I'm a bit bored and wanting some BFC chat. Who are the most promising youngsters coming through at Oakwell at the minute? I gather Aiden Marsh looks like a talent. Anyone else? I used to hear a lot about Wolfe but not so much recently How about Hassell Junior - will we be seeing him in the first team any time soon, and is he ginger?
The problem is we turnover players so quickly that we have exhausted our supply of ready youngsters. The current crop are quite literally kids still because anyone any good of a reasonable age has already had to come into the first team squad to replace sold players and poor quality spreadsheet signngs
Like who? I freely admit that I could be mis-remembering, but I can't remember us selling an academy player in years. Not since James Bree?
I don't mean they are selling academy players. I mean we sell our players as soon as an offer comes in so we have to bring academy players into the first team. There probably isn't as many as I think but it seems specifically at full back we use academy players every year to replace the failed signings or sold players. There's also the issue that we would rather release an academy player and sign a young lad from Austria or France and give him a chance instead.
And the better ones we sign who should be playing their trade at U23 level and learning their craft are thrust into the first team before they are probably ready - to fill in gaps. Simoes and Oduor being prime examples of this.
Listen to the interview at the top of the page with Bobby Hassell. From about 43 minutes, he goes through the players who they expect to make it, and the outstanding even younger prospects.
Ah brilliant, I'll have a listen to that then! Does anyone remember an interview with Bobby a few years back, when he was discussing the academy and said that there was an attacking player in the younger age levels at the time who they thought was super promising? Wonder who it was - Brown, Marsh?
