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edwardo

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    The Ultimate Super Ayr Thread

    in Scottish Championship General Chatter

    Posted

    55 minutes ago, HMIP said:

    I think that’s more a reflection of how poor youth development is at Championship level.  It’s not that players aren’t getting a chance, it’s that they simply aren’t being produced in the first place.  Our own track record over the last 20 years is absolutely woeful, but the players we have produced (Forrest, Crawford, Craig Conway, Stewart Kean) were all well involved in the first team by around 18.  I can’t think of too many others.  Jackson Longridge should have been involved but wasn’t due to  Mark Roberts’ limitless ineptitude and McCowan should have been involved earlier but wasn’t due to McCall being so blinkered.  Show me examples of players who’ve been released at 18 who’ve come back to bite us?  

    Clubs our size that are getting and have gotten youth development right in recent times  (Hamilton, Falkirk and Livingston) have a clear track record of getting players involved with the first team early as well as a track record of being pretty ruthless with boys that aren’t making the grade.

    Personally, I think youth development academies are becoming a bit of a cottage industry in this country with lots of people, including ex pros making decent money from them, but delivering little in terms of results.  I think it suits this cottage industry just fine to create this idea that players in their late teens who are no where near ready or good enough for the first team should be regarded as good young prospects who ought to be persevered with.  I’ve honestly lost track of the number of players at Ayr In recent times who’ve reached the age of 19/20 and are still being touted as prospects when they’ve never kicked a ball for the first team. 

    I think at Ayr we should be setting the academy a clear target of producing 2 players a year who can step up to the first team squad, otherwise, what’s the point?  Would hopefully put some pressure on them to start delivering as they seem to be in a comfort zone, operating a conveyor belt of talent for the Juniors.

     

     

     

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    There is lots of very good young players at our academy and we will see the benefit of this in the next few years . Finn stayed on at school which has probably held him back a wee bit interns of development however he has now finished school and 100% focused on football .with the chance to play week in week out against men will bring him in rather than maybe getting the odd 19 minutes here or there and as I said hopefully the club will benefit from this in the long term 

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