that some think that you set one up and the flood gates open with several talented players coming through the youth system every year and command fees. Even at the best clubs in the country they would get around 1-2 a season AT MOST. Look at clubs with the best academies, then at their first team and see how many of them came through the ranks.

For any club that wants to be taken seriously about their youth system, they need to be at least a category 2 one as this is where they are allowed to spend a lot more time training their players with better facilities in the Under-21 development league (I think this is only open to category 1 & 2 clubs). Sadly, we don't have the finances to fund this but I reckon when (or if) we move to Fossetts Farm, we could have them in place.

Another thing is we need to work with the bigger clubs, like Arsenal for example, and while this can leave us open to them taking our players for what could be peanuts with the new EPPP rules, we will be recommended to their players who don't quite make it.

If our youth system "isn't good enough" or "is pointless", then why did we get players like Chambers and Delle-Verde who chose to sign for us after recommendations from their former clubs while rejecting others.

 

[Jam_Man]

I am really pleased to see the recognition.

However, I do agree that our youth system has not benefited the club that much. Even with Ricky Duncan in control - few players come through and virtually none command a decent transfer fee for us.

I wish him well..but have seen very little actual benefit. As someone wrote above - lots of good footballers that are not quite good enough for league football. In that case - pointless.

I am happy RD may get an opportunity at Arsenal and am sure he is extremely capable. It may be our club, the area? Who knows? But very little talent has actually emerged in recent years.

Other than Crewe how many lower league clubs do though?

 

[Kevin Hogg]

Other than Crewe how many lower league clubs do though?

EXACTLY! Waste of money then????

 

[Kevin Hogg]

Not really sure what people expect of the youth system. It seems that some think that you set one up and the flood gates open with several talented players coming through the youth system every year and command fees. Even at the best clubs in the country they would get around 1-2 a season AT MOST. Look at clubs with the best academies, then at their first team and see how many of them came through the ranks.

For any club that wants to be taken seriously about their youth system, they need to be at least a category 2 one as this is where they are allowed to spend a lot more time training their players with better facilities in the Under-21 development league (I think this is only open to category 1 & 2 clubs). Sadly, we don't have the finances to fund this but I reckon when (or if) we move to Fossetts Farm, we could have them in place.

Another thing is we need to work with the bigger clubs, like Arsenal for example, and while this can leave us open to them taking our players for what could be peanuts with the new EPPP rules, we will be recommended to their players who don't quite make it.

If our youth system "isn't good enough" or "is pointless", then why did we get players like Chambers and Delle-Verde who chose to sign for us after recommendations from their former clubs while rejecting others.

It does not matter whatsoever who is recommended to join our youth system - unless they make the grade or make us money.
Very, very few have made the grade for us or made us a farthing.
I agree we should invest in youth - if it gives a return of any kind. We invest in a system that appears to produce very little. If we hear a player is promising, we stick him on the bench at the end of the season. We rarely ever hear from them again until they emerge on loan at a non-league club.

Youth should be the way forward for lower league clubs...it just doesn't appear to work for us.

Yes - invest in youth. However, investment has to pay off. It quite clearly has not whatsoever in recent years. Despite lots of compliments about RD - few players, little return.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Another thing is we need to work with the bigger clubs, like Arsenal for example, and while this can leave us open to them taking our players for what could be peanuts with the new EPPP rules, we will be recommended to their players who don't quite make it.

I am pretty sure that this already happens.

 

[GodblessArthurRowley]

Our youth set up is a waste of time and money despite the best efforts of a top man like Ricky Duncan, good luck to him. Crewe is the benchmark for bringing through talented youth players, we just play at it then bring in loanees who cant even get this club into the top seven of a division that is barely non league standard.

 

[chapperzUK]

Our youth set up is a waste of time and money despite the best efforts of a top man like Ricky Duncan, good luck to him. Crewe is the benchmark for bringing through talented youth players, we just play at it then bring in loanees who cant even get this club into the top seven of a division that is barely non league standard.

How on earth can Crewe be the benchmark for bringing talent through? They are the best lower league club to do this, so to say we should just give up because we aren't the best. Crewe have been doing it for 30 years and we have only done it for 10, so we can hardly compare.

As for the last statement, that is just crazy. How is league 2 barely non-league standard? If that were true then every team coming from the conference would simply walk the league.

 

[sufcnum1]

the only diffrance is the crewe manager plays the youth players regular as were our managers haven't, ie kane ferdinand and a run in the first team, and moved on, someone saw potenail in gary hooper, micheal kightley and look at them now, did southend/steve tilson, oh and the kid that went to fulam, is another

 

[EastStandBlue]

A fairly huge blow for the club if true. Duncan's overseen a huge sea change in not just the calibre of youngsters coming through, but the way the club is viewed both within the community and within football in general. I'd consider it highly likely that the way in which Kane Ferdinand was polished before heading to Peterborough played a huge part in convincing Watford to loan us Britt for an entire season. Still, I wouldn't begrudge him moving... I know he has contacts at Arsenal and he was probably expecting us to have made moves towards an Academy by now. Instead, EPPP has seen the club ranked behind even Colchester.

If he is indeed off, then I'd like to see Luke Hobbs get the nod. Worked with the younger age groups so will know all about the players approaching the U18 squad, and has served as understudy to Duncan for about four years now I think. Worked with Coughlan when Sturrock was ill last season, so is obviously highly rated. He'll probably be sacked as part of Brown's upheaval...