Home Grown Talent or Buy In

The step up is in physical presence
Time on the ball, is similar.

Yes unfortunately a big strapping lad can usually beat a strippling with more talent

There is a lot of truth in that. However, I have to say that today's no. 10 for Hayes and Yeading looked smaller and younger than my 15 year old son and was jostling with our bigger players for the ball.

Not having a pop at Jacob at all, more that, as has been proven time and again with the likes of Messi and Maradona and many others, physical presence is not the be all and end all if you have exceptional talent. At Bath City, we play our best when we are passing and playing it along the ground and into channels. This suits quicker players not more physical players (although, at their best, Nick McCootie and Dave Pratt are both).

The Academy are home to Bristol next Saturday at Twerton Park. 10.30am KO I believe. With no first team game it's a great chance for people to check out the young players and make a more effective judgement for themselves (albeit only based on 90 mins).

Being able to match the physical challenge at our level is everything. Both Messi and Maradonna are/were strong athletes - make no mistake. They just happen to be rather good too. So skill is not enough and I don't suppose too many of the development squad are that skilful either.
On the other hand I completely agree that any money spent on the likes of Yeoman has been completely wasted as he neither seems to have skill nor strength either. In that case there is an option of trying to toughen up your better youngsters and see what happens. There have been a few in the past that showed enough promise to be given this opportunity but seemed to sink without trace. That is where management styles and policy can be scrutinised and I don't think our team come out too well on that score.

Yeoman, as others have mentioned, is just one of a long line of signed but never really played. We don't ever seem to get anyone who will challenge the current team for a place.
We should slip in the odd city youngster through the games just to bring them on and to assist if Adie's remit is to keep wage costs down.

I don't believe Yeoman is signed but simply the latest in the long line of short term fix loans. If it was just for a month, I guess we have already 'seen' the last of him. And he would only be a waste of money if the club are paying his wages, or part of them.

It has been explained to me by a reliable club source that the problem with drafting more players from the under 21 set up is that they lack competitive football at the university. Hopefully this present arrangement is under review as I maintain that we should be tapping in to this age group and aiming to develop them for our own club rather than others.

So basically any discussion of a link with the uni is a waste of time. We cannot use their pitches for training and we can't use the players because all they do is train with each other.
I hope no one raises this red herring again.
We haven't got a development route into the club and hence have to raid the nearest bigger sides' youth systems.
At least now we know.

There was a link with the uni players and bishop Sutton but I think that has finished

Interesting to see in the Chronicle that Yeovil have signed a 'Bath College footballer'. However, he hasn't been pinched from under our noses because he is apparently part of the college's partnership with Southampton, whose players train twice a week with Yeovil and play for their under 18 team. The article does mention towards the end that the college also has an academy partnership with City, but as something of an afterthought.

LB wrote:Interesting to see in the Chronicle that Yeovil have signed a 'Bath College footballer'. However, he hasn't been pinched from under our noses because he is apparently part of the college's partnership with Southampton, whose players train twice a week with Yeovil and play for their under 18 team. The article does mention towards the end that the college also has an academy partnership with City, but as something of an afterthought.

Not wanting to burst the bubble of an elusion that "kids get snatch from under our nose" there are two sets of local kids attending College, First the Southampton FC Second chance program, and also the Bath City Kids. they both attend the college but sit in different classrooms.  Southampton FC are looking at post academy kids from Bristol area that was released and any that just didn't get in) incase they develop after 16, using government money (same as us as each has his college and training paid for) During the time a kid leaves school and start college they trial for both with the Southampton as first chose with a fall back into our system.

The Southampton second chance moved all their kids into Yeovil (I have a good friend who's son is now at yeovil) so its no surprise that one is now on contract !

Isn't it terrible that kids at 16 are seen as needing a 'second chance' because academies haven't already picked them up?