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Vancouver Whitecaps Youth Academy

dutch08

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Sep 21, 2005
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QUOTE="Regs, post: 379284, member: 1"]Awesome concept.[/QUOTE]
"This is a place where the only academy players wearing neon boots are the trialists hoping for an invitation. The rest wear old-school black."

More awesome

Also,

Hanging in a prominent place in the Rookery is a large wood plaque featuring the names of the academy players who’ve progressed to play for Fulham’s first team. Hyndman’s name is one of only 31 added over the past decade. Fulham’s academy is considered one of the country’s best

Thought this was key. People hammer the Caps residency program for not producing a ton of first team players.. 31 over a decade?
 
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Regs

Staff member
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31 over a decade is 3 per year... I'd say that's pretty good though I do understand what you are getting at.

For the Caps, it's been what, 4 years? How many are there that have made the jump?
 

Dude

Lifetime Better Bastard
Jul 23, 2001
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Second and third division already exists. NASL is second, while USL is third.
Mitchell was brought in from Edmonton, and then got released. It is a big jump from third to first league in any country.
This is not baseball where a pitcher is send down to work on his mechanics, velocity or strike zone. In soccer if you are not being challenged and playing at a certain speed/movement against others, then you will never be able to catch up to the speed of the game.
Majority of players in Europe started playing first team regular when they were 19, 20. For fukc you are not going to be developing players until they are 30, well maybe if we can just spin that somehow.

Ok, it's pretty clear that you are now being a bit of a Euro football snob, one of these guys that will poo-poo and criticize the MLS and its teams no matter what they do. Your points are all over the map, and often illogical. I.e.:

~There is no point in having a USL franchise because "the USL sucks, and you are better off sending the players to Europe". OK then, even if there were this club that WFC could align itself with that would take any player the Cap's send (doubtful), what level would that have to be in order for players to gain worthwhile experience? Further, what kind of influence and control can the club have on the player when they are overseas? I know Caleb Clarke went over on loan, how did that work out (and I'm asking honestly, not sarcastically, because I don't know)? I do know he's currently injured.

~"This is not baseball where a pitcher is send down to work on his mechanics, velocity or strike zone". No, but it is soccer, where it is important to get match fitness, and be match ready at all times. Getting in a match at the "reserve" level can often times be a good transition back from injury, or to help keep guys sharp whom have not been starters and aren't seeing a lot of minutes. I'll use Mexida as an example there. Didn't get a lot of time last year, sitting behind Morales, but I'm sure the Caps would have loved to get him some time somewhere w/ out loaning him out. Or how about Christian Dean? He could have totally used the minutes.

~To you point about development, I agree that they need to be knocking on the door by 20-21 years old, but in those early years, if they aren't in the 1st team, they need minutes at the reserve level, whatever that is deemed to be. I can't see any better option than USL at this point, TBH.

We all understand that this isn't Europe, and that the footballing development system isn't even close. But at the same time, should we not want it to improve beyond the point it is at now? Should we not want the system to build up in its own way so as to become more useful than the fractured system it is now?

You make these critical points, but you don't really offer a better solution or scenario. It's all about pointing out the holes in the plan, but not offering up a better plan.
 

STD

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On the subject of player development in Europe I seen some of our young players have been training with Rangers and are now going to train with Liverpool. Do you think we should be concerned they may pick up some bad habits or do you think Robinson explained to them these are just a couple of average clubs and to just use the opportunity to get some fitness.
 

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