Transfer News Transfer window 2020/21

Jones does not drive and is living far enough away to make it difficult. He also has not progressed as Robinson hoped. At 18 he is not physically able to cope with league one and is therefore not going to fill the void. We need a center back this week. A leader a proper experienced guy. Nothing less will do.
We need some bloody speed
 
Putting aside Ruffels, Long and Baptiste who have already come through recently, and either established themselves and/or went for decent money and Napa (sans injury), Carroll, COD before them, I guess top of the breakthrough list for this season is Jack Stevens who is now a fully established senior squad member.
Then, even if Jones (18) has stalled for the moment, we have Lofthouse, still only 19 (I think) whose versatility may prove useful slotting into the lineup at various points.
Then come this summer's other graduates (ie. 18) - Lopes, Spasov, Elechi - and second year scholar (17) Ty Goodrham who have all already tasted the senior bench and will probably do so once again this year too, so the pipeline is there and is functioning well.
Don't forget COD (& Long) was probably the first one to come through from the Lenagan-revived system after FK had stripped everything back, so there was a lot of momentum needing to be restored
Don’t know about Carroll he got released by Stevenage at the end of the last season
 
I already know the response to this but still its worth pointing out that Hanson is meant to be excellent at set piece delivery.
 
Just how many of our Academy players are in reality likely to be ready to step up to the first team squad either now or in the forseeable future? Surely if our Academy recruitment and training is working we should be seeing at least one per season able to do so. If all we have is "one or two showing promise" is it not a reasonable question to ask whether having an Academy is a luxury we can't afford?


Wycombe closed theirs some time ago, and ended up in the championship. Is the money spent on the academy better spent on ready made players, or part ready, like Dickie etc, than risking it on players who won't make it or one that does in a blue moon? (NB. This is a question, opinion wise, I have no real thoughts either way)
 
Hearing todays news... Perhaps rather than wanting to increase the squad size, we ought to be looking at decreasing it?

It looks like there may be empty stadiums until April...
 
Wycombe closed theirs some time ago, and ended up in the championship. Is the money spent on the academy better spent on ready made players, or part ready, like Dickie etc, than risking it on players who won't make it or one that does in a blue moon? (NB. This is a question, opinion wise, I have no real thoughts either way)

But according to Ainsworth Wycombe have no money....

Oh, and as pointed out by Mooro players have made it and have made us nice money, whilst others are part of our squad (Sam Long, Josh Ruffels, Jack Stevens, Malachi Napa, Matty Taylor).
 
Putting aside Ruffels, Long and Baptiste who have already come through recently, and either established themselves and/or went for decent money and Napa (sans injury), Carroll, COD before them, I guess top of the breakthrough list for this season is Jack Stevens who is now a fully established senior squad member.
Then, even if Jones (18) has stalled for the moment, we have Lofthouse, still only 19 (I think) whose versatility may prove useful slotting into the lineup at various points.
Then come this summer's other graduates (ie. 18) - Lopes, Spasov, Elechi - and second year scholar (17) Ty Goodrham who have all already tasted the senior bench and will probably do so once again this year too, so the pipeline is there and is functioning well.
Don't forget COD (& Long) was probably the first one to come through from the Lenagan-revived system after FK had stripped everything back, so there was a lot of momentum needing to be restored
Ruffles and Long have been senior players since 2013. Ruffles came through Coventry’s academy and was signed as a senior player. Only O’Dowda and Baptiste can be said to have been academy successes recently. Jack Stevens looks as if he will make the grade. Of the rest mentioned the jury is still out as KR has alluded to.
3 or 4 making it in 7 years doesn’t seem much of a return to me. I wonder how we compare with other clubs in this regard?
 
Ruffles and Long have been senior players since 2013. Ruffles came through Coventry’s academy and was signed as a senior player. Only O’Dowda and Baptiste can be said to have been academy successes recently. Jack Stevens looks as if he will make the grade. Of the rest mentioned the jury is still out as KR has alluded to.
3 or 4 making it in 7 years doesn’t seem much of a return to me. I wonder how we compare with other clubs in this regard?

Well tbf, the big investment in the Academy has only really been relatively recent although the process started earlier. And there will be a time lag anyway as the players will have to work their way through the system.
 
Just how many of our Academy players are in reality likely to be ready to step up to the first team squad either now or in the forseeable future? Surely if our Academy recruitment and training is working we should be seeing at least one per season able to do so. If all we have is "one or two showing promise" is it not a reasonable question to ask whether having an Academy is a luxury we can't afford?
I think it's a reasonable question. I would imagine we are net up monetarily from the multi-million pound sales of Baptiste and COD, but we do seem to have a pretty weak success rate. Also, the players being spoken about as having 'real promise' currently have all been spoken about in that vein for a few years now, with no breakthrough of any kind, even the odd few minutes as subs, really being made. The closest we had was Jones coming in and doing well in those games in the summer of 2019. That game against Fulham u21s where Spasov became our youngest-ever scorer (dubious given the competition imo, but not nothing) was over two years ago, though. Lopes was apparently being scouted by Leeds at one point and I thought was supposed to be the pick of the current 'crop', but has yet to make a league appearance. It's sort of weird that in a club that is so good at identifying, bringing in and nurturing talent from elsewhere our academy is stuttering.
 
OK re the youth - no good playing up an academy if we don't try them in "REAL" games - pre season for one !!
We bring in a Frenchman and a young lad who impressed at a trial

I have seen Lopez, Lofthouse and Jones in senior games and all have impressed - far better than the 2 mentioned within.
 
Wycombe closed theirs some time ago, and ended up in the championship. Is the money spent on the academy better spent on ready made players, or part ready, like Dickie etc, than risking it on players who won't make it or one that does in a blue moon? (NB. This is a question, opinion wise, I have no real thoughts either way)
Are you serious , we will be needing younger players more than ever and to be a community club which upholds standards we really do need to be a part of it . Please do not look at the fluke and dreadful footy than is WW and want us to be anything like them.
 
Wycombe closed theirs some time ago, and ended up in the championship. Is the money spent on the academy better spent on ready made players, or part ready, like Dickie etc, than risking it on players who won't make it or one that does in a blue moon? (NB. This is a question, opinion wise, I have no real thoughts either way)
Don’t think they could afford it with also rather than furlough their staff the made them redundant they couldn’t afford to run the club
 
Ruffles and Long have been senior players since 2013. Ruffles came through Coventry’s academy and was signed as a senior player. Only O’Dowda and Baptiste can be said to have been academy successes recently. Jack Stevens looks as if he will make the grade. Of the rest mentioned the jury is still out as KR has alluded to.
3 or 4 making it in 7 years doesn’t seem much of a return to me. I wonder how we compare with other clubs in this regard?
And Baptiste joined us when he was 17 when Reading released him. Not really an academy product. More of a youth team product.
 
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